NEW YORK – This is it.

The 162^nd game will be played later this afternoon, with more first-pitch swinging if one team didn’t need the win. The Yankees are fighting for the division title, still tied with the Blue Jays. The Orioles made their travel plans and are set to scatter.

Fire the starting pistol and watch them go.

The Orioles probably need a general manager with Mike Elias’ promotion to president of baseball operations. They need to decide on a manager, which could impact the entire coaching staff. They need pitching and bats. And they need to search for silver linings in a season with 86 losses heading into today.

There must be knowledge gained from it.

NEW YORK – Tomoyuki Sugano’s future is up in the air with free agency approaching for the first time in the U.S.

Fewer fly balls might prolong his career, wherever he’s pitching next year.

Sugano surrendered three more home runs today and they came in the first two innings. Aaron Judge hit his 53^rd, Giancarlo Stanton his 24^th and third in two games, and Ryan McMahon his 20^th. No one has allowed more in the American League.

The solo shots led the Yankees to a 6-1 victory over the Orioles before an announced sellout crowd of 46,085 in the penultimate game of the regular season.

The Orioles are 75-86 and assured of a last-place finish in the division. They can’t nudge the Rays out of fourth place.

NEW YORK – Dean Kremer made his final start of the season on Tuesday.

He might not be done pitching.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino said there’s a chance that Kremer is used out of the bullpen for Sunday’s finale. He’s pitched twice in relief out of 125 major league games, including seven bulk innings on June 12 against the Tigers.

“He’s been advocating to come out of the bullpen between starts from Day One, so yes, he’s advocating and we’ll see,” Mansolino said.

“There’s a day tomorrow, right? Isn’t tomorrow on turn for him? We’ll see how it goes. Depends if he’s pleasant to be around today or not.”

NEW YORK – The latest bullpen change for the Orioles came this morning with left-hander Grant Wolfram recalled from Triple-A Norfolk and left-hander Dietrich Enns going on the paternity list.

Wolfram has a 4.85 ERA and 1.769 WHIP in 20 appearances.

Ryan Mountcastle is out of the lineup again today. Coby Mayo is playing first base and Tyler O’Neill is the designated hitter.

Dylan Beavers is playing left field and Jeremiah Jackson is in right. Samuel Basallo is catching, which puts Adley Rutschman on the bench after he was behind the plate last night.

Tomoyuki Sugano makes the final start of his U.S. rookie season after posting a 4.54 ERA and 1.336 WHIP in 29 games. He avoided the injured list, which made him an exception on the 2025 Orioles.

Plotting an offseason strategy to improve the roster and the Orioles’ chances of reaching the playoffs in 2026 requires a deep-dive into the weaknesses that must be addressed and an accurate measurement of payroll flexibility.

Contending comes at a cost.

The trade deadline, free agency and Félix Bautista’s shoulder surgery created openings across the board - in the rotation, bullpen, infield and outfield. The Orioles have room for Jorge Mateo and a need for a utility-type player with elite speed, but he might be running out of time.

Mateo is coming off back-to-back, injury-shortened seasons, appearing in only 68 games in 2024 before undergoing reconstructive elbow surgery and 40 this summer due to elbow inflammation and a hamstring strain that he sustained on his rehab assignment.

The Orioles added Mateo to their expanded September roster, but he’s started only four times – three since Wednesday against left-handers, and received 15 at-bats. He went 0-for-3 with a strikeout last night, is hitting .184/.225/.276 and owed $5.5 million next season.

The punishment that Tomoyuki Sugano absorbed tonight in the first inning looked a lot worse on the scoreboard than on the field.

Still counts, though.

Aaron Judge poked a two-out single into right-center field at 88.2 mph, and Cody Bellinger followed with a looping single to right at 68.5. Giancarlo Stanton lined a sweeper the opposite way, the ball carrying only 358 feet but reaching the first row of fans above the out-of-town scoreboard.

