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When a game stalled at Camden Yards on Sept. 6, 1995, the curtain calls for Cal Ripken Jr. failing to quiet fans, the only way to get it moving again was to push him.
Teammates Rafael Palmeiro and Bobby Bonilla took Ripken by the arms and led him from the bench to the front of the dugout. Palmeiro smiled and gave Ripken a gentle shove in the back, and the Iron Man headed up the first base line to begin his iconic lap around the warning track as Whitney Houston’s “One Moment in Time” provided the soundtrack over the public address system.
Nothing was scripted at that point. The Orioles were winging it.
“The thing was, he’d come out and he would tip his hat to the fans and then he would get back in the dugout,” Palmeiro recalled yesterday in a phone call after flying into Baltimore as one of the many guests for the 30th anniversary celebration.
“I remember him saying, ‘Let’s get the game going again, let’s get the game going again,’ but the fans kept asking him to come back out. I don’t know, it seemed like it took forever. And then, we were just kind of sitting there and if I remember correctly, I think I said, ‘You’ve got to do something because we’re gonna be here all night.’ And so, I don’t know what led to that, I don’t know if he got up or we pulled him up, but I don’t think it was a planned thing. We just kind of pushed him and it just happened. And he just went down the first base line.”
The Orioles filled the dugout this evening, a much larger turnout than normal about an hour before first pitch. Legends who preceded their arrivals in Baltimore came out of the tunnel one by one and walked onto the field, including some Hall of Famers. Cal Ripken Jr. was introduced and circled the warning track in a red Corvette convertible, spinning wheels allowing him to skip the jog from 30 years earlier.
The numbers 2131 hung from the warehouse again. The 1995 Orioles finished in third place in their division and missed the playoffs again. The 2025 team is in last place and also headed home after the final game. Past and present got to mingle tonight, the younger crowd captivated by the history lesson.
Little did they know that they’d almost end up on the wrong side of history and ignite their own celebration with an absolutely wild finish.
Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed a no-hitter for 8 2/3 innings before Jackson Holliday homered to right field. The Orioles loaded the bases, drew a walk and won 4-3 on Emmanuel Rivera's two-run single into center field off Tanner Scott before an announced sellout crowd of 42,612.
Yamamoto threw 112 pitches, the last a 2-1 cutter that bounced back onto the field. Jackson sped up, thinking double, and was signaled home. Yamamoto left the game to a standing ovation from Dodgers fans. He was sensational, walking two batters in the third inning and retiring 19 in a row. He got two easy outs in the ninth on a strikeout and fly ball.
The Orioles sent Dean Kremer for an MRI on his right elbow/forearm at 1:20 p.m. and could have an update on his condition following tonight’s game. Otherwise, the club will provide more information Sunday morning.
Kremer was removed last night after three scoreless and hitless innings due to forearm discomfort. Afterward, interim manager Tony Mansolino said Kremer described it as “mild” and that the club’s level of concern was “pretty low.”
Chayce McDermott is on the 24-hour medical taxi squad in case Kremer is forced onto the injured list for the first time this season. Kremer would be the 29th different player to occupy it.
McDermott switched to a short relief role with Triple-A Norfolk and allowed one run in his last 11 appearances. He worked more than one inning in only one of those games.
Prior to that stretch, McDermott was scored upon in 10 consecutive appearances after the Orioles optioned him. He allowed 37 earned runs and walked 33 batters in 35 2/3 innings.
The Orioles have brought pitcher Chayce McDermott to Baltimore and put him on the 24-hour medical taxi squad.
McDermott is here in case Dean Kremer’s forearm soreness necessitates a stay on the injured list.
Samuel Basallo is catching again tonight after his walk-off home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning – which also was his first homer at Camden Yards.
Jeremiah Jackson stays in right field, Emmanuel Rivera remains at third base and Coby Mayo stays at first base. Dylan Beavers is the left fielder.
Trevor Rogers has a 1.39 ERA, the lowest by any Orioles starter in his first 14 games. He’s allowed one run in seven innings in each of his last four outings, and one run in each of his last six.
