The managerial wheels were spinning inside Tony Mansolino’s head tonight in the first inning. The migraine didn’t set in until much later.

Tomoyuki Sugano escaped with only one run allowed against the Cardinals despite singles from four of the first five batters, but his opponent squeezed 32 pitches out of him. The count grew to 51 after the second, with Lars Nootbaar creeping halfway to the cycle with his two-run homer. Mansolino had to consider how the rest of the game would be covered if Sugano blew a chance to get deep into it.

Sugano gave up another single in the third as rain continued to fall, but he needed only six pitches to get back to the bench, and he retired the side in order on 11 in the fourth. Those early concerns were put to bed. The bigger worry was whether the Orioles could overcome the deficit.

They did after Ryan O’Hearn swatted a three-run homer in the fifth, but the Cardinals tied the game against Keegan Akin in the seventh and Nolan Arenado homered off Bryan Baker an inning later in a 7-4 victory over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 13,779 at Camden Yards.

Nolan Gorman and Jordan Walker had back-to-back triples off Baker in the eighth on fly balls that the Orioles couldn’t track cleanly in wet conditions and with Cedric Mullins on the bench for the third time in four games. Heston Kjerstad failed to make a sliding grab on the track in right-center as Jorge Mateo approached the ball -  Statcast gave it a 95 percent catch probability - and Mateo stopped short of the center field fence and jumped too soon on Walker’s drive.

Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman appears to have avoided the seven-day concussion injured list.

Rutschman was scheduled to take batting practice outdoors if the rain stopped. The tarp is on the field but some players threw in the outfield before returning to the clubhouse.

Rutschman is out of the lineup again after taking a foul ball off his mask during Sunday’s game in Boston and leaving in the top of the fifth inning.

“You’ll see him on the field,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino, “and if all goes well, I think there’s a good chance we see him here pretty soon.”

Cedric Mullins is out of the lineup for the third time in four days and the reasoning isn’t as clear. The Orioles appear to be sitting him as a precaution and to freshen him after he went on the injured list twice last season with an adductor groin strain.

Cedric Mullins and Adley Rutschman remain out of the Orioles’ lineup tonight against the Cardinals.

Mullins hasn’t started in three of the last four games. Jorge Mateo is in center field.

Chadwick Tromp makes his first start behind the plate.

Dylan Carlson is in left field after homering yesterday for the second time in two games. His 107.6 mph exit velocity was the hardest-hit home run of his career.

Carlson is 5-for-12 over his last three games after going 1-for-22.

The Orioles have won three games in a row for the first time in 2025, which is cause for celebration.

You can break open the bubbly or watch me bust into the mailbag. One can lead to questionable behavior, the other is filled with questions that I attempt to answer in the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original.

I don’t edit unless your grammar is as bad as the Cardinals’ infield defense yesterday. Also, my mailbag turns double plays and your mailbag turns left in a right-turn-only lane.

Here we go.

Was firing Brandon Hyde the right decision?
Well, that didn’t take long. How can we truly know? We aren’t armed with the exact reasoning beyond how the team has played below expectations since June 2024. We don’t really know who initiated it. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be David Rubenstein or Mike Elias. But does the front office and ownership think the 2025 season is salvageable and that’s why the firing came so quickly, or is it more about deciding that Hyde wasn’t going to be retained next season and there was no reason to wait? I’ll say that it’s unfair, but that’s typical. Life is unfair. Good people get let go on the reg. You can’t fire 26 players. Hyde didn’t lose the clubhouse. Not even close. He followed orders from above, consuming analytical data by the spoonful. He didn’t become a liability with his in-game decisions. His biggest sin, which ultimately cost him, was the failure to win. Period. That wasn’t an issue during the rebuild, but it became a job killer.

Dylan Carlson knew the drill. Slap hands with teammates, approach dugout steps and remove batting helmet, receive pirate hat, go directly to hydration station and chug. And it’s much better in a crowd.

Carlson is on an offensive tear, hitting a three-run homer today after an earlier single and stolen base. And Charlie Morton is on a mission to prove that he can still pitch at age 41.

It proved to be a nice combination, the power and perseverance.

The Orioles ran their winning streak to a season-high three games today with a 5-2 victory over the Cardinals before an announced crowd of 21,717 at Camden Yards. Their record improved to 19-34. The vibe also is changing.

It’s no coincidence that the rotation is healing some wounds. Trevor Rogers gave the Orioles 6 1/3 scoreless innings Saturday in Game 2 of a doubleheader, and Dean Kremer followed yesterday with 5 1/3. Morton carried a shutout bid into the fifth before Pedro Pagés hit a fly ball to left field that drifted into the seats for a two-run homer.

