The latest Orioles lineup tonight in Phoenix, where they begin a three-game series against the Diamondbacks, has Ryan O’Hearn in right field and Tyler O’Neill on the bench.

Jordan Westburg is batting cleanup as the designated hitter in another new twist. Heston Kjerstad returns to left field.

Ramón Urías is the third baseman and Jackson Holliday is at second base. Cedric Mullins is batting fifth for the third time this season.

Zach Eflin has completed six innings in both starts. He’s 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 0.918 WHIP in five career games (four starts) against the Diamondbacks and has registered a 3.68 ERA and 1.023 WHIP in three games (two starts) at Chase Field.

Randal Grichuk is 2-for-13 versus Eflin and Eugenio Suárez is 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts.

KANSAS CITY – The Orioles are 10 games into their 2025 season, losing six of them. They just dropped their first regular season series to the Royals since Aug. 30-Sept. 1, 2019. Their starters have remained on turn, which enabled the rotation to cycle through twice.

Young left-hander Cade Povich allowed a career-high 13 hits yesterday, three more than in his Aug. 29 start at Dodger Stadium. But in that disaster, Povich lasted only 3 1/3 innings and was charged with five runs.

It was his second-worst outing after going one-plus innings in Oakland on July 6 and surrendering eight runs and five hits with three walks and a pair of homers.  

What happened yesterday at Kauffman Stadium demonstrated how much Povich has grown as a pitcher. He made it through six innings to save the bullpen and kept the Orioles within striking distance if their bats had cooperated. Povich allowed four runs, but three in the first inning were preventable if a fly ball in right-center field was caught.

If you believe that everything else would have stayed the same, the next batter flying out gives Povich a 1-2-3 inning instead of a sacrifice fly on his line. Two singles and Michael Massey’s two-run double put the Orioles in a 3-0 hole.

KANSAS CITY – The subject already came up in the series. The Orioles must tighten their defense and keep pitch counts from escalating. Be more supportive in the field. Be more like they were in the past.

A blue sky, reduced winds and temperatures in the low 50s this afternoon made the weather more tolerable at Kauffman Stadium, but another breakdown led to a three-run first inning against Cade Povich.

The bats couldn’t compensate for it and the Orioles lost 4-1 to remain in search of their first series win.

Povich scattered a career-high 13 hits in six innings, and his start began to crumble after Tyler O’Neill made a diving catch to rob leadoff hitter Jonathan India in the first. Bobby Witt Jr. hit a ball into right-center that Jorge Mateo tracked, reached for and missed. Statcast calculated the catch probability at 99 percent.

Vinnie Pasquantino followed with a sacrifice fly, Salvador Perez and Mark Canha singled, and they scored on Michael Massey’s double down the right field line.

KANSAS CITY – Cedric Mullins is out of the lineup today for the first time this season, with Jorge Mateo playing center field in a right-handed heavy Orioles lineup.

Jordan Westburg is at second base, Ramón Laureano is in left field, Gary Sánchez is the designated hitter and Ramón Urías is playing third base.

Left-hander Cade Povich started the home opener against Boston and allowed three runs and five hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The Orioles can get back to .500 with a win. They fly to Arizona after the game.

The Orioles improved yesterday to a major league-leading 102-66 (.607) in 168 games on the road since the start of the 2023 season.

KANSAS CITY – As mock lineups go, this one seemed to border on the absurd.

MLB Network made a stop in Sarasota on its camp tour last month and took a shot at a potential order for the Orioles. Gunnar Henderson leading off and Adley Rutschman batting second were indisputable given the past, but Cedric Mullins hitting third seemed, to put it kindly, like an extreme reach.

Mullins was a prototypical leadoff hitter earlier in his career, with 398 starts easily his most, but he slid down later due to injuries, a decline in production since his 30/30 season, and other alternatives. He batted 46 times in the seventh spot last season, 32 times in the eighth and 24 in the sixth.

Manager Brandon Hyde penciled in Mullins third only one time and it happened on Sept. 13, 2024 in Detroit – a game most remembered for Gunnar Henderson’s two-out triple in the ninth that broke up a no-hitter. The Tigers used an opener, Beau Brieske, and Hyde got a little more creative.