Davey Johnson never lacked confidence or brought into question who was in charge during his tenure as a major league manager.
Asked one day in Baltimore to predict an outcome involving his team, Johnson grinned and said, “I always bet on me.” It became one of his most famous quotes.
Johnson informed the media in 1996 of his plans to shift future Hall of Famer and baseball Iron Man Cal Ripken Jr. from shortstop to third base. Ripken found out about it after reporters gathered at his locker.
The move lasted six games. Manny Alexander failed his audition, Ripken went back to short – unhappy with the way Johnson handled it but never complaining about it publicly – and the Orioles made the playoffs.
They signed shortstop Mike Bordick as a free agent over the winter, Ripken returned to third and the Orioles went wire-to-wire to win the division.
A record that the baseball world viewed as unbreakable almost stayed intact because of a brawl on June 6, 1993 at Camden Yards – two years and three months before Cal Ripken Jr. played in his 2,131st consecutive game to pass Lou Gehrig.
The delay lasted 20 minutes after benches and bullpens emptied. Orioles starter Mike Mussina hit Bill Haselman after the Mariners catcher homered earlier in the day, but the trouble really began when Seattle starter Chris Bosio threw behind Mark McLemore and Harold Reynolds. Plate umpire Durwood Merrill didn’t issue any warnings.
Tempers already were getting hot when Mussina drilled Haselman on the shoulder. Catcher Jeff Tackett chased Haselman, trying to get to him before he reached the mound. Tackett was credited with the tackle, which created a dogpile. Bosio fractured his collarbone for a second time. Bullpen coach Elrod Hendricks squared off against Tino Martinez. It was bedlam.
Seven players were ejected and suspended: Haselman, Bosio, Norm Charlton and Mackey Sasser from the Mariners, and Alan Mills, David Segui and Rick Sutcliffe from the Orioles. Mussina was spared, which led to Seattle manager Lou Piniella being tossed.
Tackett suffered a black eye and required stitches to close a gash on his cheek. Reliever Mark Williamson had a swollen, bloody nose after being slammed to the ground.
“Leading off for the Dodgers, pitcher Shohei Ohtani.”
That's where the oddities began. The Orioles prepped for the wrong Dodgers starter. Their starter left with an injury. Their rookie catcher came within a strike of sending the game to extra innings before hitting a walk-off home run that spun the night into something worth celebrating.
And boy, did they celebrate.
Samuel Basallo went left-on-left against Tanner Scott and cleared the fence in center to give the Orioles a 2-1 win over the Dodgers before an announced crowd of 25,481 at Camden Yards. The count was 1-2 when Basallo barreled a 98.7 mph fastball and drove it 433 feet at 109.3 mph. Teammates mobbed him at home plate.
"He’s gonna be a big-time hitter," said interim manager Tony Mansolino.
Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino was heading back indoors around 3:30 p.m. when he found out that the Dodgers weren’t starting Tyler Glasnow tonight at Camden Yards.
“My watch just buzzed me when I was walking in from early BP,” he said.
“I thought somebody was messing with me, but apparently not.”
No, it was true. The Dodgers scratched Glasnow with back tightness and are pushing him to early next week.
Mansolino kept the same lineup as the Orioles suddenly had to prepare for Shohei Ohtani. He was scheduled for Monday at home against the Rockies after working a season-high five innings on Aug. 27.
The Orioles went from missing Shohei Ohtani to facing him tonight to begin a three-game series against the Dodgers at Camden Yards.
Tyler Glasnow was scratched and Ohtani will make tonight’s start. He was scheduled for Monday.
Ohtani has a 4.18 ERA in 11 starts this season. He’s struck out 44 batters in 32 1/3 innings and surrendered only three home runs.
There's nothing wrong with the bat. Ohtani is hitting .279/.387/.606 with 20 doubles, eight triples, 46 home runs and 87 RBIs in 137 games.
The Orioles have faced Ohtani twice, during his time with the Angels, and scored nine runs over 12 innings.
Mike Bielecki was a local guy who needed a favor.
