The unsettled status of the Orioles’ rotation broadened yesterday with Zach Eflin’s lower back tightness and disappearance after only one inning. The series against the Rays concludes today with Dean Kremer starting, and the current roster has Trevor Rogers, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano lined up for the Rangers series in Arlington.

Eflin’s availability for his next start is up in the air, and likely to land before Jonathan Aranda’s home run ball. His turn arrives on the off-day and he could pitch Friday night in Atlanta if healthy. A trip to the injured list, and it’s premature to speculate, could return Brandon Young to the majors. He must stay down a minimum 15 days unless replacing an injured player.

Off-days Thursday and July 7 could prompt the Orioles to stick with a temporary four-man arrangement.

The next call isn’t going to left-hander Cade Povich.

Povich is eligible to return on Tuesday but the Orioles want to give him more work on his injury rehab assignment. He started for Triple-A Norfolk Thursday and allowed three earned runs and five total with seven hits, one walk and three strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. He threw 75 pitches

Zach Eflin’s attempts at a bounce back started with a thud.

Tampa Bay leadoff hitter Josh Lowe doubled in the first inning and chugged home on Brandon Lowe’s single. The throw enabled the runner to move into scoring position, but it didn’t matter.  Jonathan Aranda homered with one out, Junior Caminero and Jake Mangum singled, and a fielder’s choice gave the Rays a quick four-run lead.

The Orioles didn’t have another comeback at the ready. They didn’t have Eflin by the second inning.

Eflin threw 28 pitches and came out of the game with lower back tightness, replaced by Scott Blewett in an 11-3 loss to the Rays before an announced crowd of 30,491 at sunny Camden Yards.

Ramón Laureano hit his 10^th home run in the ninth after Coby Mayo singled, but quiet bats had influenced the outcome. 

The Orioles are hoping that they have more runs in the tank today after scoring 22 last night, which fell one short of the franchise record.

Jordan Westburg is out of the lineup after reinjuring his left index finger last night on a dive into second base. X-rays were negative for a fracture.

Needing another infielder while Westburg is day-to-day, the Orioles selected Emmanuel Rivera’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk, optioned outfielder Dylan Carlson and designated pitcher Kyle Tyler for assignment.

Carlson is batting .241/.278/.389 in 40 games. Rivera is hitting .232/.303/.275 in 25 games with the Orioles.

Tyler was selected on waivers from the Phillies on June 15. He made two relief appearances with Norfolk and allowed one earned run and two total with six hits in four innings.

NEW YORK -  Less than 24 hours after plotting how to navigate the many bullpen restrictions in a regulation game, Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino stood in the visiting dugout at Yankee Stadium and watched Zach Eflin throw 30 pitches in the first inning.

Only one run scored on Trent Grisham’s homer, but it’s become an exercise in this series that Mansolino would rather sit out.

Eflin threw 29 more in the second and surrendered two second-deck home runs. By the conclusion of the third, Eflin’s pitch count had risen to 90 and the Orioles were barreling toward a 9-0 loss to the Yankees before an announced sellout crowd of 46,142.

Clarke Schmidt no-hit them for seven innings, his removal coming after 103 pitches. He walked two batters in the first and nailed Ryan O’Hearn in the fourth. JT Brubaker entered in the eighth inning, his first major league appearance since 2022, and former Yankee Gary Sánchez led off with a full-count single at 103.2 mph for the Orioles' lone hit.

The Orioles have been no-hit seven times, the most recent by the Mariners’ Hisashi Iwakuma on Aug. 12, 2015 in Seattle. Today would have marked the first combined effort for both teams. Instead, the Orioles settled for being shut out for the seventh time this season.

TAMPA – The Rays and Orioles entered play tonight as two of the hotter teams in baseball. The Florida heat only added to their rising temperatures. 

Tampa Bay had won 18 of their last 25 and were on the heels of a three-game sweep of the New York Mets. The Orioles went 15-10 over that same stretch, 11-4 in their last 15, and were fresh off a three-game sweep of the Angels. 

Something had to give. 

Tonight, it was the O’s starting pitching that gave in a 7-1 loss. The pillar of their recent stretch of success was anything but. 

Tampa Bay struck early and they struck often. On Zach Eflin’s fourth pitch of the game, Josh Lowe skied a ball to right field that found some outfield seats. At 334 feet with a 97.9 mph exit velocity, it was hit just well enough to get out of the ballpark. 

Left-hander Cade Povich, who tossed 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief yesterday in a bulk role behind opener Scott Blewett, won’t pitch for at least 15 days.

