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TORONTO – For the last few weeks, the Orioles had been the ones doing the walkoffs.
In fact, Baltimore had won four consecutive games in that fashion back at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
This afternoon in Toronto, though, Baltimore was on the other side of things in a 5-4 loss.
The Gatorade was far less cold.
Alejandro Kirk was the hero for the Blue Jays with a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth as Toronto stormed back with four runs in the final two innings of play.
Dylan Beavers moves up to second in the Orioles’ lineup today, the first time he’s hit higher than fifth in the majors. He’s in right field, with Jeremiah Jackson on the bench.
Tyler O’Neill is the designated hitter again and is batting cleanup. Coby Mayo returns to the lineup at first base and is batting ninth.
Samuel Basallo is catching. Dylan Carlson is in left field and Emmanuel Rivera is at third base again.
Tomoyuki Sugano takes his turn today after leaving his last start with a sore right foot. He was hit by a sharp one-hopper and limped to the dugout.
Two of his first three starts in the U.S. came against the Blue Jays. He allowed two runs in four innings in his debut in Toronto and three runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 at Camden Yards.
TORONTO – Trevor Rogers’ early exit from tonight’s game due to left toe discomfort, and the subsequent questions that followed in the brief absence of that injury update, perfectly summed up his recent stretch of dominance.
The lefty wasn’t his sharpest tonight in Toronto. He walked four batters, contributing to more traffic on the basepaths than we’re accustomed to seeing, and had to work through lengthy innings.
He didn’t allow an earned run in five innings of work.
And yet, given Rogers’ standards and the level to which he’s raised the bar, many were left pondering what went wrong.
That’s the luxurious viewpoint that we’re able to have on Rogers, whose mastery on the mound has made elite outings commonplace and merely good outings surprising.
The Orioles looked like they were trying to maintain their run of walk-off wins this afternoon. Tie the game, take a lead and be tied again within the first three innings. Get in and out of jams. Pin the opposing pitcher on the ropes and let him escape.
Just get them to the ninth or past regulation, when something magic happens.
Dylan Beavers was last night’s hero with his bases-loaded single in the 10th. He delivered the go-ahead run again today, but it came from an infield hit in the seventh inning to propel the Orioles to a 3-2 win before an announced crowd of 13,957 at sunny Camden Yards.
Four of the previous five games ended with walk-off wins, but wild celebrations aren’t promised.
The Orioles (69-77) have won eight of their last nine games and nine of 11. Twelve more victories guarantee a .500 finish or better.
Tyler Wells isn’t in a band and he isn’t interested in playing second fiddle.
He knows how to conduct himself against a phenom.
Wells was the other starter tonight opposite the Pirates’ Paul Skenes, the former first-overall draft pick and reigning National League Rookie of the Year who naturally drew most of the attention. Wells didn’t care. He’s just glad to be back on a mound.
Skenes shut out the Orioles for five innings before manager Don Kelly removed him from the game as part of a planned ramp down. Wells kept going, lasting 6 2/3 innings with one run and one hit allowed, and the Orioles produced their fourth walk-off win in five games, 2-1, over the Pirates before an announced crowd of 18,210 at Camden Yards.
Jackson Holliday’s two-out RBI single off former Orioles reliever Isaac Mattson tied the game in the eighth. Albert Suárez didn’t let the automatic runner score in the 10th, the bullpen’s exceptional month continuing with 3 1/3 scoreless innings, and Dylan Beavers pulled a full-count 98 mph fastball down the left field line to score pinch-runner Jorge Mateo and ignite another celebration.
Perhaps the finest accomplishment that Jackson Holliday can reflect upon after the season is staying away from the injured list, but only if he makes it through the last three weeks unharmed. He’s in rare company. He’s a left-handed hitting unicorn.
Holliday sat yesterday after breaking up Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s no-hit bid Saturday with a two-out home run in the ninth inning. His 134th game arrives after the off-day, second only to Gunnar Henderson, who will play in his 136th.
Holliday is first on the team in at-bats with 525 and home runs with 17. His .710 OPS, 130 hits, 20 doubles, three triples, 53 RBIs, 47 walks, 65 runs and 15 stolen bases are second behind Henderson.
The free passes are coming in bunches now. Holliday had two more Friday and closed August with six in San Francisco. He’s drawn 23 in his last 25 games. He also has 12 hits in his last nine games.
The 47 walks are the fourth-highest among Orioles 21 or younger after Curt Blefary’s 88 in 1965, Boog Powell’s 49 in 1963 and Eddie Murray’s 48 in 1977, according to STATS. Cal Ripken Jr. had 46 in 1982.
The Orioles filled the dugout this evening, a much larger turnout than normal about an hour before first pitch. Legends who preceded their arrivals in Baltimore came out of the tunnel one by one and walked onto the field, including some Hall of Famers. Cal Ripken Jr. was introduced and circled the warning track in a red Corvette convertible, spinning wheels allowing him to skip the jog from 30 years earlier.
The numbers 2131 hung from the warehouse again. The 1995 Orioles finished in third place in their division and missed the playoffs again. The 2025 team is in last place and also headed home after the final game. Past and present got to mingle tonight, the younger crowd captivated by the history lesson.
