ARLINGTON, Texas - The grind of the first half finally caught up to the mailbag. It lacked energy. It stranded questions.

The break came at the ideal time.

Let's get to the latest edition of the beloved 2008 original while the Orioles are enjoying an off-day - after playing only three games to begin the second half.

There are worse places to be than Miami. I had my fun during those South Florida spring trainings. Let someone else have a turn.

The post-break doesn’t bring serious changes to the mailbag. Same rules as the first. I don’t need to improve the clarity, shorten the length or adjust the style.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles won’t begin the second half with a sweep.

Former Orioles minor league catcher Jonah Heim hit a three-run homer off Dean Kremer today in the fourth inning and the Rangers avoided an early crash to post a 3-2 victory before an announced crowd of 31,808 at Globe Life Field.

The Yankees lost again today to remain two games behind the Orioles in the American League East.

An offense that built 4-0 leads in the first and second innings the past two nights couldn’t hurt left-hander Andrew Heaney, who entered with 10 losses but also a 3.79 ERA. They went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranded five during his five scoreless innings.

Anthony Santander hit a two-run homer off David Robertson in the eighth after Adley Rutschman walked to reduce the lead to 3-2. Santander’s 27^th left him one behind team-leader Gunnar Henderson, and he totaled eight RBIs in the series.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Ryan O’Hearn has his left knee wrapped after being hit last night by a 95.1 mph fastball from Rangers reliever Daniel Robert. He’s out of the lineup but would have been on the bench with the Orioles facing left-hander Andrew Heaney.

O’Hearn stayed down as head athletic trainer Brian Ebel and manager Brandon Hyde rushed onto the field in the seventh inning. O’Hearn finally rose to his feet, walked to first base and refused to come out.

“Got a lot of family here, I don’t get to play here very often,” said O’Hearn, a Florida native who grew up in Texas and attended Sam Houston State. “Had probably 15 people in the stands, so I wanted to stay in the game, and glad I did.”

The other reason was the home run that O’Hearn hit off José Leclerc in the ninth inning. He lifted a slider 387 feet to left-center field and made it around the bases.

“Felt good,” he said. “I’ve been driving the ball to left field pretty well lately. I know in Camden that’s probably an out, but to be able to get it out opposite field here, it feels good.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles go for the sweep of the Rangers this afternoon with Adley Rutschman leading off, Austin Hays in left field and Ryan Mountcastle at first base.

Gunnar Henderson is on the bench.

Hays is 5-for-12 with two doubles and two home runs against Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney. Mountcastle is 4-for-8 with two doubles and two homers.

Jordan Westburg is batting second and playing second base. Jorge Mateo is the shortstop. Colton Cowser is in center field and James McCann is catching.

Dean Kremer is the No. 3 starter in the rotation coming out of the break. He’s gone four and 4 2/3 innings in his last two outings.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Reliever Vinny Nittoli has become a collector of baseball memorabilia.

He didn’t set out to make it a hobby. His professional career led him to it.

“In my man cave I have probably every hat from every team,” he said yesterday afternoon from the visiting clubhouse at Globe Life Field. “It’s been like 30 with minor leagues and major leagues.”

The Orioles reached agreement with Nittoli, 33, on a minor league contract on July 2 after the Cubs signed the veteran reliever and designated him for assignment the following day. Nittoli refused an outright assignment to Triple-A Iowa and became a free agent.

Nittoli appeared in seven games with the Athletics this season and allowed two runs in eight innings. He appeared in one game with the Mariners in 2021, two with the Phillies in 2022 and three with the Mets last summer.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles were a little more patient tonight before pouncing on a Rangers veteran starting pitcher. They actually waited until the second inning.

For the post-break Orioles, that’s considered slow out of the gate.

Nine batters came to the plate against three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer and four runs scored to match last night’s total in the first against Nathan Eovaldi.

Scherzer was removed before the third, Texas native Grayson Rodriguez celebrated his homecoming with a quality start and the Orioles continued to thrive at Globe Life Field with an 8-4 victory before an announced crowd of 38,410.

Cedric Mullins hit his 10^th home run, Jordan Westburg his 16th and Ryan O'Hearn his 12th, and the Orioles posted their 60^th win, a total they reached last season on July 22. Their lead in the division increased to two games.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Kyle Stowers walked through the outfield early this afternoon, pausing to chat with a few teammates. He returned to the clubhouse, put on his street clothes, grabbed his backpack and headed out the door again.

Stowers was optioned for the second time this season, the predictable counter move to Heston Kjerstad’s reinstatement from the seven-day concussion injured list.

The Orioles recalled Stowers on May 13, optioned him June 19 and brought him back July 13 after Yankees closer Clay Holmes drilled Kjerstad on the ear flap and emptied both dugouts and bullpens.

The movement and roster construction have limited Stowers to 37 plate appearances with the Orioles. He’s 11-for-36, including a pinch-hit single off Holmes Sunday that fueled a three-run rally and walk-off win.

