Ryan O’Hearn will have to make new friends at the All-Star Game.

The reserves and pitchers were announced today and none of the other Orioles are joining O’Hearn at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Second baseman Jackson Holliday, who went 4-for-4 with a two-run homer today in a 2-1 win over the Braves, advanced to Phase 2 of voting but didn’t have his name called.

Holliday is batting .260 with 13 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs, 36 RBIs and a .724 OPS in 82 games and has emerged as the everyday leadoff hitter. He’s only the fourth Oriole with multiple four-hit games before turning 22, joining Manny Machado and Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson and Eddie Murray.

Closer Félix Bautista, outfielder Ramón Laureano and shortstop Gunnar Henderson also appeared to have a chance at an All-Star selection.

ATLANTA – The last time the Orioles swept an opponent, Trevor Rogers was still pitching for Triple-A Norfolk. 

At the time, Rogers had just one big league start in 2025. It came against the Red Sox in late May, with 6 ⅓ innings of shutout baseball. 

Who knew if the lefty could make that dominant start a habit? 

He’s done just that, and today, he led the Orioles to a sweep of the Atlanta Braves. Today, the O’s came out on top 2-1.  

Rogers was dominant throughout the contest, with the Braves’ first runner in scoring position coming in the bottom of the fifth inning. He struck out six and induced weak contact, of both the ground ball and fly out varieties. 

ATLANTA – Last night’s Fourth of July contest between the O’s and Braves didn’t provide many fireworks. This afternoon, though, the clubs certainly made up for it, combining for five home runs in an extra-innings thriller. 

The Orioles came out on top, 9-6. 

After facing three elite starting pitchers in Jacob deGrom, Nathan Eovaldi and Spencer Strider, it was just the performance the bats needed to get back on track. 

"I feel like our guys have swung the bat good here for the last month, and I thought today was a pretty good indication of it," Tony Mansolino said after the game. "We faced a really good Major League bullpen, a lot of left-handed pitching, that thing that’s been tough on us here over the last year-and-a-half. And after 10 innings to walk out with nine runs, you have to be pleased."

Dean Kremer was on the mound for Baltimore, looking to continue his great stretch of starts since May 1. A big key was that he needed to avoid the big inning. 

The mailbag didn’t make it any further than the first leg of the road trip. Given the rash of injuries, just be glad that it didn’t strain a muscle. Or get a rash.

The Orioles are playing the Braves in Atlanta and I’m sorting through the latest round of questions. You ask, I try to answer, and we have another sequel to the beloved 2008 original.

I don’t care about clarity, length, style or brevity, but I do care about Beavers, and young Dylan gets some attention today.

Also, my mailbag is an All-Star and your mailbag has its insurance coverage dropped by Allstate.  

What happened to Emmanuel Rivera?
Rivera cleared outright waivers again and accepted an assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. Again. Wash, rinse ... you know the drill.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The voting is done. The results are in. And Ryan O’Hearn will get less time to rest at the All-Star break.

He couldn’t be happier.

O’Hearn finished first at designated hitter for the American League by receiving 78 percent of the votes, placing ahead of the Yankees’ Ben Rice. He won the Phase 1 balloting to reach the two-man final and held his ground.  

Second baseball Jackson Holliday finished behind the Tigers’ Gleyber Torres but still can make the team as a backup.

Pitchers and reserves, totaling 23 for each league, are determined through a combination of “Player Ballot” choices and selections coming from the commissioner’s office. The rest of the rosters will be announced Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Jordan Westburg isn’t going to let a sore finger keep him from playing.

He’s got time for the pain.

The chance to be 100 percent starts to fade as a season gains momentum. For Westburg, the usual aches are accompanied by a sprained left index finger that flared again Friday night after he dived into second base and jammed it on a first-inning double.

Westburg’s day-to-day status has stretched to three missed games, and he could remain on the bench tonight. He didn’t pinch-hit last night despite the craziness of losing the designated hitter. He’s going to hit in the cage before interim manager Tony Mansolino makes a decision.

There’s no chance that it completely heals as long as Westburg is swinging a bat and making starts at second and third base, but there’s no alternative. He isn’t shutting down. What the hand needs will be ignored.

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.

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.

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.

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.

It’s beginning to happen right before our eyes. The first-overall draft pick in 2022, formerly the top prospect in baseball, is drifting to star status and rising above the hype that could have buried him.

Jackson Holliday was gaining as much notice for his struggles in the majors as the tools that got him there. He experienced frustration and the disappointment of getting sent down as a rookie last season, batting .189 with a .565 OPS in 60 games while exposed for the first time to failure. He struck out 69 times, a total he matched in 86 more plate appearances going into last night.

Holliday was hitting .265/.313/.422 with 12 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 32 RBIs. He tied his career high with four RBIs in the series opener against the Rangers and came within a triple of the cycle. And he did it again from the leadoff spot, where he’s become tethered.

Last night marked the 37^th time this season that Holliday batted first, the 32^nd since Tony Mansolino became interim manager. The lineup combinations spin like reels on a slot machine, but Holliday apparently won’t move unless he’s on the bench.

Mansolino said it casually Monday night, but he made one of the boldest statements of the season.

The Orioles’ strategy for beating the heat wasn’t sustainable, but they had a solid plan for winning a game.

How does a team prepare for a first-pitch temperature of 100 degrees?

