Moving Tony Mansolino into the manager’s office on an interim basis didn’t provide a permanent solution to the Orioles’ issues in 2025.

That’s a huge ask.

However, the club is 21-19 since he replaced Brandon Hyde, and most of the improvement is credited to an uptick in starting pitching and in health. The early record assuredly would have been better if the Orioles hadn’t failed in those areas. But nothing is sustainable this year except for the setbacks.

The rotation had produced only two quality starts in the last 16 games before Dean Kremer’s seven scoreless innings yesterday. The injured list is growing again, with starter Zach Eflin likely to join it a second time later today with lower back tightness. But the Orioles took two of three games from a Rays team that's challenging for first place in the American League East.

Mansolino was a popular coach on the staff and he remains that way in a new role unexpectedly thrust upon him.

Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino hung the label of “day game Deano” on his starting pitcher this afternoon, though Kremer’s splits in reality are slightly better at night.

Mansolino turned out to be correct, whether by accident or some sort of premonition.

Kremer shut out the Rays on three hits over seven innings and the Orioles claimed the series with a crisp 5-1 victory before an announced crowd of 19,226 at Camden Yards.

The homestand ends with the Orioles splitting six games to leave their overall record at 36-47. They’ve gone 15-11 this month and are 20-13 since Game 2 on May 24.

"Every divisional series win is beneficial and advantageous down the road," Kremer said. "If we get into a spot where we’re competing for a Wild Card spot, we get to hold it over their head down the stretch. So it’s big winning all of our divisional games."

Interim manager Tony Mansolino remains confident that infielder Jordan Westburg will avoid the injured list.

Westburg dived into second base last night and jammed the left index finger that he sprained in New York, but X-rays for a fracture were negative.

“Very day-to-day, not nearly as bad as last time,” Mansolino said. “Probably couple days would be my guess. So I think it will be a little quicker than last time.”

Emanuel Rivera is in the clubhouse to give the Orioles an extra infielder.

“With the way things are kind of situated right now, it made sense,” Mansolino said.

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.

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.

The Orioles looked like a team that finally had reached its limit, that was done being pushed around. They were no-hit for seven innings Saturday in New York and for six tonight on their home turf. And then they exploded, launching three consecutive home runs to take the lead.

But these aren’t the comeback Orioles of previous seasons, when they’d routinely close the deal. That’s why a club in a state of desperation to build a winning streak that might get it into the Wild Card chase can’t stop spinning its wheels.

Félix Bautista put a runner on second base with no outs in the top of the ninth and escaped the jam, but Evan Carter scored on Sam Haggerty’s fielder’s choice grounder against Seranthony Domínguez in the 10^th, and the Orioles lost to the Rangers 6-5 before an announced crowd of 16,909 at Camden Yards.

Cedric Mullins laid down a sacrifice bunt against Robert Garcia that moved automatic runner Luis Vázquez to third base. Dylan Carlson struck out and Jackson Holliday flied out. 

The outcome moved the Orioles 11 games below .500 again at 34-45. They can claim the series on Wednesday but they’re 3-9 in rubber games.

Infielder Jordan Westburg remains out of the Orioles lineup for tonight’s series opener against the Rangers at steamy Camden Yards.

Westburg is day-to-day with a sprained left index finger.

Gary Sánchez is the designated hitter and batting fourth. That’s sort of like getting a break.

Coby Mayo is starting at first base.

Ramón Laureano is batting second for the first time this season.

NEW YORK – Jackson Holliday singled on the first pitch thrown this morning. The Orioles had their fill yesterday of no-hit tomfoolery. Get that drama out of the way quickly and go about trying to win a series.

They made it to the eighth inning before losing their lead, and the series.

Jazz Chisholm Jr. lined a two-run double into right-center field off Bryan Baker to move the Yankees past the Orioles 4-2 before an announced crowd of 45,571.

Ben Rice led off the inning with a single and Giancarlo Stanton lined a one-out single into left field at 110.7 mph. Chisholm brought home Rice and pinch-runner Paul Goldschmidt, who slid across the plate as catcher Gary Sánchez tried to make a lunging tag.

Chisholm went to third base, and he scored an insurance run when Sánchez failed to hold onto Gunnar Henderson’s throw on DJ LeMahieu’s grounder. Plate umpire Jansen Visconti called Chisholm out before seeing the ball roll away.

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.

Bring on the left-handed starters. Line up the opponents. Crank up the music, colored lights and smoke machines.

