As the industry perception builds that the Orioles will be sellers at the trade deadline, their bullpen is attracting the expected interest.

The collective stats aren’t impressive, but woven in are numbers from position players Gary Sánchez, Emmanuel Rivera, Jorge Mateo and Luis Vázquez. The first three combined to allow 17 runs in three emergency innings. Vázquez tossed a scoreless inning last Saturday.

Catcher Jacob Stallings, signed to a major league contract on Tuesday and sent to Triple-A Norfolk, has made nine career relief appearances and allowed five runs in 11 innings. But he’s in the organization to fill a need behind the plate, not on the mound.

Pending free agents Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto are obvious targets due to their contracts and past production. Domínguez retired the side in order last night in the sixth and extended his streak to 14 appearances in a row without an earned run allowed. An automatic runner scored against him in the 10^th inning Tuesday against the Rangers.

Domínguez has let only one of 20 inherited runners score. Mark Thurmond holds the single-season franchise record of 10.5 percent scoring in 1988. Domínguez’s five percent is second on the club this year behind Keegan Akin’s 4.2.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Nationals may not have played a sloppier game all season. Tonight’s series opener against the Angels included defensive mistakes, baserunning gaffes and poor starting pitching.

So how was it the Nats were the ones celebrating at the center of the diamond at the end of a wacky, 15-9 victory at Angel Stadium? Because on a night in which they did so many things wrong, they also enjoyed their best offensive performance in four years and got just enough quality work from the back of their bullpen to pull off an escape act.

They easily established new season highs in runs (15) and hits (19). They scored in seven of their nine offensive innings, including six straight from the fourth through the ninth. All nine starters delivered at least one hit and at least one RBI. All nine reached base multiple times, with seven players delivering multiple hits.

"We outslugged them," manager Davey Martinez said with a laugh when asked about the rare combination of explosive offense and sloppy defense and baserunning. "Look, we came out victorious. We didn't play all that good the first six innings. It was a little sloppy. But we hung in there, and we hit the ball."

The 15 runs are the most the Nationals have scored in a game since they plated 18 against the Marlins on July 19, 2021, a month that did not end well for a franchise that decided to tear down the remnants of its championship roster and embark on a rebuild that continues four years later.

The good news came early for the Orioles tonight, as if they were owned a few breaks. The temperature dipped into the mid-70s to provide some relief from the scorching heat. CB Bucknor wouldn’t work the plate in the series, confined instead to the bases for three games. Tomoyuki Sugano struck out the first two batters he faced and retired the Rays in order. Jordan Westburg doubled in the bottom of the first on a 106.6 mph liner that deflected off third baseman Junior Caminero.

And then, the bad times rolled. Westburg dived into the bag and reinjured his index finger, which led to his removal an inning later. The Rays homered three times off Sugano in the second, including Brandon Lowe’s three-run shot.

The cliché about two teams heading in opposite directions unfolded and then paused, with the Orioles playing the opposite role in a big blown lead versus the Rays. They did the rallying this time, along with some major venting, in a preposterous 22-8 victory before an announced crowd of 20,047 at misty Camden Yards.

Gary Sánchez had four RBIs, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the fifth, Coby Mayo hit his first major league homer - off a shortstop - and also drove in four runs, and the Orioles (35-46) won for the second time in six games. The Rays (46-36) lost for only the fourth time in 14 games.

"You know over the course of 162 there's going to be a lot of ups and downs. There's going to be a lot of highs and lows, and we've had our lows. Tonight was a high," said interim manager Tony Mansolino.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Keibert Ruiz has been transferred to the seven-day concussion injured list after a recent diagnosis spurred by continued headaches for the Nationals catcher.

Ruiz was watching from the dugout Monday night in San Diego when teammate Josh Bell hit a foul ball that whizzed past several players and then ricocheted back toward Ruiz, striking him on the right side of the head. Initial tests taken that night did not reveal a concussion, so he was placed on the 10-day IL with a head contusion.