That’s the only at-bat for Stowers during his return to the majors. He was a defensive replacement last night.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles reinstated outfielder Heston Kjerstad from the seven-day concussion list today and optioned outfielder Kyle Stowers to Triple-A Norfolk.

Kjerstad had a full workout yesterday and was cleared to play. He’s in right field tonight.

Stowers is 11-for-36 with four doubles and a home run in 19 games with the Orioles. He had one at-bat after replacing Kjerstad on the roster, and his single off Clay Holmes ignited Sunday’s ninth-inning rally against the Yankees that produced a walk-off win.

Anthony Santander is the designated hitter tonight. Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base and Ryan Mountcastle is on the bench.

Colton Cowser is in left field and Cedric Mullins is in center. Ramón Urías is playing third base, with Jordan Westburg at second.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Ryan O’Hearn dealt with the disappointment of losing the All-Star vote at designated hitter and failing to make the American League team as a reserve. He enjoyed the time home instead, got some rest and arrived at Globe Life Field ready for the second-half grind.

O’Hearn joined the viewership for the Home Run Derby and the game. He hung on every swing.

“Fun to watch all the way around,” he said yesterday. “Obviously, I would have loved to have been a part of it, but fun for me to watch our guys and pull for our guys, cheer for them on that big stage.”

Gunnar Henderson was the top seed in the Derby with 28 homers but hit only 11, the lowest total in the eight-player field.

O’Hearn has his own Derby experience going back to 2015 in the South Atlantic League while playing for the Lexington Legends in the Royals system.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles already confronted the team that swept them in the Division Series, winning three of four games in Baltimore. However, tonight’s matchup brought them back to the scene of the final crime.

The visiting clubhouse at Globe Life Field was a bit livelier this afternoon than on Oct. 10, when a 7-1 loss to the Rangers put the finishing torch to their championship aspirations.

“You had to bring that up?” manager Brandon Hyde joked earlier today.

“That was not a fun series in any way. We played good here besides that, though. So regular season, good memories, postseason, bad memory.”

Nathan Eovaldi won the decisive Game 3, but the Orioles jumped him early tonight. Adley Rutschman and Colton Cowser hit two-run homers in the first inning, Anthony Santander homered twice and Corbin Burnes registered his 16^th quality start in a 9-1 victory before an announced crowd of 36,336.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Danny Coulombe and John Means are visiting teammates at Globe Life Field this weekend, another reminder of how much they are missed.

Means is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery and has his left elbow in a brace. Coulombe underwent a procedure to remove bone chips from his left elbow.

Coulombe said his recovery is “going along really well.”

“I feel like it’s right on track. We’re pretty optimistic about it,” he said.

“We’re still just working on a little bit of range-of-motion stuff. But it’s coming along really well. And, hopefully, soon we can start some catch and then just get it rolling.”

ARLINGTON, Texas – Corbin Burnes follows his scoreless first inning in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Globe Life Field with tonight’s start against the Rangers that begins the second half.

Burnes made his first career start against the Rangers on June 27 at Camden Yards and held them to one run with nine hits over seven innings. Adolis García homered off Burnes.

According to STATS, Burnes is the only pitcher in the modern era with a career WHIP under 1.00 on the road in a minimum 50 starts. His WHIP is 0.99.

Colton Cowser is in left field tonight and Cedric Mullins is in center. Jorge Mateo is the second baseman and Jordan Westburg is at third.

Adley Rutschman (59) and Anthony Santander (58) had at least 55 RBIs at the break, just the third pair of switch-hitting teammates to do it after Cleveland’s José Ramírez and Francisco Lindor in 2019 and Carlos Baerga and Eddie Murray in 1994, according to STATS.

ARLINGTON, Texas – They sat next to each other in their new Orioles uniforms, with freshly signed contracts to remain teammates beyond college.

Infielder Griff O’Ferrall and catcher Ethan Anderson were shoulder-to-shoulder during this morning’s video call with media and quick to smile at the opportunity to go from the University of Virginia to first-day picks in the 2024 draft.

“It’s pretty crazy,” O’Ferrall said. “Especially, we were roommates for the past two years, so definitely are very close. We were definitely in shock when we found out we were going to the same team. But we went from living together and now we’re going to be spending more time together, so it doesn’t change much for us. But it’s definitely exciting.”

“Griff has been one of the closest teammates for me the last three years,” Anderson said. “I don’t know if it’s like I haven’t left UVA or this is just like the next chapter and we’re still together.”

The Orioles chose O’Ferrall with the 32^nd-overall selection, a prospect performance incentive compensation reward after Gunnar Henderson was named American League Rookie of the Year. Anderson arrived in the second round, the 61^st-overall selection and the first of four catchers grabbed by the organization.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Time to get back to work.

The All-Star break was more restful to some players than others, but it offered a needed reset for a team that’s 9-13 since leaving the Bronx on a high note.