The Orioles put Povich on the injured list this afternoon with left hip inflammation and recalled reliever Colin Selby from Triple-A Norfolk.

Povich has a 5.15 ERA in 13 games, including 12 starts. He retired 10 batters in a row yesterday and didn’t show any signs of an injury.

Asked whether pitching in relief instead of starting helped him mentally, Povich replied, “Maybe. I think I was a little amped up. I think my velo was a little higher today. I think I was letting it eat a little early.”

Selby has allowed two runs in 3 2/3 innings and struck out five batters with the Orioles over three appearances. He has a 3.24 ERA in 16 games with Norfolk.

Ramón Urías will find it harder to get into the Orioles’ lineup as more healthy players filter back from the injured list. Jordan Westburg probably will start at third base on most nights. Jackson Holliday is practically locked into second base.

There will be exceptions, of course, like Westburg serving as the designated hitter tonight and Urías occupying the bottom of the order. Interim manager Tony Mansolino won’t bury him. And they showed in loud fashion that they can co-exist.

“Urie will get plenty of time and at-bats,” Mansolino said Tuesday afternoon, “and it will be a really good role for him going forward, too.”

Zach Eflin doesn’t know if he’ll be with the club past the trade deadline. Pending free agents are likely on the table if the Orioles are defined sellers. But Urías and Eflin are living in the present and they were major contributors to a 10-1 win over the Tigers at Camden Yards.

Eflin held the Tigers to one run in 6 2/3 innings, and Urías gave him a lead in the third with a two-run homer. The Orioles put the game out of reach with a seven-run eighth that included Westburg’s second homer in two nights, a three-run shot off Beau Briske.

Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said he’s “hopeful” that Grayson Rodriguez pitches this season, which must suffice as the latest update on the projected No. 2 starter.

Information on Rodriguez isn’t plentiful. The right-hander hasn’t talked to the local media since a March exhibition game in Fort Myers.

Rodriguez is going through a throwing progression and he’s doing “great,” according to Mansolino. Rodriguez hasn’t made a major league appearance since July 31 due to a right lat/teres strain that kept him out of the Wild Card series. He went on the 15-day injured list in spring training with discomfort in his elbow/triceps area but was moved to the 60-day IL with another right lat strain.

“He’s progressing as expected right now,” Mansolino added. “It’s not something we want to put deadlines on by any means. … There’s not always an exact script for every individual injury. We have human beings involved, so we’re very careful. And I know it probably frustrates you guys at times, but we’re very careful of not trying to set expectations through the media, but we also don’t do it privately.

“It’s not something we’re saying like, ‘You’ve got to be ready by this day.’ There’s usually kind of a list of options with some of these guys coming up and if they hit these checkpoints and it goes well. (Colton) Cowser probably expedited his process maybe by a day because he hit the checkpoints quicker, and there’s other scenarios of maybe it lasting a day longer. So we’re trying not to put too much pressure on these guys. I think that’s fair, right? It’s not a public thing. It's just dealing with injured players and understanding that we probably don’t know how every injury is going to heal.”

Rodriguez’s throwing is assumed to be on flat ground, but that information isn’t readily available.

“The exact specifics I can’t get into,” Mansolino said, “but he’s throwing, he’s progressing as expected.”

Even the injury has led to some confusion, with the lat listed as the reason for the 60-day stint.

“He probably needs to speak to that specifically,” Mansolino said. “I don’t feel comfortable answering that question. But I would say he never fully came back from the elbow, so it’s probably something, even if it is healed fully, which is might be, I’m sure it’s something that we’re conscious of as he builds himself back up to being a major league pitcher.”

Charlie Morton stays in the rotation and makes a start in the weekend series against the Angels at Camden Yards. No move back to the bullpen.

Infielder Luis Vázquez is waiting to make his Orioles debut after having his contract selected yesterday. He appeared in 11 games with the Cubs last summer and went 1-for-12.

Vázquez hit .280/.345/.447 in 37 games with Norfolk to position himself for a promotion. He first got noticed in spring training with a 325 average, 10 RBIs and .788 OPS in 21 games.

“I feel like I was able to make a really good impression during spring, which I think matters a lot, and I think thanks to that, I’m able to be here now,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones.

“Everyone knows that this is what I wanted. I’ve been playing the way I want to, and being up here in the big leagues is what I wanted, so I feel like I’ve been able to do just that and play really well.”

Former Orioles infielder Ryan Flaherty, now the Cubs' bench coach, phoned Mansolino and offered a strong endorsement of Vázquez. The Orioles acquired the infielder for cash considerations over the winter.