The Orioles played their ninth game yesterday and Mullins was used in a seventh different spot, which STATS confirmed is a record in the modern era. The Athletics’ Billy McKinney in 2022 and the Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez in 2015 were used in six. Hyde had Mullins third behind Henderson and Jordan Westburg, who’s done some moving of his own.

KANSAS CITY – Tomoyuki Sugano has made two starts in the majors and pitched with the roof closed in Toronto and with a game-time temperature of 47 degrees at windy Kauffman Stadium. His exposure to intense heat and humidity is coming in the summer months. He’s going through a cooling down period before he ramps up.

Sugano didn’t experience any cramping in his hands today and he wasn’t soaked in sweat. He made the Royals uncomfortable through the fifth inning before a long break altered the course of his outing. A slight detour rather than a derailment.

Bryan Baker entered with one out in the sixth and coaxed a double play, and two other relievers handled the rest in an 8-1 victory over the Royals before an announced crowd of 14,383.

The Orioles sent nine batters to the plate in the top of the sixth and scored four times for a 6-0 lead. They improved to 4-5 and can win the series Sunday afternoon before flying to Arizona.

The big inning included a bases-loaded, two-run single for Jackson Holliday against left-hander Sam Long. Heston Kjerstad went left-on-left earlier with an RBI single after Long replaced starter Michael Wacha.

KANSAS CITY – Among the series of pregame drills this afternoon at bitter-cold Kauffman Stadium was outfielder Tyler O’Neill throwing to the bases. The early work is done to sharpen skills and that’s an area where the two-time Gold Glove winner wanted to focus.

The Royals sent nine batters to the plate last night in the eighth inning and scored five times against left-hander Cionel Pérez to expand their lead to 8-2. A sloppy game created its final mess when Vinnie Pasquantino singled down the right field line with the bases loaded and two outs, and all three runners scored.

O’Neill didn’t find a cutoff man, with the first and second basemen also chasing the ball, and fired to second. Bobby Witt Jr., who drew an intentional walk, raced home and dived across the plate.

“Tyler understands,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “We’ve had similar kind, three times now, where we threw the ball to the wrong base on a ball in the corner situation. And that’s a little bit of not understanding batter runners, runners on base. You’ve got Bobby Witt at first base and a ball drops like that, Tyler understands that ball needs to go to the plate. We threw to the wrong base in the left field corner in Toronto. We did it at home, also.

“(O’Neill) has played well, just a couple mistakes there that he understands. But you have to know the runners on base, you have to know the batter runner speed, etc., to make the right decision.”

KANSAS CITY – Tomoyuki Sugano gets his second chance in the majors this afternoon after leaving his debut with cramping in both hands.

Sugano allowed two runs and four hits in four innings at Rogers Centre in Toronto in the fourth game of the season. He faces the Royals today in the bitter cold, but at least it's dry.

Gunnar Henderson is serving as the designated hitter today and Gary Sánchez is catching. Adley Rutschman is on the bench.

Ryan Mountcastle moves up from eighth to cleanup. Cedric Mullins is batting third.

Heston Kjerstad stays in left field. Ramón Urías is at third base and Jordan Westburg is at second. Jackson Holliday is the shortstop.

KANSAS CITY – Having Gunnar Henderson back on the active roster creates a ripple effect that pushes an infielder to the bench.

No one is making waves over it. That’s just how it works with a full-time, All-Star shortstop in the lineup.

Jackson Holliday returned to second base last night in the series opener against the Royals, and Jordan Westburg made the start at third. One of them could sit this afternoon, or both could stay on the field while Ramón Urías and Jorge Mateo remain in reserve roles.

Optioning Dylan Carlson yesterday left the Orioles with four outfielders and seven infielders, the original math expectation before they signed Ramón Laureano. Henderson’s stint on the injured list and Mateo’s ability to get ready for Opening Day changed it.

Urías is hitting like an everyday player but doesn’t receive that kind of treatment. He’s 9-for-21 (.429) with a .976 OPS in six games after collecting two more hits Thursday against the Red Sox. Urías and Westburg began last night tied for the team lead with nine hits.

