BOSTON – Major League Baseball announced today that catcher James McCann is the Orioles’ nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, which is presented annually to the player who “best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”

The Orioles will recognize McCann in a special on-field ceremony on Saturday, Sept. 21.

The following comes from the club’s press release:

“Since joining the Orioles prior to the 2023 season, McCann has emerged as a cornerstone of community support in Baltimore, earning him a nomination for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award. His unwavering dedication to community service is a family affair, with McCann, his wife Jessica, and their twin boys actively contributing to their communities year-round. The McCann family donated 50 pairs of shoes to Church of the City’s Wrap Around Closet in Nashville, Tenn. supporting children in foster care.

“Earlier this season, the Orioles announced their adoption of Harlem Park Elementary Middle School, aiming to foster a lasting relationship and support students from pre-k all the way through their entry into the workforce. McCann eagerly embraced this partnership, actively engaging with Harlem Park students and staff at Friday home game batting practices, proudly donning a Harlem Park-branded t-shirt. His involvement extended to the classroom as well, where he visited PE classes to teach baseball skills and inspire students to pursue their dreams with perseverance. To further support Harlem Park, McCann and Jessica provided Harlem Park students with essential items such as backpacks, clothing, and shoes for the new school year, underscoring their dedication to fostering the growth and success of Baltimore’s youth.

The Orioles and Major League Baseball today announced that catcher JAMES McCANN has been named the Orioles’ 2024 nominee for the esteemed Roberto Clemente Award. The most prominent individual player award bestowed by MLB, the Roberto Clemente Award, presented by Capital One, is the annual recognition of a Major League player from each club who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, sportsmanship, community involvement, philanthropy, and positive contributions, both on and off the field.

The Orioles will join Major League Baseball in honoring the 23^rd annual Roberto Clemente Day on Sunday, September 15, as they take on the Detroit Tigers at 12:05 p.m. ET at Comerica Park. This commemorative day was established by Major League Baseball to honor Clemente’s legacy and to officially acknowledge local club nominees of the Roberto Clemente Award. As part of the league-wide celebration, the Roberto Clemente Day logo will appear on the bases and official dugout lineup cards, all players will wear a ‘21’ patch on their jersey, and a special tribute video will be played in ballparks. Once again this season, each team’s Clemente nominee will wear ”21” on their uniform, joining players and uniformed personnel from Puerto Rico, previous nominees, and those who have worn “21” on prior Roberto Clemente Days.

The Orioles will recognize McCann in a special on-field ceremony on Saturday, September 21.

Since joining the Orioles prior to the 2023 season, McCann has emerged as a cornerstone of community support in Baltimore, earning him a nomination for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award. His unwavering dedication to community service is a family affair, with McCann, his wife Jessica, and their twin boys actively contributing to their communities year-round. This past offseason, the McCann family donated 50 pairs of shoes to Church of the City’s Wrap Around Closet in Nashville, Tenn. supporting children in foster care.

Earlier this season, the Orioles announced their adoption of Harlem Park Elementary Middle School, aiming to foster a lasting relationship and support students from pre-k all the way through their entry into the workforce. McCann eagerly embraced this partnership, actively engaging with Harlem Park students and staff at Friday home game batting practices, proudly donning a Harlem Park-branded t-shirt. His involvement extended to the classroom as well, where he visited PE classes to teach baseball skills and inspire students to pursue their dreams with perseverance. To further support Harlem Park, McCann and Jessica provided Harlem Park students with essential items such as backpacks, clothing, and shoes for the new school year, underscoring their dedication to fostering the growth and success of Baltimore’s youth.

When the Orioles scored 13 runs Monday and nine runs Tuesday night in beating the Chicago White Sox, we had no idea the next few games would prove to be so futile for the Baltimore offense. 

Through Tuesday the Orioles had scored 38 runs over a five-game stretch. Was the offense finally coming around?

As it turned out, no.

In the last four games the Orioles scored one, two, one and zero runs. They actually won one of those games. But in the four contests, the Orioles produced four runs and 22 hits, going 1-for-20 with runners in scoring position. 

Here is something pretty remarkable: The Orioles did not hit a double or triple in the four games. Their last extra-base hit that was not a homer came on Tuesday. 

The outs were coming more easily to Corbin Burnes. Early traffic on the bases had thinned. He was back on his familiar roll.

And then it stopped.

Even a brief pause can be costly for a team that can't offer much support.

