The Baltimore Orioles today announced that CATIE GRIGGS will serve as the first female President of Business Operations in team history, where she will oversee all aspects of the Orioles business operation. 

“Catie’s track record of success, diverse business experience, and commitment to excellence made her the perfect fit to lead the next chapter of our business operation in Baltimore,” said Orioles Owner and Control Person DAVID M. RUBENSTEIN. "The entire Orioles organization welcomes Catie as we continue to elevate every aspect of our operation.”

Griggs was named President of Business Operations for the Seattle Mariners in July 2021 where she managed all aspects of the Mariners business operations including investments to improve technology, operations, and fan experience at T-Mobile Park. In addition, Catie led the charge as T-Mobile Park became the first venue to host both MLB All-Star Week (2023) and the NHL Winter Classic (2024) within a calendar year. Combined, the two events generated over $80+ million in revenue for the city of Seattle and directly engaged more than 300,000 fans.

Before joining the Mariners, Griggs spent the previous four years (2017-2021) helping build Atlanta United into one of the premier Major League Soccer franchises. She was Chief Business Officer, overseeing all aspects of the Atlanta United front office.  Prior to Atlanta United, Griggs was with Futures Sport & Entertainment, as well as Turner Broadcasting.

“I am genuinely thrilled to be joining the Orioles organization. Supporting this storied franchise, the city of Baltimore, and our passionate fans is an incredible honor,” said GRIGGS. “I look forward to contributing to the team’s success both on and off the field.”

When he got off to a sensational start to his 2024 season, outfielder Colton Cowser was showing for the first time that he might be a good big league player. Showing it, not in minor league games, but at the big league level.

But even he had to realize it might not always go as well as it was then, or he might not be able to make it look as easy as he did then.

Named the American League Rookie of the Month for March/April, he ended that period batting .303/.372/.632/.1.004 with six homers and 18 RBIs.

He ended April ninth in the AL in FanGraphs.com Wins Above Replacement among league position players.

But struggles would follow that torrid hitting stretch. While his OPS for this year of .740 puts him 13 percent above AL average, his OPS was .580 in May, .679 in June and is .490 so far in July.

OAKLAND – The Orioles’ two All-Star starters made the first two outs today, with Gunnar Henderson grounding out and Adley Rutschman flying out. Anthony Santander followed with a home run. Ryan O’Hearn and Jordan Westburg singled, and they scored on Heston Kjerstad’s three-run shot.

A day after surrendering 19 runs in a blowout loss, the Orioles pounced and vented early, leading from the beginning in a 6-3 win over the Athletics in their final game at Oakland Coliseum. And a few All-Star omissions – some might say snubs - couldn’t be silenced.

Santander’s homer off Mitch Spence raised his total to 23, tied for fourth in the majors as the ball landed in the right field seats. He was a finalist in voting for American League outfielders, missed by one spot and didn’t get selected as a reserve.

O’Hearn was a finalist at designated hitter, missing election by four percent of the votes. Jordan Westburg was a finalist at third base. They’re also staying home barring a late substitution.

Corbin Burnes brought the total number of Orioles to three with his fourth selection in a row. That was the cutoff.

OAKLAND – The Orioles found out today that only one other player from the club that’s tied for the best record in the American League has been chosen for the All-Star Game.

If anyone else goes to Arlington, Texas, it will be as a late substitute.

Corbin Burnes made his fourth All-Star team in a row after going 9-3 with a 2.32 ERA, 1.021 WHIP and 14 quality starts in 18 outings. He didn’t appear in the last two games and must decide whether to leave his wife Brooke and their twin daughters. He rejoined the club in Seattle after going on the paternity list.

“Still going to have that conversation with my wife,” he said. “Obviously, just found out a little bit ago. She's already told me to go. So I'll see what the final decision is in the next day or so. But if I do go, definitely honored to be a part of it.

“It's a fun week. It's kind of one of those you never know when it's going to be your last. So I understand my wife's sentiments on me having to go to the game. We'll see what happens, but definitely just an honor to be selected.”

In the final game of a three-game series and six-game road trip, the Orioles (56-33) play at Oakland (34-57) today. The O's won the series-opener 3-2 Friday and lost 19-8 on Saturday. 

That game produced season-highs or really lows for the Orioles.

* It was the most runs they have allowed this season, topping the 14 from June 21 at Houston.

* It is the most runs the Orioles have allowed since a 22-7 loss on Sept. 12, 2021 against Toronto.

* The Orioles also allowed season highs in hits with 18 (the previous most was 15) and homers, allowing five, one more than the four they gave up to Texas on June 29.

OAKLAND – The Orioles will try to win the series this afternoon while they also complete their West Coast trip, saying goodbye to the Oakland Coliseum for the last time.

They also want to avoid a second series loss to the Athletics this season.

Heston Kjerstad is in left field and Cedric Mullins is in center. Colton Cowser is on the bench.

Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base. Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter, moving down to seventh in the order.

Ramón Urías is playing third base again, with Jordan Westburg at second.