The sequence didn’t seem alarming but it set the tone, with the Orioles losing to the Yankees 6-1 before an announced crowd of 37,675 at Camden Yards and guaranteeing a sub-.500 finish to the season.

Judge hit his 49^th home run leading off the third, a full-count sweeper – the eighth pitch of the at-bat – staying fair down the left field line at 112.2 mph and landing deep in the lower section. That one was loud.

The Orioles claimed right-hander Dom Hamel on waivers today from the Mets and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. The 40-man roster is full.

Hamel, 26, was a third-round draft pick in 2021 out of Dallas Baptist University. His only major league appearance came on Wednesday against the Padres and he tossed a scoreless inning with three hits allowed and a hit batter.

Hamel made 31 appearances (11 starts) with Triple-A Syracuse and posted a 5.32 ERA and 1.330 WHIP. He struck out 75 batters in 67 2/3 innings.

Alex Jackson is catching tonight in a mostly right-handed lineup. Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter. Jorge Mateo gets another start in center field, which moves Colton Cowser to the bench.

Tomoyuki Sugano makes his 29^th start. His ERA is down to 4.39 in 149 2/3 innings after holding the Blue Jays to one run in six frames in Toronto.

Center fielder Slater de Brun, chosen by the Orioles with the 37^th overall pick in this year’s draft, draws comparisons to Arizona’s two-time All-Star Corbin Carroll based on his tools and stature.

There’s also got to be a musical comp for de Brun, who’s a duel threat as a baseball player and musician/producer.

The 5-foot-10 de Brun carries big aspirations on and off the field. He goes by “Lil Slayyy” when he’s in music mode, putting out country singles like “Break My Heart” and “Find Me a Bar” – the irony, of course, being that he’s too young to get served.

“Music is like an outlet for me, it’s a creative outlet for me, and it helps me get my thoughts not on paper but out of my head,” he said last week at Camden Yards. “Also, I like when people listen to my music because it shows that I’m like a vulnerable person. I’m not just a baseball player but I’m more than that. So I think it probably brings more people around me, I would hope, and that’s why I like music.

“We have time on our hands right now in the afternoons in Sarasota, so there’s a lot of extra time in professional baseball and you’ve got to fill that doing productive things, and for me, that’s a very productive thing.”

TORONTO – On a given day in 2024, you never knew what you would see from Albert Suárez. 

On May 22 of last year, he tossed two-thirds of an inning against the Cardinals in high-leverage bullpen work. Three days later, he started against the White Sox, tossing four scoreless. 

It was the same story later that season. To kick off August, the right-hander came out of the bullpen for an inning and two-thirds only to follow it up with five shutout innings with six strikeouts against the Toronto Blue Jays. 

That’s exactly what the O’s are hoping for out of Suárez this afternoon, who starts in Toronto after appearing in the 10th inning in his last outing. 

“If you get him up to five, I think you’re probably doing a pretty good job right there,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said of Suárez’s upcoming outing. “I think he got up to five in one of his rehab starts. That’s a while ago. He hasn’t built up that high. I think here with us, probably, three innings is what he’s got. Albert has a tendency to be efficient at times and he can get some outs quick. If all goes well and he gets to the fifth, that would be great. If something went crazy and somehow he got into the sixth, it would be incredible.” 

TORONTO – For the last few weeks, the Orioles had been the ones doing the walkoffs. 

In fact, Baltimore had won four consecutive games in that fashion back at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. 

This afternoon in Toronto, though, Baltimore was on the other side of things in a 5-4 loss. 

The Gatorade was far less cold.

Alejandro Kirk was the hero for the Blue Jays with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth as Toronto stormed back with four runs in the final two innings of play. 

TORONTO – The legacy of three active pitchers in Major League Baseball towers above the rest. 

Between them, they have combined for nine Cy Young awards and two Most Valuable Player awards, the last pitchers not named Shohei Ohtani to win that honor since Dennis Eckersley in 1992. 