Burnes hung a slider to Jonny DeLuca in the sixth inning, and the resulting two-run homer broke a scoreless tie. One pitch would decide the outcome because another day passed with the Orioles left searching for their offense and in recovery mode following a 2-0 loss to the Rays before an announced crowd of 29,519 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles are 82-62 overall, 24-24 since the break and 4-3 this month. They went 3-3 on a homestand that began with three games against the Rockies, owners of the second-worst record in the majors.

The Orioles' six-game homestand ends today. They won two of three from the White Sox and have split two games with the Rays heading into the series finale. The Orioles won 2-0 with their ninth shutout Friday night and lost 7-1 Saturday.

The Orioles (82-61) have fallen back into second-place by a 1/2 game behind the Yankees (82-60) with 19 games remaining.

The Orioles have won four of six and eight of 14 and are 42-32 at home and 24-23 since the All-Star break.

Tampa Bay, wrapping up the first series of a 10-game road trip today, has lost six of 10, eight of 13 and 10 of 16 games. The Rays are winless in their past five series, going 0-3-2 and are 22-24 since the break.

O's center fielder Cedric Mullins launched his 15th home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth inning Saturday and has homered twice in his last five games. He has reached safely in his last nine games since Aug. 29, batting .385/.529/.654 (10-for-26) in that span.

Orioles reliever Danny Coulombe is ready to begin his rehab assignment.

Coulombe will join Triple-A Norfolk for Wednesday night’s game in Durham, his first competition beyond live batting practice since undergoing surgery in June to remove bone chips in his left elbow.

The Orioles haven’t used Coulombe since June 8, when he retired all six batters faced and struck out three at Tropicana Field. On hold is a 2.42 ERA and 0.615 WHIP in 29 appearances, and a streak of all 12 inherited runners stranded, that led to some early talk about a possible All-Star selection.

The Orioles would settle for making him available to manager Brandon Hyde in a pennant race.

Left-handers are batting .171/.229/.400 against Coulombe and right-handers are hitting .130/.175/.315. He's evolved into a high-leverage reliever and an absolute steal from the Twins in a March 27, 2023 cash transaction trade.

The Orioles go for the series win this afternoon, the last game on the homestand, with Nick Maton at third base and Austin Slater in right field.

Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

Corbin Burnes has posted a 4.97 ERA and 1.342 WHIP in nine starts in the second half. He had a 7.36 ERA and 1.597 WHIP in five starts last month.

Burnes went five innings against the White Sox in his last outing and allowed one earned run and two total for his career-high 13^th win.

Burnes has faced the Rays twice this season at Tropicana Field and allowed three earned runs and five total in 13 innings.

ABERDEEN, Md. - After a junior year at North Carolina where he batted .318 with an OPS of 1.124 and hit a school-record 28 homers, outfielder Vance Honeycutt has gotten off to a slow start to his pro career with the Orioles.

He is not the first high draft pick to take some early 0-fers and he began his run this week at High-A Aberdeen going 0-for-16 with 10 strikeouts in four games. He did not play last night for the IronBirds. Before moving up he went 7-for-31 (.226) with Low-A Delmarva.

“I’m taking it in stride, but there is also room for improvement,” Honeycutt 21, told me Friday at Aberdeen’s Ripken Stadium. “Working on some simple things here and there to clean up some stuff and simplify things a bit. Just some physical things we are working on, nothing major.”

The Orioles made Honeycutt their top draft pick, No. 22 overall in round one, in the draft in July. He had a big career at UNC and is ranked as the current O’s No. 3 prospect behind Coby Mayo and Samuel Basallo by MLBPipeline.com. He is No. 5 via Baseball America.

“We are working on stuff every single day, whether there is success or failure. It’s a long journey and it’s not defined by a couple of days,” said Honeycutt.

Gunnar Henderson got hot again at the plate.

His .234/.303/.405 August was followed by nine hits in 19 at-bats prior to yesterday, with a double, three home runs, seven RBIs and four walks. The tater total is two shy of last month’s output in 28 games and one more than he hit in 24 games in July. And he was robbed of a three-run shot yesterday on Jose Siri’s leaping catch at the center field fence, keeping him at 36, a franchise record for shortstops.

The fielding fluctuates from fabulous to frustrating.

Henderson made two more errors Friday night to raise his team-leading total to 23. His fielding percentage was .959 before yesterday.