The 2025 Orioles are only 10 games below .500.

It used to be a lot worse.

Cade Povich tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings out of the bullpen and Seranthony Domínguez inherited a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and protected a three-run lead. Gary Sánchez inflated it until the seams popped with a grand slam, and the Orioles completed their latest sweep with an 11-2 victory over the Angels before an announced crowd of 33,370 at Camden Yards that sat through a light steady rain.

The Orioles (30-40) haven’t ventured this close to .500 since May 14. They got here by sweeping three of their last five series.

One offseason addition to the roster returned to the Orioles yesterday while another trended backward.

Gary Sánchez was reinstated from the injured list and grounded into a double play, struck out, homered for the first time since Sept. 27 and was hit by a pitch. He’s 4-for-33 this season.

Maverick Handley went 3-for-40 before the Orioles optioned him yesterday, so offense isn’t flowing from backup catcher, but Sánchez brings some pop and he showed it yesterday.

“It's a presence when he steps in the box,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “He walks in there, he's got that big ol’ leg kick and he gets that thing cranking and he swings through a pitch, it does not feel good if you’re on the other side, I promise that.”

Tyler O’Neill is the concern. He signed a three-year, $49.5 million contract with an opt-out after the first season that doesn’t figure to be exercised unless he has a long, healthy and productive stretch of games.

The pregame news for the Orioles wasn’t any better today than how they started out against the Angels.

Ryan O’Hearn was scratched from the lineup with left ankle soreness after homering last night and tying Cedric Mullins for the team lead. The Orioles returned outfielder Tyler O’Neill from his rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk because of recurring shoulder soreness. He received an injection in his AC joint and is shut down for about a week.

Tomoyuki Sugano walked the first batter he faced and Mike Trout hit the upper half of the left field foul pole with a sinker that missed the heart of the plate but not his bat. Keegan Akin surrendered a tie-breaking home run to Luis Rengifo leading off the sixth. The day seemed like it would be trashed.

Fortunately for the Orioles, tones can be set but also smashed.

Mullins and Gary Sánchez hit back-to-back home runs off left-hander Tyler Anderson in the bottom of the sixth and the Orioles hung on for a 6-5 win before an announced crowd of 26,313 at Camden Yards.

Tyler Wells walked into the Orioles’ clubhouse this afternoon dripping with sweat, the effects of a 25-pitch bullpen session in the Camden Yards heat.

He still managed to look happy.

Wells has made encouraging progress from his ligament-reconstructive elbow surgery last June. He mixed in his changeup today and will incorporate breaking balls next week. He doesn’t know when he’ll be cleared to face hitters.

“Everything’s feeling good,” he said. “Elbow feels good, shoulder feels good, body’s feeling good. So I feel like I’m in a really good spot right now with feels, location, and everything like that.”

Wells is experiencing a process unlike anything else in his life, with responsibilities as a new father woven into his rehab. He’s undergone elbow surgery in the past, before the Orioles chose him in the Rule 5 draft, but this one isn't an exact duplicate.

Gary Sánchez has returned to the Orioles. He was reinstated from the 10-day injured list this afternoon, with catcher Maverick Handley optioned to Triple-A Norfolk as the anticipated counter move.

Sánchez went on an injury rehab assignment after getting rid of the inflammation his right wrist. He was rested yesterday.

Handley is 3-for-40, but he’s helped to lower the staff ERA to 4.93. He caught the combined shutout last night, which began with Charlie Morton’s 10 strikeouts in five innings.

Morton has a 2.97 ERA in eight games with Handley behind the plate. He provided an example last night of his connection to the kid.

“The other day he came in, ‘What time’s your ‘pen?’” Morton recalled. “I told him. He was like, ‘Would you mind if I came out and played catch with you?’ I was like, ‘Yeah, dude. Absolutely. I love that.’ I think it just shows his desire and willingness to develop and develop a rapport and just kind of throwing himself in the mix. Because you don’t really have many guys who are catching who are like, ‘Hey man, I’ll come catch a ‘pen.’ But I think he has a desire to get better. He has a desire to just work on his game, and whether that’s a physical thing, a mental, emotional thing, I think that’s why he and I are working well together.

The Orioles had a late start last night due to the threat of rain, with the actual precipitation lighter than anticipated before the downpour in the fifth inning.

The injury talk started much earlier, and it was heavier than expected.