Ruiz was still experiencing headaches in the days after the incident, though, so he was examined again by another doctor, who determined he had suffered what manager Davey Martinez referred to as a “mild” concussion.

The Nats made the transaction to move Ruiz to the 7-day concussion IL, which actually makes him eligible to return Tuesday when the team opens a homestand against the Tigers and Red Sox, three days earlier than he would have been eligible to come off the 10-day IL. He’ll still need to be cleared by a doctor before returning.

“If everything continues to go well, he’ll take that another test in seven days, and hopefully he’s OK to play,” Martinez said.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Hello from the Big A and the final leg of this three-city Southern California swing for the Nationals. They lost two of three in Los Angeles. They lost two of three in San Diego. They really hope not to lose two of three here against an Angels team that is playing good baseball and has reached the .500 mark but just learned today manager Ron Washington will miss the remainder of the season while on medical leave. Bench coach Ray Montgomery takes over managerial duties.

The Nationals were shut out Wednesday by the Padres, so they’ll be looking to bounce back offensively against José Soriano. The right-hander has a good ERA (3.39) but so-so peripherals (1.419 WHIP, 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings, 4.2 walks per nine innings). That final number needs to be implanted in the Nats’ brains. They did not draw one walk during Wednesday’s loss. They have to show more patience tonight.

On the mound, Jake Irvin is coming off a really solid start at Dodger Stadium (two runs, seven strikeouts, zero walks) in 5 1/3 innings. He makes his first career start against the Angels, so this will be the first time he ever faces Mike Trout (and vice versa).

WASHINGTON NATIONALS at LOS ANGELES ANGELS
Where: Angel Stadium
Gametime: 9:38 p.m. EDT
TV: MASN, MLB.tv
Radio: 106.7 FM, 87.7 FM (Spanish), MLB.com
Weather: Clear, 74 degrees, wind 8 mph out to center field

NATIONALS
SS CJ Abrams
LF James Wood
2B Luis García Jr.
1B Nathaniel Lowe
DH Josh Bell
3B Brady House
RF Daylen Lile
C Riley Adams
CF Jacob Young

Ryan O’Hearn isn’t pretending that he’s unaffected by a possible All-Star selection. He's excited about the support and the likelihood that he represents the Orioles in Atlanta on July 15.

O’Hearn received the most votes among American League designated hitters with 1,762,125 and advanced to Phase 2 opposite the Yankees’ Ben Rice, who received 674,120.

“I was blown away by the amount of votes when I saw it yesterday, so very humbling, awesome,” he said today at his locker. “We’ve still got to get through Phase 2, but very cool. I was blown away by seeing by seeing that number, 1.6-something or 1.7, whatever it was. And the fact that that many people voted for me, it blows my mind.”

O’Hearn has gone through too much on his journey to become an established major leaguer to downplay the balloting. The Royals trading him for cash, the Orioles outrighting him, the dip in his career followed by an ascension that should get him introduced at Truist Park.

“It would mean everything,” he said. “I’ve been the last guy on the worst team in baseball, I’ve been hitting in the middle of the lineup on a team that was considered one of the best teams in the American League. Seen a lot of angles in this game, and to be able to be an All-Star, it’s shocking to say. And humbling, amazing. Would be a huge blessing, an honor.

Coby Mayo is batting ninth tonight as the Orioles designated hitter, facing Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot to begin the three-game series at Camden Yards.

Jordan Westburg is starting at third base and batting second. Ramón Laureano is in right field, Cedric Mullins in center and Colton Cowser in left.

Gary Sánchez is catching.

Tomoyuki Sugano has allowed four runs or fewer in each of his first 15 career starts, tied for the third-longest opening streak in franchise history behind Jim Hardin (19 games in 1967-68) and Tyler Wells (18 games in 2022).

Gunnar Henderson is a career .339/.405/.619 (40-for-118) hitter with five doubles, two triples, eight home runs and 15 RBIs in 30 games against Tampa Bay.