They’re the only active pitchers in the game with over 200 career wins. They’re also the only trio to each accumulate over 3,000 strikeouts over their Hall of Fame careers. 

Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer have another thing in common, too: They’re the last three starters to oppose Tomoyuki Sugano. 

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Sugano is set to become the second pitcher in O’s history to face a 200-game winner in three consecutive outings, joining Dave Schmidt in 1987, who faced Bert Blyleven twice and Joe Niekro. So, Sugano will actually become the first Oriole to face three different 200-game winners consecutively. 

Dylan Beavers moves up to second in the Orioles’ lineup today, the first time he’s hit higher than fifth in the majors. He’s in right field, with Jeremiah Jackson on the bench.

Tyler O’Neill is the designated hitter again and is batting cleanup. Coby Mayo returns to the lineup at first base and is batting ninth.

Samuel Basallo is catching. Dylan Carlson is in left field and Emmanuel Rivera is at third base again.

Tomoyuki Sugano takes his turn today after leaving his last start with a sore right foot. He was hit by a sharp one-hopper and limped to the dugout.

Two of his first three starts in the U.S. came against the Blue Jays. He allowed two runs in four innings in his debut in Toronto and three runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 at Camden Yards.

Catcher Samuel Basallo has returned to the Orioles lineup tonight after being struck on the right hand by a bunted ball Saturday night against the Dodgers.

Jeremiah Jackson is in right field again and batting second. Emmanuel Rivera stays at third base, Dylan Beavers is in left field and Coby Mayo is the first baseman.

Ryan Mountcastle serves again as designated hitter and is batting fourth.

Tomoyuki Sugano and Dean Kremer played catch today and are expected to stay on the active roster. Sugano was hit on the right foot by a one-hopper Sunday afternoon and Kremer exited his start Friday night with right forearm discomfort. Kremer’s start will be skipped, but Sugano could proceed uninterrupted.

“It didn’t get as swollen as much as I expected, and I’m ready for my next start,” Sugano said via interpreter Yuto Sakurai. “We’ll see how I move around today, but as of now, I don’t think it’ll have any affect.”

Tony Mansolino walked into the auxiliary clubhouse that serves as the media interview room at Camden Yards, sat behind a table covered in a black cloth, pushing back the microphone as he always does, and waited for the first question.

A reporter asked for an injury update.

This could have happened just about any day, pregame or postgame, during the 2025 season. The scene is so old, MASN should air it in black and white.

Mansolino usually reacts to an inquiry but at times will beat the media to the health punch, as he did Saturday while standing outside the clubhouse. The Orioles were using the usual space for their 2,131 celebration guests, but the drill stayed the same.

“I’ve got your guys’ favorite,” Mansolino said. “I’ve got injury updates to start.”

The Orioles ran out of magic today.

They were no-hit for 3 2/3 innings. Another player left with an injury. There’s only so much adversity that a team can scale in one weekend.

Tomoyuki Sugano limped off the mound in the top of the fourth inning after Hyesong Kim’s 96 mph one-hopper struck his right foot, and the Orioles followed one of the most thrilling wins in franchise history with a 5-2 loss to the Dodgers before an announced crowd of 27,874 at Camden Yards.

Shohei Ohtani hit solo home runs in the first and third innings, giving him 24 career multis and 12 this season to tie the club record set by Mookie Betts in 2023. Ohtani and Betts went back-to-back in the third, and the Orioles (66-77) lost for the first time in their last six games.

They tried to rally, scoring twice in the sixth and forcing the Dodgers to remove future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw and trust a bullpen that’s imploded over the weekend. They widened the margin for mayhem against Rico Garcia in the top of the ninth on Betts’ RBI single off the left field wall, and left-hander Jack Dreyer recorded the save. 

SAN FRANCISCO – The first batter that Tomoyuki Sugano faced today was denied a hit on Colton Cowser’s sensational diving catch of a sinking line drive. The second batter found the solution by launching a fastball over Cowser’s head and the center field fence.