“By being inside,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino.

The Orioles didn’t hit this afternoon or plan on taking batting practice before the next two games. But they eventually had to face the oppressive conditions, as well as the Rangers, and try to rebound from back-to-back losses in the Bronx.

The option to not hit would be lifted at 6:35 p.m. and Jackson Holliday went to work by driving in the Orioles' first four runs to support Trevor Rogers, who kept his cool with eight magnificent, scoreless innings in a 6-0 victory before an announced crowd of 13,929 at Camden Yards.

Ryan O’Hearn has opened up a commanding lead in voting for American League designated hitter for next month’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.

O’Hearn has received 937,205 votes to stay well ahead of the Yankees’ Ben Rice (409,336). This would be O’Hearn’s first All-Star selection.

Nelson Cruz in 2014 is the only Orioles designated hitter to be elected by fans.

O’Hearn is slashing .305/.387/.480 with nine doubles, 10 home runs and 29 RBIs in 65 games. His 1.9 fWAR ranks second on the team behind Gunnar Henderson’s 2.0.

Jackson Holliday stays in second place among AL second basemen with 806,133 votes, barely ahead of the Astros’ José Altuve at 795,123. The Tigers’ Gleyber Torres is first with 1,133,888.

TAMPA – The Rays’ offense entered tonight’s game scorching hot. In four consecutive games, all wins, Tampa had posted at least seven runs. 

For the first time in what has felt like a long time, the Rays were stifled. Orioles pitching won the night in Baltimore's 5-1 victory. 

"It seems like 26 guys are playing well right now," interim manager Tony Mansolino said after the game.

The story was Dean Kremer and the bullpen, but the O's offense got things started. 

All Jordan Westburg has done since returning from the injured list is produce. His second-inning double, hit over 110 mph off the bat, set the Orioles up with their first scoring chance of the night. Ryan O’Hearn pushed him to third, and Ramón Laureano brought him home to make it 1-0 Baltimore. 

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 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.

Jordan Westburg raised hopes with his reinstatement Tuesday from the injured list, and expectations soared when he hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth and came back last night with a double, walk and three-run homer.

Look who's back. Back again.

Westburg punished a fastball from Tigers right-hander Will Vest in the first game of the series and a sinker last night from right-hander Beau Brieske, but the Orioles need more production against lefties. The loss dropped their record to 4-14 against southpaw starters, including openers like the Tigers’ Brant Hurter.

Overall, the Orioles entered last night slashing .202/.277/.279 against left-handers. Westburg will be in the lineup most nights, and every time the Orioles are matched up against them.

“I think whenever a guy comes off the IL, you don’t expect him to carry us, so the expectation for Jordan after missing a month, he’s not going to carry us,” warned interim manager Tony Mansolino. “If he does, we’ll take it. But I think over time as he gets back to himself, yeah.

The Orioles are renovating and relocating the Jim Henneman Press Box for the 2026 season, using the current space for a new premium club section behind home plate.

The club section will accommodate a capacity of 380 members as part of the upgrades to Camden Yards set in motion since the Orioles reached agreement with the Maryland Stadium Authority on a new lease.

The MSA approved a $600 million bond program to that will be used for additional improvements. Other renovations on the horizon include an improved sound system, larger scoreboard and video board, and new control room.

The team’s press release today details perks of the club section and describes it as an immersive indoor-outdoor experience that will feature “the best views in Oriole Park and include VIP parking, a private entrance, and a rotating upscale menu and beverage program.”

Construction is scheduled to begin following the 2025 season and will be operational for 2026. Fans can follow along with all the ballpark renovations at Orioles.com/OrioleParkUpgrades, and the Orioles encourage them to sign up to be on the priority list at Orioles.com/premiumclub.

Cade Povich put his hands on his head as Colton Cowser scaled the center field fence. A spectacular catch would limit the damage in the fifth inning and make it easier for the Orioles to rally. Having the ball fall on the other side would hasten his departure and complicate a comeback attempt.

Cowser landed on the track without the ball. Spencer Torkelson circled the bases with a 419-foot home run. And Povich was gone after one more batter.

A winning West Coast road trip was followed tonight by a 5-3 loss to the Tigers before an announced crowd of 20,291 at Camden Yards. The Orioles are 13 games below .500 again, with the return of a couple more injured players unable to provide a needed spark against the best team in baseball.

Povich was done after Zach McKinstry’s triple. He allowed five runs and nine hits with one walk and six strikeouts. The start drained him of 98 pitches and raised his ERA to 5.46.

Jordan Westburg marked his return from the injured list with a leadoff homer off Will Vest in the ninth, his first since April 19, but the next three batters were retired.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The Orioles had gone two consecutive series without allowing four earned runs or more. They, of course, won all six of those games. 

Tonight, Baltimore allowed four earned runs by the end of the third inning. The offense couldn't find the right hits, and the O's fell 5-4 to the Athletics, snapping Baltimore's six-game winning streak. 

A lefty starter on the mound presented a tall task for an Orioles lineup that had been the worst in baseball at hitting southpaws this season. Perhaps some struggles evaporate in the midst of a winning stretch. 

The hometown kid got things started. 

It would take about 20 minutes for Dylan Carlson to hop in the car and drive from Sutter Health Park, the site of the O’s series against the Athletics, to Elk Grove High School, his alma mater. A late game might help him beat some traffic, too.