The latest road trip began last night at Dodger Stadium, where the World Series memories for the franchise are much nicer than in Queens. The Orioles are down to two after they return next week from Denver, playing three games in Boston and Detroit and three in New York and Minnesota.

The roster is going to change multiple times to uphold the 2024 theme. It’s much too late for stability. Don't even think it.

The injured list should get a little bit lighter. An extra player and position player can be added on Sept. 1.

In the meantime, let’s check out some more lingering questions.

* How long is the leash on Burch Smith?

The lack of fresh relievers impacted starter Trevor Rogers.

The Orioles optioned Rogers early this afternoon within a bevy of roster moves that included calling up left-hander Nick Vespi and selecting right-hander Matt Bowman’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk.

Rogers’ next turn in the rotation was Sunday but the spot became listed as TBA.

“Just kind of where we are bullpen-wise,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “We feel like we needed to get some help in the bullpen, get some guys that are able to pitch tonight. Cade (Povich) is gonna throw tomorrow, so we want Trevor to stay ready. We’ll see what happens here. We just want him to stay ready and we’ll see how things shake out the next couple weeks.”

The Orioles sent outfielder Kyle Stowers and second baseman Connor Norby to the Marlins for Rogers at the trade deadline. He’s posted a 7.11 ERA and 1.842 WHIP in four starts and hasn’t gone more than five innings.

The Orioles were short one reliever yesterday at Citi Field and apparently are making a move to correct it.

Left-hander Nick Vespi is joining the Orioles today, per sources. And there could be more roster changes coming after yesterday’s waiver claim of infielder Emmanuel Rivera.

Vespi made the Opening Day roster with Jacob Webb on the paternity list. He was optioned two days later, recalled May 22 as the 27^th man in St. Louis and immediately returned to Triple-A Norfolk, recalled May 24 when Dean Kremer went on the injured list with a triceps strain, optioned three days later, recalled June 3 and optioned three days later when the Orioles selected Cade Povich’s contract, was recalled June 15 when Kyle Bradish went on the IL with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament, and was optioned again July 3 when Kremer was reinstated.

Teams can’t option a player more than five times in a season without going through the waiver process. Sending him down after the 27th-man designation doesn’t count against the total.

Vespi has appeared in 10 games and allowed four runs and 10 hits in 11 1/3 innings. Three runs were surrendered over 1 1/3 innings in his last major league outing on June 30 against the Rangers.

NEW YORK – The rain delay lasted only 10 minutes tonight, and the Orioles fell behind quickly as well after the tarp was peeled back and rolled. An offense that was laboring again covered for Trevor Rogers, who didn’t make it out of the fifth inning.

The rally happened fast, with a balk from David Peterson scoring Ryan Mountcastle in the seventh and Ramón Urías hitting a game-tying homer on the next pitch.

The ending also came suddenly.

Francisco Alvarez homered off Seranthony Domínguez with one out in the bottom of the ninth to give the Mets a 4-3 victory over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 26,874 at Citi Field.

The Yankees are idle tonight and lead the Orioles (73-53) by a half-game.

Can we call one series away from Baltimore a road trip? If we can, the Orioles' next road trip begins tonight at Citi Field with the first of a three-game series against the Mets. That is followed by one series at home against the Astros before the next two-series trip begins a week from tomorrow at the Dodgers.

The Orioles and Yankees are once again tied for the top spot in the American League East with both at 73-52 (.584). They are tied for the best record in the American League and tied for second-best in the majors, with the Phillies first at 73-51 and the Dodgers also at 73-52. It's tight at the top!

The Orioles' 4-2 win on Sunday allowed them to split a four-game series with the Red Sox and go 3-3 on their homestand. The Orioles went 12-13 in July and are 8-8 in August. They are 15-14 since the All-Star Game.

At 64-60, the Mets are in third place, nine games out in the National League East, and chasing the final NL wild card spot. It is currently held by the Braves (66-58) with the Mets next up, two games behind them.

The Mets are 3-2 the last five games but 3-6 the last nine. They have lost 12 of 21 games. They are 15-14 since the break, same as the Orioles.

NEW YORK – Austin Slater is leading off tonight at Citi Field and Eloy Jiménez is the designated hitter, as the Orioles go right-handed heavy with their lineup against the Mets.

Colton Cowser is in center field, one of three left-handers to avoid the bench, and Anthony Santander is in right.

Trevor Rogers is making his fourth start with the Orioles. He’s 0-2 with a 7.53 ERA and 1.884 WHIP in only 14 1/3 innings.