Rafael Devers gave the Giants an early lead and the Orioles unraveled in the fourth in a 13-2 loss before an announced crowd of 39,220 at Oracle Park.

The Orioles followed a 1-7 homestand by going 1-2 in San Francisco to leave their record at 61-76. They fly to San Diego for another three-game series.

Catcher Alex Jackson made his pitching debut in the eighth, walked the first two batters and allowed three runs. Third base coach Matt Williams held runners in an attempt to limit the embarrassment.

That horse already left the barn, but the gesture was appreciated.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Orioles go for the series win this afternoon after prevailing yesterday for the second time in 10 games.

Gunnar Henderson is the designated hitter and Luis Vázquez is the shortstop. Dylan Beavers is in right field and Daniel Johnson starts in left. Ryan Mountcastle is at first base.

Tomoyuki Sugano get the start, his 26^th, to close out the month. The Orioles are 11-16 in August.

Sugano, 35, has 10 victories and is on pace to be the oldest rookie in major league history to lead his team in wins. Jim Turner holds the record with 20 in 1937 at 34 years and 58 days, per STATS.

Samuel Basallo, who’s behind the plate today, is the third-youngest catcher to homer at 21 years and 17 days. The Rangers’ Iván Rodríguez is first at 19 years and 273 days, and the Mets’ Francisco Alvarez is second at 20 years and 319 days.

Tomoyuki Sugano didn’t allow a run today while he was on the mound and the Orioles kept manufacturing them.

They were able to control everything except the weather.

Sugano shut out the Mariners over 5 1/3 innings before a series of storms forced a stoppage that lasted 2 hours and 18 minutes in the Orioles’ 5-3 victory before an announced crowd of 14,083 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles are 55-66 overall and 7-14 in rubber games. They went 5-1 against the Mariners and are 13-5 since the beginning of 2023.

The 5-0 lead in the fifth inning represented the most runs scored since Aug. 6 in Philadelphia. They came on a wild pitch, double steal, single, double and sacrifice fly.

Tomoyuki Sugano became the latest Orioles pitcher tonight to face the same team in back-to-back starts. Dean Kremer did it against the Astros and went from tossing seven scoreless innings in Houston to allowing three home runs in the first inning at Camden Yards.

Kremer is a member of the two-timers club, also making consecutive appearances against the Twins in May and producing worse results in the rematch.

"That’s one of the scheduling challenges everyone has to face," he said over the weekend.

Sugano experienced it and was burned twice by the long ball in the Orioles’ 4-3 loss to the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 15,740 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles couldn’t convert leadoff doubles in the seventh and eighth innings and fell to 60-71.

The Orioles probably will wait until Wednesday morning to announce that night’s starter against the Red Sox. However, they confirmed earlier today that Kyle Bradish is getting the ball Tuesday night in his return from ligament-reconstructive surgery.

Bradish completed his rehab assignment, which lasted six appearances, and finally makes his return from his procedure in June 2024.

“It’s exciting,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “Obviously, he’s been miserable not being able to help us this year. Been very miserable, kind of watching this thing and how it’s gone, and he finally gets a chance to help. But just really excited, too, for (head athletic trainer) Scott Barringer and (head strength and conditioning coach) Trey Wiedman, our strength staff, (pitching coach) Drew French, all the people. It’s such a hands-on … and there’s so much work that goes into getting guys back from these Tommy John rehabs, among the other injuries. It’s an organizational win getting him out there tomorrow.”

Expectations will be kept at a reasonable level with Bradish returning from such a long layoff to face major league hitters.

“Guys coming back from Tommy John, we just saw (Shane) Bieber I think in Toronto have a nice one, a really good one, and that’s probably the type of profile that Kyle has in a lot of ways,” Mansolino said. “We’ve seen guys of that high of a profile have clunkers, too, the first couple times, but eventually they get going. And I think over time we’ll see Kyle get back to being Kyle.”