Flaherty “told me this might be the greatest shortstop he’s ever seen in person,” Mansolino recalled. “So coming into spring training, I trust Ryan and what he says, and what I saw was a really good shortstop. A really good defender. Talented, gifted, comfortable with the glove on his hand. A guy that probably hasn’t hit a ton in the minor leagues coming into this, but you look at his Norfolk numbers and the reports coming from Feddy (manager Tim Federowicz) down in Norfolk and kind of what he’s saying about him, there’s a lot to like.”

The Orioles signed left-hander Sayer Diederich, 24, to a minor league contract, according to their transactions page. He pitched in 2024 for the independent Billings Mustangs and hadn’t been with an affiliated team.

Ryan O’Hearn is at first base tonight against Tigers right-hander Casey Mize. Jordan Westburg is the designated hitter, Cedric Mullins is in center field and Colton Cowser moves to left.

For the Orioles

Jackson Holliday 2B
Adley Rutschman C
Gunnar Henderson SS
Ryan O’Hearn 1B
Jordan Westburg DH
Colton Cowser LF
Ramón Laureano RF
Cedric Mullins CF
Ramón Urías 3B

Zach Eflin RHP

For the Tigers

Parker Meadows CF
Gleyber Torres 2B
Kerry Carpenter DH
Riley Greene LF
Spencer Torkelson 1B
Wenceel Pérez RF
Colt Keith 3B
Jake Rogers C
Zach McKinstry SS

Casey Mize RHP

The Orioles are renovating and relocating the Jim Henneman Press Box for the 2026 season, using the current space for a new premium club section behind home plate.

The club section will accommodate a capacity of 380 members as part of the upgrades to Camden Yards set in motion since the Orioles reached agreement with the Maryland Stadium Authority on a new lease.

The MSA approved a $600 million bond program to that will be used for additional improvements. Other renovations on the horizon include an improved sound system, larger scoreboard and video board, and new control room.

The team’s press release today details perks of the club section and describes it as an immersive indoor-outdoor experience that will feature “the best views in Oriole Park and include VIP parking, a private entrance, and a rotating upscale menu and beverage program.”

Construction is scheduled to begin following the 2025 season and will be operational for 2026. Fans can follow along with all the ballpark renovations at Orioles.com/OrioleParkUpgrades, and the Orioles encourage them to sign up to be on the priority list at Orioles.com/premiumclub.

SEATTLE – The Orioles flew to California after yesterday’s game against the Mariners, invigorated by the sweet smell of success on an undefeated road trip and after winning nine of their last 11 games, finally able to enjoy playing baseball again.

The music was cranked after Wednesday night’s thrilling 3-2 victory over the Mariners and a few players groaned when the media needed the volume level turned down to conduct its interviews. Nothing against us, of course, but don’t crash a party and mute the vibe.

“Vibe” is becoming a popular word around this team, perhaps more so than “process.” Heston Kjerstad produced a two-run, go-ahead triple on the field and a different description of the mood at his locker.

"Definitely won a lot more the past two seasons,” he said, “and I think we’re kind of getting back our mojo here the past week winning more games and just playing better baseball.”

Kjerstad always is cooperative but he’s smiling a lot more lately after collecting his fourth hit in three games – three for extra bases. Adley Rutschman kept the smile on his face throughout his four-minute interview, whether the subject was his home run, the team’s hot stretch, playing in front of family and friends from Oregon, or the toe-tap that is or isn’t part of his timing mechanism at the plate.

SEATTLE – Dylan Carlson drifted back for a fly ball today in the first inning and bumped against the fence as he reached over his head for it. The earlier version of the Orioles would have watched it deflect off Carlson and roll away for an extra-base hit as the runner scored from second base. The Orioles who suddenly can’t lose a game secured the final out, with Carlson making the catch despite the jarring contact.

The first run today was produced by the Orioles in the third inning on a leadoff walk to the No. 9 hitter and two wild pitches.

Everything seems to be going right these days, with breaks also caught. No one knows where this turnaround will lead, but it’s gotten a whole lot more interesting.

Adley Rutschman hit a game-tying two-run homer off Bryan Woo in the sixth inning and Gunnar Henderson followed with a go-ahead shot to give the Orioles a 4-3 victory over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

The Orioles (25-36) have won six in a row and nine of 11 and have swept back-to-back series for the first time since July 7-16, 2023 against the Twins and Marlins. They were 16-34 on May 24 but have moved 11 games below .500 for the first time since May 14.

SEATTLE – The Orioles will go for back-to-back series sweeps today and run their winning streak to six straight games with Colton Cowser getting a rest day and Jorge Mateo playing center field.

Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter. Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base, with Coby Mayo on the bench.