The first miscue originally was scored a hit for Jonathan Aranda with two outs in the eighth inning. Henderson ranged to his right and didn’t appear to get his glove turned in the proper position before the ball deflected off it. Aranda later was awarded a single.

The Orioles have made the following roster move: 

• Agreed to terms on a 2024 Minor League contract with INF/OF Terrin Vavra.

Riding a small winning stretch - with four wins in the last five games - the Orioles will get another series win today if they can beat the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park.

The Orioles (82-60) pitched their ninth shutout of 2024 in winning 2-0 Friday night on a four-pitcher three-hitter with 12 strikeouts.

In winning four of five, O's pitchers have a 2.20 ERA and .585 OPS against. The O's are 8-5 their past 13 games with a 3.32 team ERA in this span. They are now 24-22 since the All-Star Game.

Through Friday's games, the Orioles led the New York Yankees (81-60) by a half-game atop the American League East. The Birds have 20 games left to play and New York has 21. The clubs play a three-game series in the Bronx beginning Sept. 24.

The Orioles have pitched well versus the Rays all year in going 9-2 in the season series. In the 11 games, they have given up one, five, four, three, zero, two, two, one, five, two and zero runs. They've allowed two runs or fewer seven times and have a 2.02 season ERA against Tampa Bay with a .197 average against and .545 OPS. O's starting pitchers have a 2.11 ERA in the season series. 

The standings say that with their 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays last night, the Orioles moved 1/2 game ahead of the Yankees for the division lead. The Orioles (82-60) have 20 games left to play and New York (81-60) has 21.

But a real separator is each club's American League East record, the games within the division. The Orioles have a 7 1/2 game lead in that record within a record.

After their ninth win in 11 games this year against Tampa Bay, the Orioles are 29-15 in AL East games. New York is 22-23. Big difference. 

Here are the records of the teams in division games in 2024 and the Orioles are the only club over .500.

.659 - Orioles (29-15)
.500 - Boston (18-18)
.489 - New York (22-23)
.435 - Toronto (20-26)
.415 - Tampa Bay (17-24)

Dean Kremer’s arm was fine tonight. And it had nothing to do with the disappearance of his welt.

The effectiveness returned along with the appearance, and in it was no-hit stuff that threatened to grew to historical proportions.

Kremer carried a no-hit bid into the seventh inning before Rays top prospect Junior Caminero lined the first pitch into left field for a single. What remained was winning the first game of the series. Back to the basics.

Tampa Bay loaded the bases with no outs on singles by Caminero and Dylan Carlson and Ryan O’Hearn’s fielding error. Kremer left to a standing ovation after 88 pitches and Yennier Cano brought the crowd to its feet again with two strikeouts and a popup in the Orioles’ 2-0 victory before an announced crowd of 25,439 at Camden Yards.

The Yankees also won today to stay a half-game behind the Orioles (82-60), who clinched their third plus-.500 season in a row - the first streak of this length since 2012-14. Tonight’s game marked their ninth shutout.

Winners of back-to-back series, collectively going 4-2 versus the Rockies and White Sox, the Orioles' homestand continues tonight as they host the Rays to start a three-game series.

After beating the White Sox 13-3 and 9-0 in the first two games of the series, the O’s were held to seven hits in Wednesday’s 8-1 loss as they failed to complete their sixth sweep of the season.

The Orioles (81-60) had a three-game win streak snapped but have won four of six and seven of 12 games. They are 3-1 in September, 23-22 since the All-Star break and 28-29 since July 1.

With the New York Yankees' 3-0 win today over the Cubs, the clubs have identical records atop the division. The O's need to win to stay a 1/2-game ahead.

Gunnar Henderson homered Wednesday night and set an O’s record with his 35^th homer – the most ever by a Baltimore shortstop. He had shared the record with Cal Ripken Jr. (1991) and Miguel Tejada (2004).

Ramón Urías ditched his crutches and is offering positive news on his sprained right ankle, including his readiness to begin baseball activities in a couple of days.

Urías said earlier today that the ankle is feeling “pretty good” and “progressing fast.”

“I’m walking now, it feels pretty normal,” he said while standing at his locker. “Hopefully can start doing some baseball activities soon.”

Urías rolled the ankle while covering third base in the seventh inning of Saturday’s game in Colorado, the same night that he also was hit on the nose by a pitch and Dean Kremer exited in the fourth after taking a line drive off his right forearm.

