TORONTO - Lefty Trevor Rogers (2-10, 4.76 ERA) will make his second O's start tonight as the Orioles look to even their series with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Alejandro Kirk hit a three-run homer off lefty reliever Gregory Soto in the sixth inning last night as Toronto beat the Orioles 5-2.

Now 67-47, the Orioles are a half-game behind the Yankees for the division lead. They are not in first place - tied or alone - for the first time since June 26.

Rogers gave up six hits and five runs over 4 1/3 innings on Thursday at Cleveland in his O's debut. He threw 94 pitches in that outing at Progressive Field.

In one career start against Toronto, he allowed five hits and three runs in five innings.

The O's were held to two runs and three hits in the series-opener at Rogers Centre after scoring 16 runs on 30 hits in the last two games at Cleveland. Over their previous 12 games heading into this series, the O's offense was scoring 6.4 runs per game, batting .291 and with an OPS of .859 as a team. But they went just 3-for-29 last night.

TORONTO - The Orioles rotation began play last night with a 3.83 ERA and that ranked as third-best rotation ERA in the American League. That is a solid placing but how long can a rotation stay there when it keeps taking hits?

Kyle Bradish made just eight starts this year. John Means made four and Tyler Wells made just three. Recent trades brought reinforcements with right-hander Zach Eflin and lefty Trevor Rogers. But then righty Grayson Rodriguez gets scratched last night minutes before the game and seems likely headed to the injured list for the second time this year.

Rodriguez is returning to Baltimore to get further evaluation and imaging on an issue the club announced as right lat/teres discomfort. No word yet on how long he may be out.

With that news as a backdrop, lefty Rogers makes his second O's start tonight. In 22 starts this season with 21 for Miami and one for Baltimore he is 2-10 with a 4.76 ERA.

In his last nine Marlins starts before the O's traded for him, he had an ERA of 3.17. But in his first O's outing on Thursday at Cleveland, he gave up five runs over 4 1/3 innings.

TORONTO – The Orioles' new-look rotation, which recently added righty Zach Eflin and lefty Trevor Rogers via trade, has lost another player tonight.

Just minutes before first pitch of the series-opener at Rogers Centre between the Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays, the team announced that right-hander Grayson Rodriguez was scratched from tonight’s start and that Albert Suárez would pitch for the Orioles.

The MASN cameras caught an interaction in the outfield not long before first pitch when Rodriguez was seen with pitching coach Drew French and appeared to be saying, "I don't feel right."

Despite five strong innings from emergency starter Albert Suárez, the Orioles dropped the opener of a series against the Blue Jays, 5-2.

Rodriguez spent time on the injured list from May 1 through May 17 with right shoulder inflammation and missed about three starts. He returned to pitch on May 18 and hurled six-innings of scoreless, one-hit ball in Baltimore against Seattle.

TORONTO – The Orioles split a four-game series at Cleveland that ended Sunday. Tonight, their three-city, 10-game road trip continues with the opener of a three-game series at Rogers Centre in Toronto.

The Orioles scored 16 runs on 30 hits and went 12-for-31 with runners in scoring position in wins Saturday and Sunday at Cleveland. They have scored 39 runs their past six games and are averaging 6.4 runs per game with a team OPS of .859 their last 12 games, scoring six runs or more seven times in those dozen games.

The Orioles have now won four of six and six of their past nine. They are 9-8 since the All-Star break. Their team ERA in the second half is 4.95 and they are batting .276 as a team since the break with an .829 OPS and scoring 6.0 runs per game in the 17 games.

In five games since rejoining the team, rookie infielder Jackson Holliday is 7-for-18 with a double, two homers and seven RBIs. His OPS is 1.254 in those games.

Gunnar Henderson had three hits Sunday, including a two-run homer. He had gone 15 games without a homer and had just one his last 24 games until he connected for No. 29. Henderson hit 28 homers last season, when he averaged one every 20.00 at-bats. This season he gets one on average every 15.21 at-bats.

TORONTO – Orioles infielder Jordan Westburg has not played since he was hit by a pitch July 31 against Toronto and suffered a fractured right hand.

With the O’s set to play the Blue Jays again, this time north of the border, Westburg was quite upbeat today about making it back to the Orioles before the regular season winds down.

“It’s hard to tell. It just comes down how quickly the bone heals and how quickly I can progress,” Westburg said this afternoon in the visitor’s clubhouse with his arm wrapped and using a splint. “I am just taking it one day at a time and personally, I’m optimistic I can be back before the end of the season. I am going to do everything I can to get back out there.”