BOWIE, Md. – You won’t find his name on those top 30 prospect lists. He doesn’t throw a blazing fastball. He played college ball at the Div. 1 level and was not a high draft pick. 

But what Bowie bullpen right-hander Dylan Heid does have is very impressive stats and a very unique pitch he throws on rare occasions, a pitch not seen much anymore in pro baseball.

The O’s selected Heid (pronounced Hyde-like the O’s skipper) in Round 11 out of Pitt-Johnston of the 2021 draft. There he was a starter with big stats then too. As a senior in 2021, he went 7-2 with a 1.37 ERA. Over 59 1/3 he walked 15 and fanned 105 and had a seven-inning no-hitter on his resume.

This season with Double-A Bowie, Heid, 26, is 4-2 with a 1.11 ERA in 25 games. He pitched three hitless, scoreless innings earlier this week versus Richmond and added 1 1/3 scoreless in Bowie's extra-innings loss last night. For the year over 40 2/3 innings, he has allowed just 22 hits with 14 walks to 40 strikeouts, along with a 0.89 WHIP and .157 average against. Lefty batters are hitting .154 off him and right-handers are at .169.

Over his past 14 games, Heid has allowed two earned runs in 25 2/3 innings for an ERA of 0.70 in this span.

OAKLAND – An opposing right-handed pitcher today will cause Orioles manager Brandon Hyde and his staff to dig through the stats packets and check the splits before posting the lineup. It isn’t as simple as loading up on left-handed hitters.

Hyde sat Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad yesterday against Athletics right-hander Luis Medina. Austin Hays played left field, as he did the previous night. But he was matched against left-hander Hogan Harris in the series opener.

Hays doubled twice and singled for his second three-hit game of the season. He singled and doubled yesterday and had a sacrifice fly.

Medina’s splits are pronounced and reversed, with right-handers before yesterday slashing .295/.357/.459 and left-handers slashing .214/.323/.286. Within all of the minuscule sample sizes, Hays was 1-for-1 with a double against him lifetime.

Managers love lineup questions a little less than media members love asking them, but Hyde offered a solid explanation before yesterday’s game.

With Friday's 3-2 win at Oakland, the Orioles improved to 3-1 on their West Coast road trip, winning another well pitched game. Right-hander Albert Suárez and three relievers teamed on a five-hitter with 11 strikeouts.

The O's wins on the trip have come via 2-0, 4-1 and 3-2 scores, so three wins allowing just three runs.

The Orioles (56-32) begin play Saturday leading the American League East by three games over the Yankees, who have gone 4-14 their past 18 games with a loss Friday to Boston.

O's starting pitchers on this trip - Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Corbin Burnes and Suárez - have allowed four runs and 12 hits and eight walks over 23 1/3 innings while striking out 28. The rotation ERA is 1.54 in this span.

O's starting pitchers have allowed two earned runs or fewer eight times over their past nine games, posting a 2.42 ERA in this stretch.

In some circles, after his struggles earlier this year in the majors with the Orioles, Jackson Holliday’s prospect status may have taken a bit of a hit. Whether it was just that other players deserved to move up or Holliday dropped a bit, he fell to second twice this season on the Baseball America top 100 list.

But he has remained No. 1 all season on the MLBPipeline.com top 100.

In June, Baseball America rated Pittsburgh right-hander Paul Skenes No. 1. He graduated from the list, however, and in an update released just days ago the publication rated Washington Nationals outfield prospect James Wood No. 1 and Holliday No. 2. Wood, who produced an OPS of 1.058 at Triple-A this year, was promoted to the majors July 1.

But Holliday, for now, remains at Triple-A and atop the MLBPipeline rankings.

Analyst Jim Callis from MLB.com and MLBPipeline.com said he didn’t see Holliday losing any prospect status, even after his 2-for-34 with the Orioles from April 10-23.

As the Orioles play the Athletics in Oakland tonight, beginning a three-game series, they can only hope this trip there goes as well as the last one to Oakland. 

Last August, they won there by scores of 9-4. 7-2 and 12-1, outscoring the A's 28-7 in the series sweep. Their batters produced 42 hits and six homers in the series batting .350 with an OPS of 1.002. Their pitchers allowed just those seven runs with a 2.25 series ERA and .632 OPS against.

The Orioles have three straight wins at Oakland by five runs or more, and their longest streak of such games versus any opponent is four. They won four in a row by five runs or more at the White Sox (1969), Royals (2002-2003) and Red Sox (2004).

The Orioles went 6-1 against Oakland last year. But the Athletics have already topped that win total, going 2-1 in a series at Baltimore April 27-29. Oakland won the series opener 3-2 in 10 innings before a 7-0 O's win and Oakland's 7-6 victory in the series finale.

The Orioles lost 7-3 yesterday at Seattle but took two of three in that series. The Orioles are 19-6-3 in series for the season and are 8-3-2 in 13 road series. They have a road record of 26-15 and are 18-10 in series-opening games. 

SEATTLE – Craig Kimbrel wasn’t available to pitch yesterday in Seattle after making back-to-back appearances. He walked a tightrope the first night and tied the Mariners in knots the next.

The results remain positive.

