SEATTLE – The Orioles kept jabbing at Mariners starter George Kirby tonight, with all eight of their hits against him singles. Ramón Urías clipped the right side of Kirby’s jaw with a 102.7 mph line drive that resulted in the final out of the fifth inning – the ball rolling to first baseman Rowdy Tellez - and left a thin stream of blood running past his mouth.

Kirby was coming out anyway after 95 pitches, but it still resembled a knockout blow.

Tomoyuki Sugano and Colton Cowser wouldn’t let the Mariners get up. Sugano held them to one run in seven innings and Cowser marked his return with an opposite-field homer off former teammate Eduardo Bazardo in a 5-1 victory over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

Heston Kjerstad drove in Coby Mayo with a double in the ninth, pinch-runner Jordyn Adams scored on Jackson Holliday’s single, and the Orioles improved to 23-36 with their first four-game winning streak since June 26-29, 2024. They’ve won seven of their last nine games and are 8-8 under interim manager Tony Mansolino.

Sugano delivered the rotation’s fourth quality start in a row and lowered his ERA to 3.04. He allowed five hits, walked one batter and struck out five.

SEATTLE – The Orioles are making their latest attempt to get healthy. This time, it involves Colton Cowser.

Cowser is in center field tonight for the first game against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. He was reinstated from the injured list yesterday, leaving the Orioles with 11 players on the shelf.

Cowser hasn’t played for the Orioles since fracturing his left thumb on March 30 in Toronto. He completed a rehab assignment that consisted of three games with High-A Aberdeen and three with Triple-A Norfolk.

“Feeling good,” he said. “It was one of those things where, had to get some ABs and was able to do so. Was fighting the weather a little bit a couple of those days, but feeling good.”

Cowser went 6-for-11 with four doubles at Norfolk, but he wasn’t using statistics to measure his readiness.

SEATTLE – Colton Cowser was reinstated from the injured list yesterday and he’s playing center field tonight and batting sixth for the series opener in Seattle.

Jackson Holliday remains the leadoff hitter.

Coby Mayo is the designated hitter, Heston Kjerstad is in right field and Dylan Carlson is in left.

Ryan O’Hearn, the cleanup hitter and first baseman, is batting .329 against right-handers and the Mariners are starting three in the series. O’Hearn’s average is tied for fourth-highest among left-handed hitters versus right-handers in a minimum 100 plate appearances.

Tomoyuki Sugano has posted a 3.23 ERA and 1.063 WHIP in 11 starts. He’s got a 3.67 ERA and 1.223 WHIP in six home games and a 2.73 ERA and 0.876 WHIP in five road games.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• C Chadwick Tromp elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.

You don’t have to look far to find the local connections with new Orioles senior advisor John Mabry.

He grew up a fan of the team, which happens when you’re raised in Cecil County and attend Bohemia Manor High School in Chesapeake City, played for the renown Johnny’s amateur baseball team and participated in the Crown All-Star Game at Memorial Stadium.

“Favorite players Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray, the whole nine yards,” Mabry said. “I’ve been watching the Orioles since Wild Bill Hagy type stuff. So it’s a cool opportunity, and at this time it was cool for our family, as well.”

Mabry was at Camden Yards this morning to fulfill his role as senior advisor, a move consummated a few weeks after the Orioles fired manager Brandon Hyde and made third base coach Tony Mansolino the interim, and it’s a broad set of responsibilities.

“Just gonna be a helping hand,” he said. “Just be an available resource for coaches and players. Get to know everything that’s going on and just be available.”

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Reinstated OF Colton Cowser (left thumb fracture) from the 60-day Injured List.
• Designated UTL Cooper Hummel for assignment.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

The Orioles went to extremes today to prove that they can score without relying too much on home runs, that the small ball approach remains in their skill set.

That station-to-station doesn’t always require movement.

A two-run third inning that broke a scoreless tie featured a single, double, two more singles and a sacrifice fly. The exit velocities in three straight at-bats were clocked at 79.3, 77.9 and 76.3 mph.

Charlie Morton didn’t need the Orioles to bring much thunder on a sunny day. They gave him a lead and he allowed an unearned run in a season-high 6 2/3 innings in a 3-2 victory over the White Sox before an announced crowd of 33,037 at Camden Yards that completed the first sweep in 2025.

Morton lowered his ERA to 6.20 and raised the Orioles’ record to 22-36 with their sixth win in eight games and seventh in 11. They’ve gone 7-8 under interim manager Tony Mansolino. The White Sox (18-41) have lost 12 of 16.