The Orioles went back to five starters and eight relievers today by optioning Brandon Young and recalling Kade Strowd from Triple-A Norfolk.

Young was sent down yesterday after facing the Rangers on Wednesday and allowing four runs in four-plus innings in his third major league start.

Strowd also made his major league debut this season and allowed one run and two hits in one inning May 18 against the Nationals. He’s registered a 5.02 ERA and 1.465 WHIP in 24 appearances with Norfolk.

Strowd is averaging 11.3 strikeouts per nine innings and has surrendered only two home runs.

Tomoyuki Sugano is on the mound tonight as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Rays at Camden Yards. Sugano hasn’t completed five innings in his last three starts.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled RHP Kade Strowd from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Optioned RHP Brandon Young to Triple-A Norfolk yesterday.

SAN DIEGO – When the Nationals enjoyed their record-setting, 10-run first inning four weeks ago in Arizona, they simultaneously wrapped up a 15-12 record for May, the team’s first winning month since August 2023 and only its second winning month at all since the rebuild began in earnest in July 2021.

It was cause for mild celebration, but it wasn’t the end-all, be-all. It was only the start of something bigger, the Nats believed at the time.

“I would encourage this group to get used to winning,” first baseman Nathaniel Lowe said that night in Phoenix, “because that’s what we strive to do every day. But we’ll take this month and obviously keep going into June and look for another winning month.”

The Nationals won’t finish June with a winning month. They won’t even come close. Even if they sweep the Angels this weekend in Anaheim, they’ll merely improve to 8-18 for the month. That would still be tied for the eighth-worst month in club history. If, god forbid, they get swept, they’ll finish 5-21. That would represent the single worst month in club history.

Suffice it to say, things have taken a decided turn for the worse around here over the last four weeks.

The Orioles continue their homestand tonight against the Rays, and this time, the teams get to play in a major league ballpark.

They split the four-game series at George M. Steinbrenner Field, losing an 8-0 lead on June 18 in one of the season’s low points. The Rays are in second place in the division, a half-game behind the Yankees. They hold the top Wild Card.

Some of the Orioles talked again about getting a reset yesterday. Maybe this one will stick. The others haven’t led to the kind of streak that thrusts a team into a thick of a pennant race. Seven teams remain ahead of the Orioles for the final spot. Five weeks remain until the trade deadline.

Think this is a big series? Every single one feels like baseball life or death.  Just wait until Texas and Atlanta on the next road trip, and a homestand that begins with three games against the Mets.

The offense needs to break out, which is one of the more obvious statements ever made about any team. The Orioles have been shut out in three of the last five games and one-hit in two. Opposing starters have carried a no-hitter through the seventh inning twice and the sixth once. The team ranked 24^th in runs scored yesterday with 315, 23^rd with a .236 average, .302 on-base percentage and .691 OPS. They’re hitting .224/.291/.391 with runners in scoring position and .218/.291/.302 against left-handers.

The Orioles probably won’t match last year’s total of five All-Stars, but they have a chance to send two starters to Truist Field in Atlanta.

Ryan O’Hearn and the Yankees’ Ben Rice are the finalists at designated hitter in the American League. O’Hearn received 1,762,125 votes and Rice garnered 674,120.

Jackson Holliday, in his first full major league season, and the Tigers’ Gleyber Torres are finalists at second base. Torres received 1,981,665 votes and Holliday 1,302,186.

Phase 2 of voting begins Monday at noon and concludes Wednesday at noon. The winners will be announced that night at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

Fans are allowed to vote once per day on MLB platforms, and totals will reset. Phase 1 balloting doesn’t carry over to Phase 2.

After just six starts following his promotion to High-A Wilmington, Travis Sykora, the top prospect in the Nationals’ farm system, is being promoted to Double-A Harrisburg.