Heston Kjerstad gets another start in right field. Emmanuel Rivera is at third base.

Zach Eflin has a 4.46 ERA and 1.091 WHIP in 40 1/3 innings. He shut out the White Sox over seven innings in his last outing after surrendering seven home runs in the previous two.

Eflin has never pitched in Seattle.

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.

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 didn’t play yesterday and got some good news. Colton Cowser had his injury rehab assignment transferred to Triple-A Norfolk, led off and played center field yesterday in Game 1 of a doubleheader after back-to-back rainouts, and finished with three doubles, an RBI and a run scored. Jordan Westburg began his rehab assignment, batted behind Cowser as the designated hitter and had an RBI single and walk.

Cowser is eligible to be reinstated from the 60-day IL today and he’s played in four games, the first three with High-A Aberdeen. The Orioles must decide whether that’s enough. Westburg was eligible on May 7, but the left hamstring hadn’t healed and his assignment was delayed.

Bringing back important players is a much-needed shot in the arm because the roster is riddled with holes. Ramón Laureano, Tyler O’Neill and Gary Sánchez will be next in some order. Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells are plowing through their bullpen progressions, making them expected contributors after the break.

The unfortunate development for the Orioles and their fans is the 19-36 record, 16-game separation from the first-place Yankees and 11-game separation in the Wild Card chase. Is it too late?

They lost two “winnable” games against the Cardinals, going a combined 4-for-31 with runners in scoring position, but the White Sox are in town this weekend.

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.

Tony Mansolino stood on the top step of the Orioles’ dugout this afternoon with his arms folded. He extended them while leaning against the railing with his fingers locked. He pulled out a card from his back pocket. He did all of it within about a minute in the top of the second inning, while another game got away from the team he now manages.

Like his players, he couldn't get comfortable.

The Nationals hit four homers off Zach Eflin on four different pitches in 1 1/3 innings to tie his career high. They hung seven runs on the board through the second. And they became the latest opponent to sweep the Orioles with a 10-4 victory before an announced crowd of 37,264 at Camden Yards.

The loss is the sixth in a row for the Orioles, 12^th in 14 games and 19^th in 25 to lower their record to 15-30. They didn’t lose their 30^th game last year until June 25.

"I don’t think there’s really any words I can tell you," Eflin said. "It’s frustrating, it sucks. Losing is not fun by any means. We’re not necessarily having fun right now. We want to go out and win every single game that we play, and it’s just not happening right now. Don’t really have much more to elaborate on that."

Outfielder Tyler O’Neill is back on the injured list, this time with a left shoulder impingement.

The Orioles recalled outfielder Dylan Carlson to replace O’Neill, who was out previously with inflammation in his neck.

O’Neill is batting .188/.280/.325 with three doubles, a triple and two home runs in 24 games. He hasn’t played since Thursday and was scratched from Friday’s lineup.

This is O'Neill's 16th career trip to the IL.

Carlson is recalled for the third time, the last two for O’Neill. He was on the taxi squad this weekend. He’s 0-for-15 with eight strikeouts.

A 2-4 road trip through Minneapolis and Anaheim isn’t cause for celebration. Lockers weren’t covered in plastic yesterday. And to be clear, last-place teams don’t have soft spots in their schedules, especially one with a worse record than the opponent.

However, Zach Eflin’s return to the rotation, Cedric Mullins’ emergence from a slump and Gunnar Henderson wearing a pirate hat while drinking from the homer hose created a more festive mood for the Orioles heading into the off-day and return home.

Being swept at Target Field felt like a death blow, though it’s only May, but the Orioles claimed two of three against the Angels and won their first Sunday game. They improved to 3-9 against left-handed starters.

“Gotta start somewhere,” manager Brandon Hyde said in his media scrum.

“Today was a good day." 

ANAHEIM – The Orioles needed a bounceback in the worst way. 

After being swept in three games in Minnesota, the Birds flew to Anaheim in search of answers. Perhaps they found some in a 7-3 victory that wrapped up a series win. 

The sun was shining brightly on a beautiful Mother’s Day in Anaheim. It was a bit too bright, perhaps, for Taylor Ward. 

Gunnar Henderson led off the game with a left-on-left double into the right-center field gap. A few batters later, it appeared as if the O’s had stranded another runner in scoring position when Adley Rutschman flew a ball with a 99 percent catch probability to left. Instead, Ward lost the ball in the Sunday sun and it dropped safely onto the outfield grass for a Rutschman triple. Henderson scored, and the Birds had given Zach Eflin an early 1-0 lead. 

That advantage quickly dissipated.