Do the doctors share that optimism?

“Well, I don’t have any concrete timetable right now. Just trying to be optimistic and set my attitude and worry about taking it one day at a time,” said Westburg, batting .269 with an .815 OPS in 101 games.

TORONTO - The Orioles begin a three-game series tonight at Toronto as their 10-game road trip continues at Rogers Centre. They went 2-2 at Cleveland, winning the final two games of that series on Saturday and Sunday. 

The Orioles scored 16 runs on 30 hits in taking the final two games at Progressive Field. In going 7-5 the last 12 games, the Orioles have scored 6.4 runs per game while batting .291 as a team with 24 doubles, four triples, 17 homers and an .859 club OPS in that span. The Orioles are averaging 6.0 runs per game since the All-Star break, going 9-8, the fourth-best mark in the major leagues. They have a .361 OBP, third in the majors, in that span. 

Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (13-4, 3.86 ERA) gets the start for the Orioles in the series opener, coming off a home win versus Toronto. Last Wednesday in Baltimore he allowed four runs (three earned) in six innings to the Blue Jays. In seven starts this season against American League East clubs, Rodriguez is 4-2 with a 3.98 ERA.

The O's begin play tonight once again tied for first with the Yankees, with both clubs at 67-46. The Orioles are 23-10 in 2024 versus AL East clubs, including a 6-4 mark against Toronto. They are 3-0-1 in four AL East road series, going 11-3 in those 14 games.

Toronto (51-61) has lost four of its last five games and is 7-9 since the All-Star break and 26-28 at home this season. 

Sometimes you can "turn and burn" but sometimes "you take rather than rake."

When I interviewed Ryan O’Hearn in spring training and we talked about his strong 2023 and hopes for the 2024 season, he knew he may still have some doubters out there.

“I’m sure there are people saying, ‘He’s a one-hit wonder or a flash in the pan’ type of thing. You know, I’m eager to prove that is not true,” he said in that March interview in Sarasota.

Then O’Hearn spelled out some specific plans to improve this year and they have played out on the field pretty much exactly as he had hoped.

He wanted to walk more. He is. He wanted to do a better job in 3-2 counts and he is big time.

The Orioles, after an extended stretch of losing, may now be trending up again. Their offense and their won-loss record.

In the last two games at Cleveland, they scored 16 runs on 30 hits with nine doubles, a triple and two home runs. They went 12-for-31 (.387) batting with runners in scoring position. They created a lot of scoring chances and cashed a few of them in. They scored two or more runs in five different innings the last two games at Cleveland.

With those two wins, the Orioles now have the third-best record in the majors.

.604 – Cleveland (67-44)

.595 – Philadelphia (66-45)

The Orioles send ace righty Corbin Burnes (11-4, 2.47 ERA) to the mound this afternoon for his 23^rd start. The Orioles are 15-7 in his outings this year, winning the last three in a row.

After Saturday's 7-4 win, they can split this four-game series with a win today. The Orioles had 15 hits and went 8-for-20 with runners in scoring position yesterday and look to continue their success at the plate.

Baltimore recorded 15 hits for the eighth time this season, tied with Texas and Arizona for the most games with 15+ hits in MLB this season, but the team's first since July 6 at Oakland. O's pinch hitters went 2-for-3 with a double, a triple, and three RBI.

Jackson Holliday has allied back-to-back multi-hit efforts after not having one in his first 12 career games; he's scored a run in five consecutive games, including all four since being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk on July 31. In four games since his return to the majors, he is 5-for-14 with a double, homer, four runs and six RBIs.

The Orioles remain tied for the American League East lead with the Yankees. Both clubs are 66-46.

Anthony Santander is having quite the season for a player about to enter free agency. He is a pretty invaluable player for the Orioles – productive on the field while being a leader in the clubhouse.

He is one heckuva Rule 5 draft pick. The O’s selected him from the Cleveland organization in the December 2016 Rule 5 draft.

Heading into Saturday’s game at Cleveland, over 106 games he was batting .246/.311/.534/.846 with 17 doubles, two triples, 32 homers and 75 RBIs.

He's on pace to finish with 47 homers and 109 RBIs. Chris Davis and Brady Anderson are the only Orioles ever to hit 50 homers. Tony taters has an outside shot.

We thought his June was great right, where he hit 13 homers. That month he batted .264 with a .960 OPS. But in July, he batted .303 with a .987 OPS and nine home runs.

From June 24-26, the Orioles lost two of three at home versus the Cleveland Guardians. This series at Cleveland has started with the O's losing the first two games of this series by 10-3 and 8-4 scores.