The Orioles worked out last night at Globe Life Field, where Corbin Burnes, Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg played in the All-Star Game. Burnes is rejoining the club after flying back to his Arizona home that night.

Whether the Orioles repeat as American League East champions is probably the top question hanging in the air. They’d need to experience a monumental collapse to finish outside the playoff field, but yes, it’s a mathematical possibility.

We’ll lump those two together. Do they make the playoffs, and if so, are they atop the division?

ARLINGTON, Texas – For only the second time in franchise history, the Orioles will play the Blue Jays on Opening Day. And 2025 will mark the first time that it’s happened in Canada.

Major League Baseball released the schedule for next year and the Orioles begin with a four-game series at Rogers Centre that runs from March 27-March 30.

Opening Day at Camden Yards is slated for March 31 against the Red Sox, with the standard off-day before the last two games.

The first multi-city trip follows with stops in Kansas City and Phoenix. Next is the longest homestand of the season with a combined nine games against the Blue Jays, Guardians and Reds.

The Orioles conclude the regular season with a three-game series in New York from Sept. 26-28.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The next time that the Orioles begin the second half of their season in the same city that hosted the All-Star Game, please let it be Honolulu or Rome. I’d take New York or Chicago right now.

How much longer until Las Vegas?

Pausing at the break allows teams and the media to regroup. We still find the Orioles with a one-game lead over the Yankees. They didn’t lose ground after Sunday.

Other realities remain untouched, like a pair of five-game losing streaks since leaving the Bronx, and how they needed two Yankees blunders with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning Sunday to eek out a 6-5 win.

Going 2-for-39 with runners in scoring position on the last homestand is hard to comprehend. Saw it happen and still don’t fully grasp it.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The lights on the 2024 baseball season are dimmed for a few days. Teams can conduct business, but they aren’t playing until Friday.

The trade deadline is July 30. Trust me, they haven’t shut down completely.

The 94^th All-Star Game is history, with the American League winning 5-3 in 2 hours and 28 minutes, the quickest since 1988. Letting the Rangers host at Life Globe Field provided coverage.

A roof, I mean. The media was gonna cover it anyway.

The high temperature yesterday was 102 degrees, edging out Baltimore if the weather app on my phone was accurate. And this was an issue on Monday with unnecessarily long lines to pick up credentials and to enter through the media gate.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Corbin Burnes jogged from the American League dugout to the mound tonight to begin his warmup tosses, paused and conducted a television interview. He smiled, gave the network what it wanted and got down to business.

The 94^th All-Star Game remained a glamorized exhibition, but Burnes tried to find his competitive fire, tossing a scoreless first inning on 19 pitches and retreating to the clubhouse.

A one-out walk to Shohei Ohtani and Bryce Harper’s two-out double down the left field line extended Burnes’ stay. He fielded William Contreras’ grounder, threw to first and wrapped his arms around his former Brewers catcher as they converged along the line.

It truly is an exhibition.

“It was fun,” Burnes said before the AL's 5-3 win. “I wish I wouldn’t have walked Shohei, but it was fun. I mean, there’s really no words to express just the atmosphere playing around the best players in the game. I told them to be ready, I’m going to let them put it in play, so they were ready out there, and fortunately, we got out of it with a scoreless inning.”

ARLINGTON, Texas – Corbin Burnes is having an All-Star experience that’s more like a flyby.

Burnes arrived in Dallas around 11 a.m. this morning and he’s boarding a flight back to Phoenix as soon as his start is over and he can shower and change clothes. The entire experience will last fewer than 12 hours if the plan is executed.

Get three outs and get back to his wife Brooke and twin daughters Charlotte and Harper.

Burnes is making his first career start among four consecutive selections to the All-Star Game. He’s the first Orioles pitcher to receive the honor since Steve Stone in 1980.

“It’s awesome to find out I was going to get the opportunity to start the game,” Burnes said. “There’s very few people that have gotten to start All-Star Games for the length that the All-Star Game’s been around. The join that group is special, and obviously there’s some pretty cool names that have been able to do it. Getting that opportunity to do that was awesome, and excited to get out there.”

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles haven’t hosted baseball’s All-Star Game since 1993, the second year of Camden Yards' existence. Back when they wanted to show it off to the world.

They’re on the radar again, which promises nothing but keeps them in the conversation.

Commissioner Rob Manfred said this morning that the club has “definitely” expressed an interest in the Midsummer Classic. The next available date is 2027, after Atlanta next year and Philadelphia in 2026.

A new ownership group headed by David Rubenstein has made securing the event a priority.

“We hope by that time the stadium will be rehabilitated a bit, and therefore, we’d like to show it off,” Rubenstein said on March 28. “Once we have the rehabilitated Camden Yards, I think it would be a great time to then show it off. We’ll make sure we have it completed, though, but we are interested in it and I am familiar with the situation.”