Little did they know that they’d almost end up on the wrong side of history and ignite their own celebration with an absolutely wild finish.
Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto tossed a no-hitter for 8 2/3 innings before Jackson Holliday homered to right field. The Orioles loaded the bases, drew a walk and won 4-3 on Emmanuel Rivera's two-run single into center field off Tanner Scott before an announced sellout crowd of 42,612.
Yamamoto threw 112 pitches, the last a 2-1 cutter that bounced back onto the field. Jackson sped up, thinking double, and was signaled home. Yamamoto left the game to a standing ovation from Dodgers fans. He was sensational, walking two batters in the third inning and retiring 19 in a row. He got two easy outs in the ninth on a strikeout and fly ball.
“Leading off for the Dodgers, pitcher Shohei Ohtani.”
That's where the oddities began. The Orioles prepped for the wrong Dodgers starter. Their starter left with an injury. Their rookie catcher came within a strike of sending the game to extra innings before hitting a walk-off home run that spun the night into something worth celebrating.
And boy, did they celebrate.
Samuel Basallo went left-on-left against Tanner Scott and cleared the fence in center to give the Orioles a 2-1 win over the Dodgers before an announced crowd of 25,481 at Camden Yards. The count was 1-2 when Basallo barreled a 98.7 mph fastball and drove it 433 feet at 109.3 mph. Teammates mobbed him at home plate.
"He’s gonna be a big-time hitter," said interim manager Tony Mansolino.
SAN DIEGO – The Orioles are pulling more players off the injured list, reducing the number to 10 with a little more than three weeks left in the season.
They might need to send out the homer hose for repairs. Maybe chip in to pay the Petco Park water bill.
Jackson Holliday cleared the right-center field fence against former Orioles Rule 5 Draft pick Nestor Cortes to begin today’s game. Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo and Alex Jackson went back-to-back-to-back in the third to send Cortes to the showers, accompanied by a chorus of boos.
The Orioles cleaned up on the Padres, completing the series sweep with a 7-5 victory before an announced crowd of 35,019 at Petco Park.
A 4-2 road trip has left the Orioles with a 64-76 record as they wait for the Dodgers to arrive in Baltimore for a weekend series.
SAN DIEGO – The Orioles expanded from 26 to 28 players this morning by reinstating reliever Albert Suárez from the 60-day injured list and recalling catcher Maverick Handley from Triple-A Norfolk.
Tyler Wells will join the team to make Tuesday’s start against the Padres.
Reliever Cody Poteet was outrighted and he elected free agency.
Suárez made one appearance in March during the opening series in Toronto before injuring his right rotator cuff. Handley hasn’t played for the Orioles since June 22 due to a concussion and wrist injury. He’s 3-for-41.
Handley gives the Orioles a third catcher with Adley Rutschman on the injured list.
SAN FRANCISCO – The Orioles go for the series win this afternoon after prevailing yesterday for the second time in 10 games.
Gunnar Henderson is the designated hitter and Luis Vázquez is the shortstop. Dylan Beavers is in right field and Daniel Johnson starts in left. Ryan Mountcastle is at first base.
Tomoyuki Sugano get the start, his 26th, to close out the month. The Orioles are 11-16 in August.
Sugano, 35, has 10 victories and is on pace to be the oldest rookie in major league history to lead his team in wins. Jim Turner holds the record with 20 in 1937 at 34 years and 58 days, per STATS.
Samuel Basallo, who’s behind the plate today, is the third-youngest catcher to homer at 21 years and 17 days. The Rangers’ Iván Rodríguez is first at 19 years and 273 days, and the Mets’ Francisco Alvarez is second at 20 years and 319 days.
SAN FRANCISCO – The Orioles have lost eight of their last nine games, but they have left-hander Trevor Rogers on the mound this afternoon at Oracle Park.
Take the guy with the 1.40 ERA any day.
Rogers has allowed one run in each of his five starts this month totaling 35 innings. He’s struck out 36 batters.
In his final start in July, Rogers shut out the Rockies on one hit over seven innings. If he isn’t Most Valuable Oriole, he’s no worse than the runner-up.
Rogers has made three career starts against the Giants and posted a 2.63 ERA and 1.098 WHIP in 13 2/3 innings. He allowed two earned runs and three total in five innings in his only appearance in San Francisco.
Rather than subject my mailbag to another West Coast flight and jet lag, I decided to dump some of its contents back home and travel light.
Carry on.
This is the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original, which set box office records. It isn’t streaming anywhere, but I am … usually around 3 or 4 a.m.
If I did any editing, I’m keeping it to myself. No grand announcements about clarity, length, style or brevity. Sorry to cheat you out of that thrill.
Also, a reminder that my mailbag gets your mailbag in the camel clutch and won’t let go until it submits. Especially on hump day.
The business side of baseball reared up and bit reliever Roansy Contreras earlier today with news that the Orioles designated him for assignment to make room for right-hander Shawn Dubin.
Contreras finally got the call this week and made his Orioles debut last night, tossing 4 1/3 scoreless innings behind opener Dietrich Enns. He’s out of minor league options and would need to pass through waivers before the Orioles could outright him.