Bielecki grew up in Dundalk and attended Loyola College. He rooted for the Orioles as a kid and a young adult. And right there in front of him, on Sept. 6, 1995, was the chance to throw a pitch in an historic game at Camden Yards.
Cal Ripken Jr. was about to break Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games record, with the milestone becoming official after the top of the fifth inning – known simply as 2,131. The digits do all the explaining.
Bielecki was on the California Angels’ roster, two years before the team changed its name to Anaheim. They were in town to play the Orioles, and Bielecki requested that manager Marcel Lachemann use him in relief behind starter Shawn Boskie. It didn't have to be for long.
“I had pitched a few days before that,” said Bielecki, who owns a home in Lutherville with his wife and step-daughters, and two others in Ocean City and Bradenton. “That night was supposed to be my side day for a starter, and I asked my manager if there was any way possible he could let me get in the game just for one hitter. I didn’t care. Just let me throw to one hitter so I can get my name in the box score.
SAN DIEGO – The Orioles are home this weekend for a three-game series against the Dodgers that would generate a lot of buzz if standing alone. However, there’s much more happening Saturday with the club celebrating the 30th anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr. breaking Lou Gehrig’s supposedly indestructible consecutive games record.
Ripken played his 2,131st in a row Sept. 6, 1995 against the Angels at Camden Yards. In typical Ripken fashion, he homered on the nights that he tied and surpassed Gehrig.
He always rose to the occasion, an Iron Man filled with helium.
Ben McDonald made his major league debut during the “Why Not?” season in 1989, the same year that the Orioles drafted him first overall out of LSU. He appeared in 14 games in 1995, his final season with the club before signing with the Brewers as a free agent.
As an analyst on MASN broadcasts, McDonald provides a link to a distant past on a young team with players who only know what they’ve read, heard and watched on video.
SAN DIEGO – The Orioles are pulling more players off the injured list, reducing the number to 10 with a little more than three weeks left in the season.
They might need to send out the homer hose for repairs. Maybe chip in to pay the Petco Park water bill.
Jackson Holliday cleared the right-center field fence against former Orioles Rule 5 Draft pick Nestor Cortes to begin today’s game. Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo and Alex Jackson went back-to-back-to-back in the third to send Cortes to the showers, accompanied by a chorus of boos.
The Orioles cleaned up on the Padres, completing the series sweep with a 7-5 victory before an announced crowd of 35,019 at Petco Park.
A 4-2 road trip has left the Orioles with a 64-76 record as they wait for the Dodgers to arrive in Baltimore for a weekend series.
SAN DIEGO – A couple of injured Orioles are nearing their returns to the active roster this month. The injured list holds 10 players and can get down to single digits.
Consider it an accomplishment in 2025.
Infielder Jordan Westburg (ankle) is doing full baseball activities and should go on a rehab assignment next week.
Westburg hasn’t played since Aug. 18 in Boston.
“Everything is getting closer and closer,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino.
SAN DIEGO – The rest of baseball also recognizes Trevor Rogers’ brilliance on the mound.
Rogers was named the American League’s Pitcher of the Month for August, while Milwaukee’s Freddy Peralta won the honor in the National League.
Rogers is the 14th Oriole to earn the distinction and the first since Corbin Burnes last September. Erik Bedard was the last left-hander in 2007.
This is the first time that Rogers has won it.
It was fairly predictable.
SAN DIEGO – It keeps happening. In every game and every start that he makes.
Rookie Jeremiah Jackson slashed .323/.344/.484 last month in 96 plate appearances, his first in the majors. Of course, he stayed in the lineup Monday afternoon at Petro Park, shifting from third base to right field, and tied his brief-career high with three hits.
Batting second again last night, Jackson fell behind 0-2 to Yu Darvish in the first inning and pulled a sweeper into the left field seats. He’s homered in three of his last four games. And his fielder’s choice grounder in the eighth scored Dylan Beavers with an insurance run.
The Orioles won’t try to carry over his rookie status to 2026. He isn’t in any Top 100 prospect rankings. He might not break camp with the team next spring, though he’s making a solid case for it.