Kremer is starting tonight. Urías won’t be ready for reinstatement when eligible on Wednesday but is aiming for a return later this month.

Dean Kremer is set to take his scheduled turn tonight for the series opener against the Rays at Camden Yards, avoiding the injured list after Jordan Beck’s line drive Saturday night slammed off his right forearm.

Kremer registered three quality starts in a row before leaving the Rockies game after 3 1/3 innings with a huge welt above his wrist.

The Rays are seeing Kremer for the first time this season. He’s made six career starts against them and posted a 2.79 ERA in 29 innings.

Brandon Lowe is 4-for-9 with a home run against Kremer. Yandy Díaz is 1-for-13.

Nick Maton is starting at third base and batting ninth, a spot ahead of Jackson Holliday. Coby Mayo is on the bench again.

If you read the comments section here or check anywhere where O’s fans make their feelings known - and they are not shy about that - there are many times the fans are frustrated with the Orioles offense.

Like when they produce just one run against the lowly White Sox after scoring 22 runs in two games. Or score just 10 at Dodger Stadium. Or get 10 one day versus Boston but just one the next as they did Aug. 16 and Aug. 17.

There is an up and down nature to the scoring and several players have had their share of ups and downs. Sometimes the homers come, and runs are plentiful and sometimes not. At times they frustrate their supporters with a lack of hitting with runners in scoring position.

But after all of the above, the 2024 Orioles offense looks like it will finish the year ranking both among the best in the majors in 2024 and among the best in O’s history.

Here is a stat that will surprise a few fans and I didn’t know it until I look it up: The O’s are actually scoring more runs per game in the second-half, even after the team OPS in August was .691, the lowest of any month this year.

Only in the heat of a pennant race with the regular season down to the last 21 games could winning two of three from the Rockies and White Sox seem unsatisfactory.

They’re both painfully bad. The Orioles should have swept both series based on their talent and motivation. But the Rockies are better at home and the thin air messes with all logic. And the White Sox … well, there’s no excuse except that it’s the major leagues and no team is gonna go 0-162. It's bound to catch a popup.

Going 4-2 in the last six games is nothing to sneeze at, but please cover your mouth if you do.

I covered the 2002 Orioles who finished 4-32 under manager Mike Hargrove and they were more competitive than Chicago. Requests for comparisons have been brought to me. Also with the rebuild Orioles. Again, not this terrible.

Hargrove’s club was .500 on Aug. 23. I can think of 500 reasons why the White Sox didn’t get close. But I respect the effort Wednesday night, when they could have folded after Gunnar Henderson’s game-tying leadoff home run in the bottom of the first.

Dean Kremer did more than dodge the injured list, which alone was an impressive accomplishment.

He’s starting Friday night in the series opener against the Rays at Camden Yards.

The 103.1 mph line drive from Colorado’s Jordan Beck that slammed off Kremer’s right forearm in the fourth inning Saturday night at Coors Field raised a huge welt above his wrist and major concerns about the Orioles’ rotation. As if it could afford another loss.

Kremer played catch in the outfield in recent days, had a bullpen session yesterday at Camden Yards and convinced the Orioles that he could take his next turn.

Asked about Kremer after Sunday’s game, manager Brandon Hyde said, "I would be really surprised if he’s pitching in four or five days.” The Orioles are off tonight. Kremer is on the mound Friday.

Hired July 8 as the Orioles' first female president of business operations, Catie Griggs is on a fact-finding mission right now. In her first press conference with O’s media yesterday she said since her first official day Aug. 19, she has spent time getting to know the city, her new team and her new co-workers.

Soon she will head up improvements that will be made to Oriole Park at Camden Yards, with some coming next year but more significant ones likely for the 2026 season.

“Right now I’m learning,” said Griggs. “That is priority No. 1. I know what I don’t know. I have reasonable experience running a baseball team from the business side. But I’ve never run a team from the business-side here in Baltimore.”

She was the first major hire for new owner David M. Rubenstein and his new ownership group. Griggs served as president of business operations for the Seattle Mariners since July of 2021 before resigning and taking the job with the Orioles. That was after four seasons as the chief business officer for Atlanta United in Major League Soccer. She oversaw all aspects of the Mariners organization outside of baseball operations.

To better get to know the fan experience at Oriole Park she took part in it. Already sitting in 15 different areas of the ballpark.