Kimbrel has surrendered only one earned run in his last 19 innings, a stretch that began after his horrendous outing in D.C. that cost him the closer’s job for a brief spell. He had eight saves at that point and earned his 21^st Wednesday after retiring the side in order with two strikeouts and a popup in foul territory.

The only blown save came in New York on June 19, but he struck out Gleyber Torres to carry the game into the 10^th inning and got the win.

What is behind the turnaround?

SEATTLE – The Orioles couldn’t let a sleeping offense lie.

Bryan Baker loaded the bases in the seventh inning with the score tied, Keegan Akin entered with two outs and the Mariners’ J.P. Crawford doubled to right-center field to plate three runs. Mitch Garver followed with a homer.

A crowd that kept verbalizing its annoyance with Seattle’s silent bats finally had reason to erupt.

Corbin Burnes’ latest quality start and Gunnar Henderson’s flirtation with the cycle were sidenotes to the Orioles’ failure to complete the sweep, losing a lead and ultimately the game, 7-3, before an announced crowd of 32,347 at T-Mobile Park

The Yankees lost again today to keep the Orioles (55-32) two games ahead in the division.

Against a Seattle Mariners team that ranks 13^th in the American League and 27^th in the majors scoring 3.78 runs per game, the Orioles have allowed just one run in two games.

They have 2-0 and 4-1 victories at T-Mobile Park and can complete a three-game sweep today against the AL West leaders.

The Orioles look for their sixth series sweep of the year of three games or more. They swept four at Chicago versus the White Sox from May 23-26. They won four straight in Florida against the Rays from June 7-10. They have three-game sweeps over Boston, Minnesota, and Cincinnati.

They look for the sweep against a Mariners team (47-41) that has scored just five runs during a four-game losing streak. Seattle has lost seven of nine and 10 of its past 13 games. The M’s first-place lead is down to two games over the Houston Astros.

In these two games, Baltimore pitchers have allowed just seven hits in 18 innings with six walks and 24 strikeouts against the team that has struck out more than any in the majors. Seattle batters have fanned 901 times.

SEATTLE – Ryan Mountcastle is out of the Orioles lineup this afternoon in the series finale in Seattle after returning to it last night.

Adley Rutschman also is on the bench, as the Orioles go for the sweep.

Heston Kjerstad is batting second and serving as the designated hitter.

Colton Cowser is in left field. Jordan Westburg is at third base, with Jorge Mateo at second.

Corbin Burnes seeks his 14^th quality start. He faced the Mariners on May 19 and allowed an unearned run with 11 strikeouts in six innings.

ABERDEEN, Md. – The art of the steal can be seen this year at Ripken Stadium and other ballparks around the High-A South Atlantic League. 

No one is getting ripped off here, but a lot of bags have been stolen.

The Orioles' Aberdeen IronBirds affiliate, using a combination of speed and smarts, is stealing bases like no other team in minor league baseball.

With three players with 30 or more steals already, Aberdeen has stolen a whopping 216 bases this year getting caught 46 times for a success percentage of 82.4.

The IronBirds are the only minor league team among 120 clubs in full season ball with 200 or more steals through Tuesday night’s games. If we take the league leading team from each of the minors’ 11 full-season leagues, only two other clubs are within 50 steals of the IronBirds.

SEATTLE – The math leaves two possible outcomes for Orioles ace Corbin Burnes.

If Burnes starts every fifth day heading into the break, beginning this afternoon against the Mariners, his turn falls on July 14 against the Yankees at Camden Yards. An important 11:35 a.m. game between the top two teams in the division to finish the first half.

If Burnes is on the mound every fifth game, with extra rest coming from Monday’s open date on the schedule, he’d be available to pitch in the All-Star Game on July 16.

He’d be available to start for the first time.

Burnes hasn’t paused to think about it. He’s preoccupied with wife Brooke giving birth to twin girls Charlotte and Harper early Friday morning in Arizona. Burnes is a tired dad working on six days’ rest this afternoon following last Thursday’s outing at Camden Yards.

The Orioles' six-game road trip continues tonight as the Orioles (54-31) play at Seattle (47-40) in a matchup of American League division leaders. If the O's get another win there, they will have a series victory. 

Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez and three relievers teamed on a two-hit shutout as the Orioles won 2-0 in last night's series opener. Rodriguez went 6 1/3 innings, allowing two hits and four walks while recording eight strikeouts. He threw 104 pitches, three off his season high, and improved to 10-3 with a 3.45 ERA.

In two starts this year versus Seattle he has thrown 12 1/3 scoreless, allowing just three hits for an .079 average against with seven walks to 15 strikeouts.

Rodriguez produced his eighth quality start of the season and the Orioles are 11-4 in his 15 starts.

He is the third O's pitcher 24 or younger to have 10 wins in his first 15 starts of a season:

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Reinstated RHP Dean Kremer from the 15-day Injured List (right triceps strain). He will start tonight’s game.
• Optioned LHP Nick Vespi to Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles have made the following roster move:

• Agreed to terms on a 2024 Minor League contract with RHP Vinny Nittoli.