The promotion, confirmed by a source familiar with the move, comes after the 21-year-old right-hander dominated the South Atlantic League by going 3-0 with a 1.21 ERA, 0.674 WHIP, 47 strikeouts and only eight walks over 29 ⅔ innings with the Blue Rocks.

He only surrendered 12 hits (zero home runs) and had a stellar 14.3 strikeouts per nine innings and 5.88 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Sykora earned his first promotion to High-A after only two starts with Single-A Fredericksburg following his return from offseason hip surgery. He held opponents to one hit, one run and one walk while striking out 14 in just five innings with the FredNats before moving up to Wilmington.

The Nats selected Sykora out of high school in the third round of the 2023 MLB Draft, signing him overslot to keep him away from his commitment to the University of Texas. He was named Carolina League Pitcher of the Year in 2024 after going 5-3 with a 2.33 ERA, 0.906 WHIP, 129 strikeouts and 13.7 strikeouts per nine innings across 20 starts.

SAN DIEGO – The Nationals left town following Wednesday afternoon's agonizing 1-0 loss to the Padres and are spending their off-day up the road in Orange County before opening a weekend series Friday against the Angels. Your trusty beat writer chose to remain in San Diego for this off-day, because ... well, do I really have to explain this to you? It's San Diego, for crying out loud!

There will be time to relax later. Before then, it's time to answer your questions about the Nats. It's been quite the eventful few weeks for the team, from the 11-game losing streak to Brady House's debut to the start of a West Coast trip that has included some legitimately big moments but unfortunately has also included four more losses in six games, three of them by one run.

I'll do my best to tackle whatever subjects you propose today (with reason and good taste, of course). And keep in mind the 3-hour time difference, so I may get started a bit later than usual. If you've got something you'd like to ask, just submit it in the comments section below, then check back for my replies ...

There’s never a good time for one of your star players to go down with injury. But for the Orioles and Adley Rutschman, the timing of the star catcher’s left oblique strain couldn’t have been much worse. 

Since Rutschman’s promotion to the big leagues a few seasons ago, Baltimore has gone as their face of the franchise has gone. When Rutschman plays well, generally, the Orioles play well. That’s exactly what we saw in June. 

In the month, Rutschman’s 2025 was turning around. The catcher hit .309 with a .381 on-base percentage, posting an OPS close to .900 with just eight strikeouts and seven walks. It’s no surprise, then, that the O’s were 11-6 in the 17 games that Rutschman was healthy in the month. 

Now, the Orioles must navigate life without him until at least the All-Star break, according to interim skipper Tony Mansolino. 

Rutschman’s injury, and its ramifications, was the topic of discussion on this week’s edition of “The Bird’s Nest,” which you can watch here: https://masn.me/qp9slhbj. 

As the trade deadline gets closer, the industry is broken down again among teams that identify as buyers and sellers, and the group that balances on the bubble.

The Orioles knew who they were the last two summers. They acquired starter Jack Flaherty from the Cardinals on Aug. 1, 2023 for minor league second baseman César Prieto, left-hander Drew Rom and right-hander Zack Showalter. They acquired relievers Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto last July in separate trades with the Phillies, starters Zach Eflin from the Rays and Trevor Rogers from the Marlins, and designated hitter Eloy Jiménez from the White Sox. The biggest names surrendered were outfielder Austin Hays and prospects Connor Norby, Kyle Stowers and Seth Johnson.

That bubble was underneath them in 2022, and they played the odds more than other math by dealing first baseman Trey Mancini and closer Jorge López. Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias flew into Texas on the last day of the trip to meet with some veterans and offer assurances that there was “a plan in place.”

“It's going exceptionally well,” Elias said that day. “We’ve got a very bright future ahead of us. I don’t want us utilizing the opportunity of the trade deadline the way we did the last couple of days to speak to the fact that this is a team that’s going to have to be reckoned with from now and this point forward in our division. We’re going to have to scout and develop and manage the roster a certain way to maintain it that way. We’ve seen our competitors do that, and we’re there. We’re at that point.