Jackson is in a different kind of phase as the season draws nearer to a merciful conclusion. The Orioles aren’t focused as much on exposing him to big league pitching as they are figuring out who he really is and whether he can fill a utility role next season.
SAN DIEGO – Tyler Wells waited 508 days to pitch in a major league game. He could handle another 18 minutes.
Padres starter Yu Darvish threw 30 pitches in the top of the first inning, surrendered a home run to Jeremiah Jackson, hit two batters and issued a walk. The three strikeouts extended his stay on the mound while Wells paced in the dugout.
Finally able to pick up the baseball, Wells gave the Orioles five innings with two runs allowed and had teammates waiting to slap hands and hug him after his final batter in a 6-2 victory over the Padres before an announced sellout crowd of 42,536 at Petco Park.
Jackson has homered in back-to-back games and three of the last four. Emmanuel Rivera delivered two-out, two-run singles in the third and fifth innings to tie his career high in RBIs.
The Orioles claimed the series after dropping three in a row, improved their record to 63-76 and made certain that they wouldn’t lose 100 games.
SAN DIEGO – Jeremiah Jackson is in right field again tonight and Dylan Beavers is in left, as the Orioles try to clinch their series against the Padres following last night’s 4-3 win.
Beavers has reached base safely 25 times to begin his career, tied with Glenn Gulliver (1982) for second most in franchise history through the first 15 games behind Curtis Goodwin’s 26 in 1995.
Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter and cleanup hitter. Coby Mayo is starting at first base and batting ninth.
Emmanuel Rivera gets another start at third base. Samuel Basallo is catching Tyler Wells.
Jorge Mateo is on the roster and the bench. He wasn’t in the clubhouse during media access.
SAN DIEGO - Before the Orioles could hand Tyler Wells the ball tonight, they had to reinstate him from the 60-day injured list and do some roster maneuvering.
They also returned infielder/outfielder Jorge Mateo from his rehab assignment and reinstated him from the 60-day IL, a little earlier than they indicated yesterday. He’s also back.
Catcher Maverick Handley was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after spending one day with the team. Pitchers Corbin Martin and Elvin Rodríguez were designated for assignment. Martin was with the Orioles, and his exit frees up another spot on the 28-man roster.
The 40-man roster is full.
Mateo hasn’t played in the majors since June 6 due to elbow and hamstring injuries. He’s batting .180/.231/.279 with 14 steals in 15 attempts over 31 games.
DUNEDIN, Fla. – Bruce Zimmermann will head to minor league spring training and jump into Triple-A Norfolk’s rotation.
The Orioles optioned Zimmermann this morning after he allowed three earned runs and 12 hits in 7 2/3 innings. His 3.52 ERA was paired with a 1.957 WHIP.
“We need rotation depth and so he’s going to be in the Norfolk rotation to start the year,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “It’s going to take more than five guys. He threw the ball well this spring, but we’re going to start the year with him in Triple-A and continue to build him up as a starter.”
Prospects Cade Povich, Chayce McDermott and Justin Armbruester are expected to join Zimmermann. Albert Suárez could occupy another spot if he doesn’t break camp with the Orioles.
Seth Johnson probably will be assigned to Double-A Bowie. He’s made only one career appearance above High-A.
SAN DIEGO – Tyler Wells would have traveled anywhere to finally pitch in a major league game again. The schedule didn’t matter. He waited 17 months. Just hand him the ball and get out of his way.
But if Wells could concoct the ideal scenario, tonight’s comeback start against the Padres at Petco Park might be it.
“You know,” he said, “getting to do it here in Southern California where a lot of my family lives, having my wife (Melissa) and daughter (Ava Faye) with us now, too, it’s pretty special.”
Wells underwent reconstructive elbow surgery in June 2024 and being a new father was a joyous distraction for him. He’d rehab at the Sarasota complex and go home to Melissa and their baby, who arrived in March.
“I mean, I’m just super excited and thankful,” he said. “During this whole process, with her being born and obviously the relationship that me and my wife have continued to grow, it’s just I think a testament to not just the work that I was able to put in the training room and on the field, but also away from the game. It just makes it that much more special.