Let’s take a stroll through yesterday’s updates and try not to roll an ankle.

Grayson Rodriguez

The “sluggish” start on March 5 in Fort Myers turned into an elbow/triceps issue, which turned into a lat issue that kept the projected No. 2 starter from pitching this season.

The Orioles might not wait until next week’s road trip to reinstate Gary Sánchez from the 10-day injured list.

Sánchez batted twice this afternoon in his rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk and is 8-for-22 with a double and three home runs in seven games. He’s recovered from his right wrist inflammation.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino offered only a small percent a few days ago that Sánchez would rejoin the Orioles during the homestand. They have a weekend series against the Angels before heading to Tampa and New York.

“I told you the other day it was a small chance. I think the chance went up quite a bit because he hit the points that we needed and we’ll probably see him here at some point sooner than later,” Mansolino said today.

Sánchez is 3-for-30 in 12 games after signing an $8.5 million contract. Maverick Handley likely would return to Norfolk if Sánchez is reinstated.

SEATTLE – Outfielder Ramón Laureano and catcher Gary Sánchez begin their injury rehab assignments tonight with Triple-A Norfolk, which is playing in Nashville. Laureano is leading off and playing right field and Sánchez is batting third and serving as designated hitter.

Laureano and Sánchez joined infielder Jordan Westburg, who is reaching the finish line in his assignment. Westburg is batting second and playing third base.

Coby Mayo is playing first base tonight as the Orioles try to stay on their recent roll.

Colton Cowser stays in center field, Heston Kjerstad in right and Dylan Carlson in left. Ryan O’Hearn goes from first baseman to designated hitter.

Left-hander Cade Povich will try to give the Orioles five straight quality starts for the first time since July 5-9, 2023 with Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, Cole Irvin, Tyler Wells and Kyle Gibson.

Orioles pitcher Kyle Bradish is halfway through his bullpen progression and fully expecting to be reinstated from the 60-day injured list by August.

Bradish threw a 35-pitch side session on Monday, used everything in his arsenal and reported that he’s “feeling really good.”

The Orioles want Bradish to begin throwing live batting practice at the beginning of July, followed by an injury rehab assignment in the minors. He hasn’t pitched for them since undergoing ligament-reconstructive surgery on his right elbow in June 2024.

Bradish made eight starts last season after receiving a platelet-rich plasma injection in his elbow in January, posting a 2.75 ERA and 1.068 WHIP in 39 1/3 innings. He shut out the Rays on one hit over six innings in his penultimate start and allowed two runs in five innings against the Phillies before the Orioles shut him down.

Standing at his locker this afternoon, Bradish explained why he’s confident in his chances of getting back into the rotation after the break.

The Orioles are back home today, trying to snap an eight-game losing streak at Camden Yards, after going a combined 3-4 in Milwaukee and Boston. They haven't posted a lineup against the Cardinals, but catcher Adley Rutschman apparently won't be in it.

Rutschman was nailed on the mask yesterday by Rafael Devers’ foul ball in the third inning and Maverick Handley pinch-hit for him in the fifth. Triple-A Norfolk catcher Chadwick Tromp is on the medical taxi squad.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino didn’t provide an update on Rutschman or specify whether the catcher is in concussion protocol.

Ryan Mountcastle is 9-for-18 with seven runs scored in four career games played on Memorial Day. He collected four hits in 2022.

Gunnar Henderson needs two more hits to reach 400. He’d join Manny Machado, Eddie Murray, Brooks Robinson, Cal Ripken Jr. and Boog Powell as Orioles to do it before age 24.

Gary Sánchez had a soft brace covering his right wrist and hand this afternoon and no clue when he’d be able to ditch it and start playing again.

The Orioles put Sánchez on the 10-day injured list yesterday with inflammation in the wrist caused by a stress reaction.

“It’s been bothering me a little bit for a few weeks now,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Some days it’s doing good and then some days it’s not as well, so I thought it was the best decision to put a stop to it right now and get some rest and recover rather than continue to push through it. I think as I was trying to push through, I wasn’t helping the team as it was, so I think it’s better to get some rest right now, recover and come back ready to go.”

Sánchez is 3-for-30 with four RBIs and 12 strikeouts with the Orioles after signing for $8.5 million. The injury was impacting his at-bats.

“I think at the point of contact in my swing is when I started to feel the discomfort,” he said. “Not necessarily throwing or anything like that, but just with my swing. I really do think that was affecting me.”