The Orioles are trying to mix two vastly different mindsets as they enter the month of June.

This is a team with an opportunity to evaluate younger talent by providing regular starts that could allow it to get a jump on the 2026 season. To offer valuable experience to these players and possibly make some earlier decisions while plotting an offseason plan.

That’s the seller attitude, conceding that 2025 is a lost cause as they sit in last place and try to make the best of a crappy situation.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino recognizes the opportunity available to a prospect like Coby Mayo, but he isn’t giving up on the season. There are no concession speeches during his pre-game and post-game media sessions.

Mansolino kept Heston Kjerstad in the lineup yesterday, an easier task with all three Opening Day starters and one backup on the injured list. Kjerstad played right field, Jorge Mateo got another start in center and Dylan Carlson was in left. Ryan O’Hearn played first base in Ryan Mountcastle’s absence rather than getting another start in right or left.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• LHP Cionel Pérez has cleared outright waivers and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled INF Coby Mayo from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Selected the contract of OF Jordyn Adams from Triple-A Norfolk. He will wear No. 80.
• Placed INF Ryan Mountcastle (right hamstring strain) on the 10-day Injured List.
• Designated C Chadwick Tromp for assignment.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

The Orioles handed out bowling shirts today to the first 15,000 fans. Zach Eflin didn’t spare the White Sox, but when would the offense strike?

It took until the bottom of the sixth inning, when the Orioles loaded the bases with no outs and scored twice on a sacrifice fly and double steal. They didn’t offer much support and little was needed.

Eflin shut out the White Sox over seven innings and the Orioles began the series with a 2-1 win before an announced crowd of 22,108 at Camden Yards.

Félix Bautista surrendered two doubles in the ninth inning, the second by Andrew Benintendi with two outs. Luis Robert Jr. walked with the count full in an eight-pitch at-bat before Bautista nailed down his ninth save.

Disaster didn't strike.

Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins underwent an MRI yesterday on his right hamstring, and the club is expressing early optimism regarding the severity of the strain and length of his absence.

Mullins leads the club with 10 home runs and 31 RBIs, and he ranks second with a .324 on-base percentage, .448 slugging and .772 OPS. His placement on the 10-day injured list is retroactive to yesterday, making him eligible to return on June 8.

“Very minor,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “My guess is that this will probably be the minimum for him. And who knows? It can go a little bit further. But we are not super concerned. It’s more right now just taking care of Ced and making sure we get him back 100 percent.”

Mullins has missed three of five games. He appeared in 147 last season but made two trips to the IL in 2023 with adductor strains.

Dylan Carlson is in center field this afternoon, and Mansolino said deciding on starters will be day-to-day.

The Orioles hired former major league outfielder/first baseman and coach John Mabry as senior advisor. The announcement came this afternoon.

The current coaches will remain with the club for the rest of the 2025 season.

Mabry played in the majors for 14 season and was a coach with the Cardinals, Royals and Marlins over a span of 12 seasons. He spent the 2024 season as Miami’s hitting coach after being an assistant the previous year.

Utility player Cooper Hummel, who declined an outright assignment last night and became a free agent, has signed another one-year major league contract with the Orioles. He’s replacing center fielder Cedric Mullins, who goes on the 10-day injured list with a right hamstring strain.

Mullins was out of the lineup in three of four games before Wednesday. Today’s move is retroactive to yesterday.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Signed UTL Cooper Hummel to a one-year major league contract for the 2025 season.
• Placed OF Cedric Mullins (right hamstring strain) on the 10-day Injured List, retroactive to May 29.
• Transferred RHP Cody Poteet (right shoulder inflammation) to the 60-day Injured List.

The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.

The Orioles today announced that they have hired 14-year major league veteran JOHN MABRY as senior advisor, major league coaching staff. In this new role, he will be advising Interim Manager TONY MANSOLINO and the rest of the major league coaching staff.

Mabry (pronounced MAY-bree), 54, spent the 2024 season as hitting coach with the Miami Marlins and was the assistant hitting coach in 2023. He worked as a major league coach for the Kansas City Royals from 2020-22 after serving as hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals from 2013-18. Mabry was also assistant hitting coach for the Cardinals in 2012.