The Baltimore pitchers have allowed 18 runs and 11 walks at Progressive Field and the starters - Trevor Rogers and Dean Kremer - have allowed nine runs and 12 hits over a combined 9 1/3 innings.

Cleveland, which holds the best record in the majors and best home record in the majors, leads the American League Central by six games over Kansas City and 6 1/2 games over Minnesota.

At 67-42 (.615), Cleveland is the only team in the major leagues with a current win percentage of .600 or better. The Guardians have won five in a row and eight of their past 10 games. They are 9-5 since the All-Star Game and 35-15 at home.

The Orioles (65-46, .586) began today tied for the third-best record in the majors, behind only Cleveland and the Philadelphia Phillies (65-44, .596).

As the Orioles added several players in deals at the trade deadline – including two starting pitchers and two for their bullpen – some promising prospects left the organization.

No doubt for coaches, managers, trainers and all staff on the O’s farm and in their player development system, some players they liked and worked hard to help improve, walked out that door. Relationships were developed and now continue, but the players are no longer with the Orioles.

The O’s traded Connor Norby, Kyle Stowers, Seth Johnson, Moisés Chace, Jackson Baumeister, Matthew Etzel and Mac Horvath, among others, during this process.

On a conference call to announce they had signed top draft pick Vance Honeycutt on Thursday, vice president of player development and domestic scouting Matt Blood was asked if some of the top draft picks the Orioles added this year somewhat offset losing some of the prospects they traded.

“I don’t think they’re related," Blood replied. "We’re just very excited to have been able to select Vance. He’s a player that we’ve liked for a long time. He’s a player that we know is a fantastic person and has a chance to make a big impact at the big league level.”

The Cleveland Guardians, the American League Central leaders who hold the best record in the AL, have been tough to beat for the Orioles. Both this year and in recent seasons.

Cleveland hit three homers accounting for eight runs last night as they beat Baltimore 10-3 to take the opener of this four-game series. David Fry and Bo Naylor hit three-run homers and José Ramírez added a two-run shot.

The Guardians are 3-1 this year versus the Orioles and have won seven of the past 11 games between the teams. In their last 45 games, Cleveland is 30-15 against Baltimore.

The Guardians are 66-42 and are 34-15 at home. They have won four in a row and seven of their past nine games. 

The Orioles are 4-2 in the last six games, scoring 42 runs. But over their past 12 games, they are 5-7. And since June 21, they are 16-20.

When the Orioles beat Toronto 10-4 on Wednesday and Jackson Holliday hit a grand slam, the high of that win got deflated postgame by the news that Jordan Westburg had fractured his right hand and would miss significant time.

When they got hammered 10-3 by Cleveland last night as lefty Trevor Rogers gave up five runs in his O’s debut, the gloom and doom of that loss was lifted by the news that Coby Mayo is joining the Orioles today in Cleveland.

The news was first reported here on MASNSports.com last night.

Mayo is ranked as baseball’s No. 12 prospect in the top 100 by Baseball America and No. 15 via MLBPipeline.com.

It seemed that when Westburg got hurt, that Mayo might replace him at third base. But Livan Soto was called up yesterday. However now, just like that, the team is turning to Mayo.

After a homestand during which they went 4-3, added seven players to their 26-man roster via trades, added two starting pitchers, recalled Jackson Holliday and lost Jordan Westburg to a fractured right hand, the O's hit the road tonight.

They begin a four-game series at Cleveland to start a 10-game trip that also includes stops in Toronto and at Tampa Bay. 

The Orioles went 3-1 in the Toronto series and they are 4-1 in the last five games, scoring 39 runs with a team OPS of .977 in that span. Over the last eight games, in which they went 5-3, the Orioles have scored 54 runs, batting .295 as a club with an .896 OPS. They are scoring 6.8 runs per game in this span.

Baltimore scored at least one run in the first inning in every game of its four-game series against Toronto. Since the All-Star break, the Orioles own the best first-inning run differential in the majors, outscoring opponents, 14-1.

The Orioles (65-44, .596) and Cleveland (65-42, .607) hold the top two records in the American League. The O's begin play tonight leading the AL East by just a half-game over the New York Yankees and by seven games over Boston. Cleveland leads the AL Central by six games each over Minnesota and Kansas City. Cleveland holds the best record in the bigs right now, with Philadelphia (65-43, .602) second.