“I think that it's liftoff from here for this team.”

The Orioles need wins in order to avoid selling at the trade deadline.

Their frustrations this season have spilled into the no-hit zone.

Jacob deGrom was the latest starter to flummox them, retiring the first 18 batters tonight before Jackson Holliday’s leadoff walk in the seventh. Colton Cowser let the dugout exhale with a ground ball single leading off the eighth, and deGrom came out of the game.

The Rangers gave him a seven-run lead, which is like gift vouchers for a billionaire. Don’t need ‘em.

The Orioles managed only one hit and were shut out for the eighth time in a 7-0 loss before an announced Pride Night crowd of 22,828 at Camden Yards.

SAN DIEGO – MacKenzie Gore has pitched like an ace this season. He leads the National League in strikeouts. His ERA resides in the low-3.00s. Only five major leaguers have totaled more than his 11 quality starts.

So how come Gore now sports a 3-8 record? Because no matter how well he’s pitched, his teammates can’t seem to consistently provide him the kind of support the left-hander needs to emerge victorious.

That troubling trend reached a new low this afternoon at Petco Park, where Gore was good once again and once again got no help from the rest of the Nationals during a disheartening 1-0 loss to the Padres.

"That's on us. That's on the lineup," center fielder Jacob Young said. "He keeps us in almost every game, and we just haven't been able to score the runs, especially in games like this where it's one or two. We haven't been able to scrap them together and get him some more wins. But he's had our back on the mound. Hopefully in the second half of the year, we can have his."

Gore allowed only one run over six innings, rarely surrendering loud contact. But San Diego’s Nick Pivetta allowed zero runs over seven innings, and that was the difference in the game.

The Orioles made the anticipated roster move earlier today, recalling Brandon Young and optioning reliever Yaramil Hiraldo.

Young is making his third major league start after allowing six runs and 11 hits in 8 2/3 innings. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the organization’s No. 19 prospect.

Jordan Westburg returns to the lineup, playing third base and batting second.

Gary Sánchez is the designated hitter and Chadwick Tromp is catching. Colton Cowser is in left field and Dylan Carlson is in right. Ramón Laureano is on the bench.

Laureano is hitting .583 and slugging 1.333 when ahead in the count this season.

SAN DIEGO – When he was called up to the big leagues the last two seasons, Drew Millas found himself walking through the Nationals' clubhouse introducing himself to a good number of unfamiliar faces. When he arrived at Petco Park on Tuesday afternoon, the 27-year-old catcher assumed it would be more of the same, until he looked around the room and realized he already knew almost every single player on the current roster.

“I came in and expected to do the usual, like: ‘Hey, I’m Drew. I’m Drew. I’m Drew. I'm Drew,’” he said. “I was just like: ‘Hey, what’s up? Good to see you!’ It’s a good thing to have familiar faces here, and it makes me really comfortable.”

With so many young players who have come through Triple-A Rochester in recent years on the Nationals’ major league roster now, Millas is plenty comfortable in these surroundings. It’s now up to him to take advantage of whatever playing opportunities he gets to convince the organization he should stick around for more than a week or two.

Summoned from Rochester when Keibert Ruiz was placed on the 10-day injured list with a head contusion after getting struck by a foul ball in the dugout Monday night, Millas is now the clear backup to Riley Adams, who takes over as the team’s No. 1 catcher. Manager Davey Martinez said he expects Adams to start the bulk of the games behind the plate, and sure enough he’s back in there for this afternoon’s series finale against the Padres only hours after catching Tuesday’s game.

Millas will probably get one start this weekend in Anaheim, at which point he’ll hope to show the strides he’s made both at the plate and behind it. He opened his season at Triple-A with a disappointing .229/.287/.344 slash line in his first 35 games. In 17 games since, he’s put together a much better .288/.348/.441 slash line, getting back to what he believes he does best.