Cedric Mullins is out of the Orioles’ lineup today, with Dylan Carlson getting the start in center field.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino kept Mullins and Jackson Holliday on the bench Saturday in Game 2 and said, “Just over the course of the season, there’s little nick-nack things that kind of happen. We were doing the best we could to stay away from them.”

Mullins started Sunday.

Holliday is leading off today, followed by Ramón Urías as the designated hitter. Gunnar Henderson is third.

Ryan Mountcastle is batting cleanup, Ryan O’Hearn is in right field and batting fifth, and Heston Kjerstad is in left field and batting seventh.

The Orioles are back home today, trying to snap an eight-game losing streak at Camden Yards, after going a combined 3-4 in Milwaukee and Boston. They haven't posted a lineup against the Cardinals, but catcher Adley Rutschman apparently won't be in it.

Rutschman was nailed on the mask yesterday by Rafael Devers’ foul ball in the third inning and Maverick Handley pinch-hit for him in the fifth. Triple-A Norfolk catcher Chadwick Tromp is on the medical taxi squad.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino didn’t provide an update on Rutschman or specify whether the catcher is in concussion protocol.

Ryan Mountcastle is 9-for-18 with seven runs scored in four career games played on Memorial Day. He collected four hits in 2022.

Gunnar Henderson needs two more hits to reach 400. He’d join Manny Machado, Eddie Murray, Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken Jr. and Boog Powell as Orioles to do it before age 24.

Yaramil Hiraldo was a non-roster invitee to Orioles spring training who didn’t pitch in an exhibition game. He was included in an early round of cuts on March 2, his name buried behind outfield prospects Enrique Bradfield Jr., Dylan Beavers and Jud Fabian and major league reliever Colin Selby.

One of them is with the club this week – the reliever who was out of affiliated ball since 2021, pitching in Mexico and the independent Atlantic League until the Orioles signed him on Oct. 31.

Hiraldo had his contract selected on Saturday when the Orioles designated veteran left-hander Cionel Pérez for assignment in a bold bullpen move. He posted a combined 2.45 ERA in 11 games between Triple-A Norfolk (six), High-A Aberdeen (three) and Double-A Chesapeake (two).

“I found out during a practice day and they told me I was gonna come up to Boston and be on the taxi squad,” Hiraldo said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “They told me to just be ready. There’s a chance I could be on the roster, a chance I might not be on the roster. And sure enough, it happened. So I’m here now, I’m ready to go and ready to help the team.”

There are plenty of interesting success stories floating around baseball. Albert Suárez provided a doozy with the Orioles. Hiraldo received a paltry $2,500 bonus from the Diamondbacks during the international signing period in 2017-18, the 11^th lowest among 1,176 players, according to baseball journalist Francys Romero. His adjusted salary with the Orioles is $523,008, per Spotrac.

BOSTON – A prolonged series against the Red Sox subjected the Orioles to rain. Lots of rain. There were postponements and delays to start games or to interrupt them. The roster changed multiple times with contracts selected, a contract signed and a designation for assignment. The infielder who started in center field tumbled over the fence and landed in the home bullpen. The starting catcher had his mask rattled today by a vicious foul ball.

To come away with a split must have felt like a gift from the gods. Or maybe a sympathetic gesture.

Dylan Carlson and Ryan O’Hearn homered in support of Dean Kremer, who grinded through 5 1/3 scoreless innings, and the Orioles won 5-1 before an announced sellout crowd of 36,824 at Fenway Park. O’Hearn reached base four times and is batting .329 with a .956 OPS.

The Orioles went 3-for-4 on the trip and won yesterday for the fifth time in 21 games. They also won back-to-back games for only the third time and have held opponents to one run or fewer in consecutive games for the first time since Aug. 14-15, 2024. They’ll take an 18-34 record into the homestand that begins Monday afternoon against the Cardinals.

“The last two games were right where we should be," Kremer said. "It’s something to build off of, and all we can do is continue to move forward after that.”

BOSTON – Cooper Hummel exercised the opt-out clause in his contract with the Yankees shortly after midnight Wednesday, didn’t see a path back to the majors and was minutes away from agreeing to a minor league contract – one person described it as “pen to paper “ - when the Orioles called his agent.

Baseball can tug at a player’s emotions and pull him in many unexpected directions.