KANSAS CITY – Gunnar Henderson swung at the second pitch of his 2025 season and lined out to short at 106.8 mph. He didn’t get on base, but he was back.

The Orioles are lagging behind with three losses in a row after tonight’s 8-2 defeat in Kansas City.

Henderson went 1-for-4 with an infield single in his last at-bat and also committed a fielding error on Salvador Pérez’s ground ball that he charged in the fourth. The game was as ugly as the weather with a start-time temperature of 47 degrees and rain falling all night, and the Orioles dropped to 3-5.

They haven’t been two games below .500 since their record stood at 42-44 on July 9, 2022.

The offense stalled again with two runs scoring in the second and nothing else. Henderson beat out a grounder with one out in the eighth and the Royals turned a 1-6-3 double play with Adley Rutschman at the plate.

KANSAS CITY – Gunnar Henderson wore a hooded sweatshirt and wool stocking cap as he charged ground balls at shortstop during today’s infield drills. The weather at Kauffman Stadium is cold and damp, but he managed to work up a sweat.

Henderson wiped his hair with a towel and pulled the cap onto his head again. The conditions are miserable, but he couldn’t have been happier. He’s playing for the Orioles again, ready to make his 2025 debut after recovering from a strained right intercostal. He didn’t need the sun to shine.

The Orioles reinstated Henderson from the injured list earlier today and optioned outfielder Dylan Carlson. Henderson is batting leadoff to start a three-game series against the Royals.

“It sucks having to watch your team play on TV. I’ll tell you that much,” said Henderson, who returned from a rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk.

“Obviously, was very disappointed that I wasn’t well enough for the Opening Day roster, but I was able to get my work in and I’m ready to go now.”

KANSAS CITY – The Orioles reinstated shortstop Gunnar Henderson from the 10-day injured list this afternoon and optioned outfielder Dylan Carlson to Triple-A Norfolk.

Henderson is recovered from the strained right intercostal that he sustained on Feb. 27. He appeared in five games on his injury rehab assignment and went 5-for-19 with two home runs.

Carlson was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. He started in left field yesterday and had a sacrifice fly.

Henderson is leading off. Cedric Mullins is the cleanup hitter.

Jordan Westburg is at third base and batting third. Heston Kjerstad is in left field.

The forecast in Kansas City is calling for rain and cold temperatures throughout the day. The Orioles are supposed to start a three-game series and the last time that I checked, Kauffman Stadium isn’t equipped with a retractable roof. Then again, I wasn't invited to the ballpark tour. Maybe there's an upgrade like the Camden Yards sound system.

If not, think warm and dry thoughts.

The mailbag isn’t waterproof and must stay indoors while I’m gone. I decided to dump out some of its contents to prevent an overflow when I get home. Hopefully, I haven’t covered a doubleheader.

You ask, I answer (most times), and we have the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original.

Editor’s note: Some questions have been edited for … well … there was this one time that I … nope, nothing. I’ve just withheld the ones with the words “Roch” and “sucks.” Does that count as editing?

The mysterious uptick in Charlie Morton’s velocity didn’t return in the first inning today. His four-seam fastball was 93.3 to 94.6 mph against leadoff hitter Jarren Duran and topped at 94.7. And his third strikeout came on a curveball to Trevor Story, a pitch that produced only one out in his Orioles debut in Toronto.

If Morton was getting back to normal, he couldn’t enjoy it. Rafael Devers walked with one out in the first and Alex Bregman hit the next pitch, a sinker, to deep left field for a quick Red Sox lead.

Wilyer Abreu led off the second with a full-count walk, Kristian Campbell also worked the count full, and Morton hung a curveball that was launched to left at a distance of 389 feet.

The new dimensions in left aided Campbell. Bregman’s ball traveled 397 feet and didn’t need the benefit of a drawn-in wall. But both swings stung the Orioles in an 8-4 loss to the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 16,656 at Camden Yards that dropped them below .500 heading into their next road trip.

Morton struck out 10 batters in five innings, four short of his career high and the 28^th time that he’s reached double digits, and he exited with his pitch count at 98. He allowed five runs and six hits and walked two batters, and his ERA is 9.72 in two starts with the Orioles.