The Orioles this morning announced that they have signed their top draft pick, University of North Carolina outfielder Vance Honeycutt, taken No. 22 overall in round one. Today is the final day for clubs to sign 2024 MLB Draft selections.

According to MLB.com’s Jim Callis, Honeycutt signed a $4 million dollar bonus. The listed slot amount for the No. 22 pick was $3,802,200.

Orioles vice president of player development and domestic scouting Matt Blood, said the club has signed 20 of 21 drafted players.

The lone unsigned selection is 17^th rounder, Cowley County (Kan.) Community College lefty pitcher Iziah Salinas.

“We have one more to go,” said Blood on a team Zoom call, with the deadline to sign picks at 5 p.m. ET today. “Our goal is to sign as many players as we can. We’ll see what happens here.”

It’s been said that “baseball is a game of inches.” Sometimes it’s less than that.

To hear Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser tell it, a ½ inch is making a difference for him. He cites two things that have helped turn his bat around. He is raking now with a 13-game hitting streak since the All-Star game.

A nice mental reset at the break helped and so too has using a bigger bat, one a bit heavier and one that is 34 inches. A bit longer than the 33 ½ inch model he previously used.

Going into the All-Star break, Cowser was 4-for-31 (.129) with 12 strikeouts his last 10 games.

Coming out of the break he's been on a roll and his hitting streak was extended Wednesday afternoon with a homer and single. Over the 13 games he is batting 19-for-50 which is .380/.429/.660/1.089 with two doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs.

For the Orioles, the high they felt of winning 10-4 today at Camden Yards as Jackson Holliday hit a grand slam to lead the O's past the Blue Jays lasted briefly. The attention immediately turned to Jordan Westburg, who was hit in the hand with a fastball.

A team that has lost pitchers Tyler Wells, John Means and Kyle Bradish for the year and hopes to get Danny Coulombe back late in the year, and recently saw Jorge Mateo also get hurt, lost infielder Westburg. He will miss significant time after getting hit in the right-hand today by a 95 mph fastball in the fifth inning from righty reliever Yerry Rodríguez. He fractured his right hand.

Westburg, who has made starts at second and third, has batted .269 with 25 doubles, five triples, 18 homers, 58 RBIs and a .815 OPS in 101 games.

“All-Star player,” said manager Brandon Hyde, who hopes Westburg can make it back before the end of the regular season. “So, injuries are a part of the game. We have to pick up the pieces for him. We’ve got to play well. He is a huge part of our lineup, our culture, really everything. He’s right in the middle of everything and so we have to have other guys kind of step up in his place and fill the void.”

During the same series when catcher James McCann was hit in the face by a pitch Monday suffering multiple nasal fractures, now the O’s lose Westburg.

On the first full day after the trade deadline, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias expressed optimism that his roster was “fortified,” his pitching staff improved and that his team has “as good a shot as anybody.”

This morning the O’s began the process of retooling their roster after the flurry of deadline trades for the stretch run and trying to turn a recent small stretch of winning into a larger one.

With three wins in their past four games scoring 29 runs, the O’s took the field amid the Baltimore sunshine today looking for yet another American League East series win.

Ryan Mountcastle’s two-run triple to right in the last of the first got the Orioles off to a good start. They built an early 3-0 lead.

The deadline deals opened the door for Jackson Holliday’s return to this team. He electrified the crowd today when his first major league homer was a grand slam in the last of the fifth. It opened an 8-3 lead and led to a Holliday curtain call. The crowd was on its feet and roaring for Holliday, who went 2-for-34 with the Orioles in 10 April games.

The Orioles, still a work in progress with their roster after the trade deadline, take the field today with Jackson Holliday back in the lineup as they host Toronto to wrap up the four-game series.

The Orioles (64-44) lead the American League East by 1/2 game over the Yankees and by seven games over the Red Sox after last night's 6-2 win. They have taken two of three in this series, are 22-10 in division games and have scored 29 runs in winning three of the past four games.

The Orioles, now 7-6 the last 13 games, are hoping they are in the beginning stages of an extended stretch of winning as the playoff push is on now post-trade deadline.

The Orioles are 11-13 this month, so they are about to have a losing month for the first time since September of 2022. The nine consecutive winning months were the longest active streak in the majors. 

Today's roster moves included the recall of Holliday from Triple-A. In other moves, lefty Gregory Soto was activated after being acquired yesterday. In corresponding moves, catcher Blake Hunt, who was added to the active roster right before the game last night, and infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra, who had his contract selected from the Tides yesterday, were optioned to Norfolk (Hunt stayed in Baltimore on the taxi squad).