The Orioles signed Hummel to a one-year deal and brought him to Fenway Park for today’s game. They sought a corner outfielder with Colton Cowser, Tyler O’Neill and Ramón Laureano on the injured list.

“The last few days were kind of a whirlwind for me. I’m excited for this,” he said this morning.

Hummel, 30, has appeared in 66 games with the Diamondbacks, 10 with the Mariners and six with the Astros over the past three seasons. He’s played left and right field in the majors and also caught in 18, and he brings corner infield experience from the minors.

BOSTON – The Orioles made another roster move today, signing outfielder Cooper Hummel and designating infielder Terrin Vavra for assignment.

Hummel, 30, exercised the opt-out clause in his contract with the Yankees. He’s hit .159/.255/.275 in 82 major league games. He had eight doubles, three triples, three home runs and 17 RBIs in 66 games with the Diamondbacks in 2022, and appeared in 10 with the Mariners in 2023 and six with the Astros last summer.

Hummel, a switch-hitter, is a career .266/.403/.443 hitter in nine minor league seasons.

Vavra was DFA’d for the second time with the Orioles. His contract was selected yesterday while Ramón Laureano went on the 10-day injured list with a sprained left ankle.

The Orioles will try for a split of their rain-interrupted four-game series at Fenway Park today before boarding their flight home.

BOSTON – The Orioles used their 42^nd player last night when Trevor Rogers stepped on the mound to warm up for Game 2 of the doubleheader. They had Terrin Vavra on the bench and Yaramil Hiraldo in the bullpen. The number is fluid, the clubhouse attendants kept busy making nameplates for lockers.

Vavra and Hiraldo didn’t see any action unless there was some pushing and shoving at the post-game spread. But today brings new possibilities.

The team record for most players used is 62 in 2021. The Orioles needed 60 last season, 58 in 2022 and 2019, and 56 in 2018.

Vavra made it back to the majors yesterday to replace injured outfielder Ramón Laureano. He was on the taxi squad last year at the trade deadline but didn’t play. His last game with the Orioles was on May 31, 2023, before enduring multiple stints on the injured list, including a right labrum tear that required surgery, and a left groin strain.

Vavra could stay until Laureano is eligible to return on May 31, or until Colton Cowser is eligible the day before. Tyler O’Neill has a left shoulder impingement and won’t be ready on his return date, which is Monday.

BOSTON – The Orioles waited until after yesterday’s rainout to announce their Game 2 starter. They waited until after their Game 1 loss earlier today. Too many variables, including possible bullpen usage to cover innings.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino confirmed outside the visiting clubhouse that left-hander Trevor Rogers would make his 2025 debut. It proved to be a wise decision at a time when pretty much everything seems to be going against this team.

Rogers cruised into the seventh before leaving with two runners on base, one out and the game scoreless. He allowed two hits, walked none and struck out five before Andrew Kittredge replaced him, the move coming with Rogers at 87 pitches.

Kittredge stranded the runners and Ryan O’Hearn singled with two outs in the eighth to score Gunnar Henderson. Finally, a breakthrough. A reason to feel good again. Savor these moments in a season that would rather tease and torment.

Seranthony Domínguez stranded the two runners he inherited in the eighth, allowed a leadoff home run to Abraham Toro in the ninth and notched his first save in the Orioles’ 2-1 victory over the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 34,604 at Fenway Park.

BOSTON – The Orioles found a fresh arm for Game 2 of tonight’s doubleheader and parted with a former high-leverage lefty.

Reliever Cionel Pérez was designated for assignment, and the Orioles selected the contract of right-hander Yaramil Hiraldo from Triple-A Norfolk.

Hiraldo is wearing No. 76 and waiting to make his major league debut.

The 40-man roster has 39 players.

Pérez has been in a statistical decline since posting a 1.40 ERA in 66 appearances in 2022. His ERA rose to 3.54 with a 1.556 WHIP in 65 games in 2023 and 4.53 in 62 games last season.

BOSTON – The Orioles led 2-0 yesterday and lost 19-5. They took a 2-0 lead today in the first inning in Game 1 of a doubleheader, it began to pour again, Jarren Duran homered on Zach Eflin’s second pitch, and play was paused so the grounds crew could spread a drying compound on the field, mound and around home plate.

Players walked to the dugout and waited about six minutes. Eflin returned, retired Rafael Devers on a ground ball and surrendered a game-tying home run to Wilyer Abreu.

Teams talk about the value in getting a reset. Can an entire series be eligible for one?