“Those are tough decisions,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “There was a lot of time spent on that, trying to figure out what the right thing to do was. We’ve got a lot of smart people who are looking at a lot of different type of information and trying to make the best decision they can.
“The coach in me wants him to get claimed because we want our players to play in the major leagues and get opportunities. The Baltimore Oriole in me wants him to get through and go unclaimed and be back in the fold for us.”
Dubin will be in the bullpen today.
HOUSTON – The August schedule isn't an easy one for Baltimore.
With inexperience everywhere, the O's have had to face the two crown jewels of the American League West, the Mariners and Astros, in two consecutive series.
Baltimore took two of three against Seattle. And after taking game one in Houston, the Birds fought tooth and nail in Game 2.
In the end, though, it was Houston that came away with a 5-4 victory in 12 innings.
And, of course, it was Ramón Urías. Last night, the former Oriole broke up Brandon Young's perfect game bid. Tonight, he walked it off. Another slow dribbler to third, and another heartbreaker.
The Orioles complete their latest homestand this afternoon against the Mariners and fly to Houston for a three-game series, followed by two in Boston.
The roster will change again before they make it back home. Count on it.
My mailbag also changes with each massive dump. And this is probably a good place to stop, but let’s keep going.
You ask, I try to answer, and we have the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original that currently airs on Netflix. Or is it Amazon Prime? Anyway, it’s out there, just like so many of you.
Questions aren’t edited for clarity, style, length, brevity or bravado. And I wouldn’t tell you anyway, because, again, who cares?
With each passing start, Trevor Rogers offers further confirmation that what he’s doing isn’t a fluke. He isn’t going to fall apart at the baseball seams. This is how he pitches.
He can't control the bullpen, which stumbled again, but he can put his trust in a young hitter to make the mishap irrelevant.
Rogers completed seven innings again tonight and allowed only one run, and Jackson Holliday doubled with two outs in the ninth to score Dylan Carlson and give the Orioles their first walk-off win, 4-3, over the Mariners before an announced crowd of 17,290 at Camden Yards.
Carlson, who had two hits after ending an 0-for-35 slump last night, singled off Matt Brash with two outs and raced home on Holliday's first career walk-off. The Orioles were the last team in the majors to get one, and it came from Holliday, who was 5-for-41 this month before pulling a slider down the right field line.
"I knew he had a really good slider," said Holliday, who almost had his jersey torn off by teammates during the celebration. "Honestly, just trying to hit another line drive, hit a barrel. But I was kind of looking for that pitch and just trying to get it in a good spot to do something with and was able to do that.
PHILADELPHIA – The Orioles are making another change to their bullpen, claiming right-hander Rico Garcia on waivers from the Mets this afternoon. He hasn’t reported.
Garcia appeared in six games with the Orioles in 2022 and allowed four runs in eight innings. He appeared in one game with the Yankees this season and allowed three runs in 2 2/3 innings, and in eight with the Mets and surrendered three with 16 strikeouts in 12 2/3.
The 40-man roster has 38 players.
While waiting for the Orioles to post their lineup ...
Dean Kremer registered a 7.04 ERA through April and had a 2.72 ERA in May, a 3.30 ERA in June and a 4.30 ERA in July. He’s registered a 2.89 ERA, 1.018 WHIP and .207 opponents’ average in nine home games and a 5.37 ERA, 1.464 WHIP and .294 opponents’ average in 13 road games.
Ryan O’Hearn swung, stood and tossed his bat. He watched José Berríos’ fastball land on the flag court in right field, began to jog up the line and pointed at the dugout.
The significance of the moment wasn’t lost on anyone.
O’Hearn might have played his last game with the Orioles, who failed to complete their sweep today with a 9-8 loss to the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. The same goes for Cedric Mullins, who made another leaping catch at the fence to rob a home run and preserve the lead. Moments that fed the hopeless baseball romantics.
The trade deadline is approaching the 24-hour mark and both players are generating heat.
The entire team was getting hot with five wins in a row, but reliever Yennier Cano, tasked with holding a 5-4 lead, allowed five runs in the seventh inning. They answered with three in the bottom half but fell to 50-59.
The Orioles used their 95th lineup last night in their 106th game. Catcher Adley Rutschman was reinstated from the injured list and batted cleanup for the fifth time, and the first since May 18.
There seems to be some interest from interim manager Tony Mansolino in going with a top four of Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, Gunnar Henderson and Rutschman You can read between the lines or just focus on the actual lines.
“I’m fascinated by sticking (Rutschman) in that four hole, kind of sitting behind Gunnar, having a switch-hitter sitting right there, and the effect of that on Gunnar and just trying to navigate our lineup if all four of those guys at the top are cooking and fulfilling and reaching their potential,” Mansolino said during his afternoon media session.
“It's an absolute dynamic four hitters. And the guys behind them are pretty good, too.”
Ryan O’Hearn has batted cleanup 48 times, easily the most on the team. Ryan Mountcastle is next at 17. O’Hearn was slotted fifth last night and Laureano sixth.