The Orioles wrap up their first homestand of the season with a lineup that doesn’t include Gunnar Henderson.

Henderson wasn’t at his locker this morning and he had a box and mail sitting on his chair.

Cedric Mullins is leading off today. Jordan Westburg is batting third.

Tyler O’Neill is the designated hitter, Heston Kjerstad is in right field and Dylan Carlson is in left.

Jackson Holliday is playing shortstop.

Tyler O’Neill knew that he’d move around the outfield after signing his three-year, $49.5 million deal with the Orioles. He won two Gold Gloves in left with the Cardinals but has made four of his five starts in right this season.

Last night’s original lineup had O’Neill in left and Ramón Laureano in right, the same setup as Monday for home Opening Day, but they switched positions in the updated lineup less than an hour later.

Left field is up for grabs after Colton Cowser fractured his left thumb Sunday in Toronto. He’s expected to be out six-to-eight weeks at a minimum. But the Orioles have the same flexibility in their outfield as they do in the infield.

Long gone are the days of Don Buford in left, Paul Blair in center and Frank Robinson in right. Or two-thirds of the outfield consisting of Al Bumbry in center and Ken Singleton in right, or Adam Jones in center and Nick Markakis in right.

O’Neill is most likely to play where Markakis used to roam.

The Orioles love that their offense can go on a home run binge, as it did in record-setting fashion on Opening Day, or be content to keep the line moving. Baseballs sail into the seats or tear through the alleys. They are anything but one-dimensional.

They just need to level out rather than ride the highs and lows. Consistency is a work in progress.

Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet held them down tonight with eight shutout innings in a 3-0 win over the Orioles before an announced, chilled crowd of 18,146 at Camden Yards.

Crochet was making his second start with the Red Sox and his first since signing a six-year, $170 million extension. He surrendered only four hits among his 102 pitches and struck out eight. Aroldis Chapman earned the save.

Manager Brandon Hyde had described a game against Crochet as “quite a challenge” and it was too much for his club.

Gunnar Henderson is playing for Triple-A Norfolk again tonight in Charlotte. It could be the last game on his injury rehab assignment.

The Orioles need a little more time to decide.

Henderson is 5-for-16 with two home runs in four games with the Tides. He’ll stay on the field for seven-to-nine innings tonight.

The complication in reinstating Henderson is the 1:05 p.m. start time for Thursday’s game against the Red Sox. The travel is a consideration.

Otherwise, Henderson would make the trip to Kansas City for the weekend series against the Royals.

Jorge Mateo is the shortstop tonight and Jordan Westburg is playing second base in a right-handed heavy Orioles lineup against the Red Sox.

Jackson Holliday is on the bench.

Gary Sánchez is catching, with Adley Rutschman serving as the designated hitter. Tyler O’Neill is in left field and Ramón Laureano is in right. Cedric Mullins, batting ninth, is the only left-handed hitter.

Zach Eflin started on Opening Day and held the Blue Jays to two runs and two hits in six innings. He’s 3-0 with a 5.10 ERA in six career starts against the Red Sox covering 30 innings.

Rafael Devers is 0-for-19 with 15 strikeouts this season but he’s 6-for-16 with three doubles and two home runs lifetime against Eflin. Wilyer Abreu is 5-for-10 with a double and home run.

Tyler O’Neill has limited exposure to Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet, who faces the Orioles tonight at Camden Yards. Only two at-bats – and one home run.

O’Neill is going to play anyway. He’s one of the primary outfielders and he hits .273/.378/.549 against lefties. But he’s hitting everybody so far in his brief Orioles career.

Given a day off in Toronto to keep his legs fresh, O’Neill has made four starts and gone 8-for-14 with double and prerequisite Opening Day home run. The eight hits are the most for an Oriole through his first four games with the club since José Iglesias had eight in 2020.

Four of O’Neill’s hits came in Monday’s home opener to tie his career high.

“Driving the ball the other way once, a little blooper the other way, not just being pull happy but opposite-field homer in Toronto. Playing really good defense for us,” said manager Brandon Hyde.