Eflin tried to demolish the built-in excuse for a poor outing by carrying a lead into the sixth inning. The Orioles lost it, and eventually the game when Devers singled up the middle off Gregory Soto in the 10th to give the Red Sox a 6-5 walk-off victory at Fenway Park.

A three-run fifth inning appeared to fuel the Orioles’ second win in 11 games and fourth in 19, but the Red Sox scored twice in the sixth to tie the game, with Gunnar Henderson’s throwing error a big contributor. Greg Weissert tossed a scoreless 10th, with Jorge Mateo striking out to strand two after entering the game earlier as a pinch-runner.

BOSTON – The Orioles weren’t going to make it out of Boston without more roster moves.

Outfielder Ramón Laureano went on the 10-day injured list this afternoon, retroactive to Wednesday, with a sprained left ankle. Infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra had his contract selected from Triple-A Norfolk.

Laureano got his spikes caught in the turf in Milwaukee while chasing a fly ball during Tuesday’s game. The IL move is retroactive to Wednesday and it could be a quick return.

Laureano said yesterday that he was available to play, but he did some running this morning to test the ankle. The Orioles temporarily lose a player who was 11-for-21 before the injury.

The Orioles signed Laureano to a $4 million contract in February.

BOSTON – Infielder Terrin Vavra is in Boston today on the medical taxi squad. He hasn’t appeared with the Orioles this season.

Vavra is hitting .317 with a .838 OPS in 22 games with Triple-A Norfolk.

The club didn’t specify why Vavra is here, but outfielder Ramón Laureano remains out of the lineup and did some running earlier to test his left ankle.

The tarp is on the field again and rain fell earlier, but the Orioles should be able to play their split doubleheader at Fenway Park.

Zach Eflin gets the start in Game 1, with the Game 2 starter unannounced. Left-hander Trevor Rogers is a possibility as the 27^th man. Charlie Morton was expected to pitch today before last night’s rainout.

BOSTON – The Orioles had a game postponed yesterday for the fifth time this season, setting up the third of their four scheduled doubleheaders.

Life keeps getting harder for them.

They give up 13 runs in the eighth inning of Game 1, forced again to use a position player to pitch, and the tarp goes on the field less than two hours before Game 2's start time. It begins to rain, as if on cue. They’re stuck in a cramped clubhouse at “America’s most beloved ballpark,” which is a kind way of saying it’s old.

They never posted a lineup, unlike the Red Sox, who either held more confidence in the rain halting or just did it for practice. A starter wasn’t confirmed until last night, when the club announced Zach Eflin for Game 1 and TBA for Game 2. Trevor Rogers finally could get the ball as the 27^th man, but Charlie Morton also is a possibility.

The season hasn’t gotten past May and the Orioles have allowed 19-plus runs twice this season. Emmanuel Rivera became the 26^th player to pitch for them with his emergency appearance in Game 1, and Rogers could be the 27^th - seven fewer than last year’s total. The group includes two infielders and a backup catcher.

BOSTON – Interim manager Tony Mansolino had a decision to make today with two runners on base and two outs in the fifth inning. The Orioles led by a run and Seranthony Domínguez was ready in the bullpen. Trevor Story stepped to the plate, Mansolino ignored the right-left matchup by sticking with Cade Povich, and a ground ball killed the rally.

Povich was pushed to 98 pitches and exited with only one run allowed. Mansolino had no choice now except to trust his bullpen. That decision was out of his hands.

The lead slipped through the Orioles fingers and shattered.

Ceddanne Rafaela delivered a game-tying single off Domínguez in the sixth, Jarren Duran followed with an RBI single off Gregory Soto and Rafael Devers hit a three-run homer. Devers finished with eight RBIs after his grand slam off infielder Emmanuel Rivera in a 13-run, 12-hit eighth that sent the Orioles to an embarrassing 19-5 loss in Game 1 of a doubleheader at Fenway Park.

Both teams used a position player to pitch, with the Red Sox giving Abraham Toro his first career experience in the ninth. The Orioles scored twice. At times, it resembled baseball.

BOSTON – The rain has stopped in Boston and the tarp is off the field. The Orioles and Red Sox will attempt to play two games in a day-night doubleheader.

Gunnar Henderson is the designated hitter today, with Jorge Mateo playing shortstop. Jackson Holliday continues to bat leadoff.

Ryan O’Hearn is in left field to handle the Green Monster, and Heston Kjerstad is in right.

Ramón Urías is playing third base.

Trevor Rogers is the 27^th man. He'll probably start Game 2. Starters for Saturday and Sunday are now TBA.