The former first baseman/outfielder slashed .263/.322/.405 (898-for-3409) with 183 doubles, six triples, 96 home runs, 382 runs scored, and 446 RBI in 1,321 games across 14 MLB seasons with the Cardinals, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, Florida Marlins, Philadelphia Phillies, Oakland Athletics, Chicago Cubs, and Colorado Rockies from 1994-2007. Mabry had three separate stints with St. Louis, where he played in 748 career games. He helped the Cardinals secure the National League Pennant in 2004 before falling to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

Mabry graduated from Bohemia Manor High School in Maryland’s Cecil County in 1989. He attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania from 1989-91 before being selected by St. Louis in the sixth round of the 1991 First-Year Player Draft.

After consultation with Major League Baseball, tonight’s originally scheduled 7:05 p.m. game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards between the Orioles and Chicago White Sox has been moved to 4:30 p.m. due to forecasted inclement weather.

Gates will open at 4 p.m. and parking lots will open at 3:00 p.m.

The first 15,000 fans in attendance will receive the Bowling Shirt, presented by DriveEzMD.

The 2025 season hasn’t gone according to plan for the Baltimore Orioles.

At 19-36, the O’s have dug themselves quite a hole to kick off the campaign. Time is not their friend. 

As the calendar rapidly approaches June, expectations from the offseason feel distant. A great comeback is still possible, but Baltimore is heading toward the middle innings down a handful of runs. 

This week on “The Bird’s Nest,” Annie Klaff and I zoomed in. Expectations, hopes and goals must be modified as circumstances change. The standings are what they are, and now, pose a new question: what does a “successful” rest of the year look like? 

That’s the question we attempted to tackle. With a quick rundown of our thoughts here, you can find more in-depth analysis in our latest episode: https://masn.me/c9bhmg4f 

Left-hander Cade Povich doesn’t know whether he’s pitching for his spot in the Orioles rotation. Trevor Rogers can be recalled from Triple-A Norfolk at any time after serving as the 27^th man in Saturday’s doubleheader in Boston and tossing 6 1/3 scoreless innings with two hits in Game 2. Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer and Charlie Morton are confirmed for the weekend series against the White Sox.

Having off-days Thursday and Monday gives interim manager Tony Mansolino and his staff the freedom to bump, skip or just stay in turn.

Povich can look like he won’t budge, as he did tonight in the first three innings, but the immovable object got knocked around after that in the Orioles’ 6-4 loss to the Cardinals before an announced crowd of 14,491 at Camden Yards.

A two-run fourth and three-run fifth spun the game in the Cardinals’ favor. The Orioles left 10 runners on base and lost their 12^th series. Their record is 19-36.

Povich allowed five runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings, walking three batters and tying his season high with nine strikeouts. He struck out the side in the third inning to give him six - on three fastballs, a sinker, curveball and sweeper. Lars Nootbaar led off the game with a single and the Cardinals didn’t have another hit until Masyn Winn’s leadoff single in the fourth.

Orioles pitcher Kyle Bradish is halfway through his bullpen progression and fully expecting to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list by August.

Bradish threw a 35-pitch side session on Monday, used everything in his arsenal and reported that he’s “feeling really good.”

The Orioles want Bradish to begin throwing live batting practice at the beginning of July, followed by an injury rehab assignment in the minors. He hasn’t pitched for them since undergoing ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow in June 2024.

Bradish made eight starts last season after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in his elbow in January, posting a 2.75 ERA and 1.068 WHIP in 39 1/3 innings. He shut out the Rays on one hit over six innings in his penultimate start and allowed two runs in five innings against the Phillies before the Orioles shut him down.

Standing at his locker this afternoon, Bradish explained why he’s confident in his chances of getting back into the rotation after the break.

The Orioles’ 2025 season is more than just a disappointment. It’s also a drip. A forecast calling for rain throughout the day and most of the night has threatened a sixth postponement and the third in a week, but the Orioles are hoping to squeeze in the game and preserve Thursday’s off-day.

The teams played in a steady shower last night, but the game went on uninterrupted. They have an open date on the schedule Thursday before the Cardinals fly to Texas. The Orioles host the White Sox over the weekend.

An April 11 game against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards was moved to July 29. The Orioles were swept in Detroit on April 26 and by the Twins on May 14. They split with the Red Sox Saturday in Boston after postponements on consecutive days in between a 19-5 loss. They could use a break in the weather.

If the Orioles play tonight, Adley Rutschman will serve as designated hitter and Cedric Mullins will start in center field. Rutschman left Sunday’s game in Boston after taking a foul ball off the mask. Mullins has sat out three of the last four games.

Mullins stayed on the bench last night in a 7-4 loss. Interim manager Tony Mansolino let catcher Chadwick Tromp bat to lead off the bottom of the ninth with Rutschman also unavailable.