Overall, Rogers is 2-11 this season with a 4.89 ERA and 1.571 WHIP in 24 starts. He faced the Mets on July 21 and allowed one earned run and two total in 4 2/3 innings. He has a 3.35 ERA in nine career starts against them and a 2.73 ERA in six starts at Citi Field.

Pete Alonso is 3-for-20 with two home runs.

The Orioles conclude their short series against the Nationals tonight trying for a split after going 5-5 on their road trip. They’ve followed a 12-13 July with a 5-6 August.

They can’t run away from the field and they haven’t surrendered huge chunks of real estate. Playing .500 ball might be good enough to host a playoff series.

No one is recommending mediocrity as a game plan. “Win as many as you lose for the Gipper” is an entirely different speech.  Also makes for a less inspiring movie.

Suggestions to simplify life for the Orioles come across as painfully obvious, but don’t let that stop us.

* Resolve the late relief.

The home clubhouse at Camden Yards had new lockers for four players who joined the Orioles on the road trip. Among them was left-hander Trevor Rogers, who made his first career start tonight in Baltimore.

Anthony Santander was in his usual spot in the back row and on the field. He’s become a constant. And now he’s a record holder.

Santander tied the game in the third inning with his 36^th home run, the most by an Orioles switch-hitter. Ken Singleton had 35 in 1979.

The Orioles went to the World Series that year. Santander is swinging the bat like he’s trying to carry his team deep into the postseason. But he’ll need some cooperation. The offense can’t keep shutting down. More outs are needed from the rotation. More trust must be earned in the bullpen.

Rogers was removed at 78 pitches after James Wood’s leadoff single in the sixth, with four runs and seven hits on his line. Bryan Baker let an inherited runner score and two of his own, and the Orioles lost to the Nationals 9-3 before an announced crowd of 28,058 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles lost to the Rays on Sunday 2-1 as they failed to complete a three-game sweep, which would have been their sixth series sweep of the year.

Now the Orioles go from playing an American League East team – and they have had a lot of success within their division this year – to playing a National League East team. And they have a losing record this year versus NL squads.

The Orioles took two of three over the weekend from the Rays to be 8-2 against them in 2024. They are now are 26-13 versus AL East teams.

The Orioles are 14-18 versus NL teams and they lost their past three series against the NL, going 0-3 versus the Cubs and 1-2 each against the Marlins and Padres. The Orioles are 4-6-1 this season in series against the NL clubs.

Tonight the Orioles host the Nationals to start a two-game series and six-game homestand. The Red Sox come to town on Thursday night.

Coby Mayo is out of the Orioles lineup for tonight’s series opener against the Nationals at Camden Yards.

Ramón Urías gets the start at third base. Ryan O’Hearn is serving as the designated hitter.

Colton Cowser is in left field, Cedric Mullins is in center and Anthony Santander is in right.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers is making his third start with the Orioles after allowing seven earned runs and eight total in 9 1/3 innings. He’s faced the Nationals twice this season with the Marlins and allowed five runs in 12 innings.

Rogers has made 10 career starts against Washington and posted a 3.35 ERA and 1.283 WHIP in 48 1/3 innings. He’s never allowed more than three earned runs.

Of the six Orioles that joined the team during the deals leading up to the trade deadline, we can pretty much say that four of them are doing well thus far. One is trending up and one is trying to stay out of O’s fans' doghouse.

The struggling new Oriole is obviously lefty reliever Gregory Soto. In his first four O’s appearances, he gave up nine hits, eight runs, one homer and three walks in just 2 1/3 innings. He allowed nine hits in 15 at-bats with an ERA of 30.86.

But the Orioles are obviously not going to bail on him after four outings. Soto was an All-Star in both 2021 and 2022 with Detroit and had a 48 percent whiff rate on his slider when they acquired him. The O’s need to get that pitch going to complement his high-90s fastball.

The O’s acquired Eloy Jiménez from the White Sox and some fans wondered why with his injury history and .642 OPS this year. But he came as a player that had produced a .790 career OPS and a Silver Slugger Award in 2020.

Then Jiménez went 11-for-21 through Friday night, batting .524 with an OPS of 1.143. He did not play in Saturday's win, so he maintains those lofty stats heading into today as an Oriole.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Grayson Rodriguez will be shut down for at least 10 days and undergo more imaging on his right shoulder in about three weeks after receiving the diagnosis of a strain that executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias described today as “pretty mild.”

Elias met with local media in the visiting dugout at Tropicana Field and provided an update on Rodriguez, who’s the No. 2 starter in the rotation with a 13-4 record, 3.86 ERA and 1.243 WHIP in 20 games.

Rodriguez was scratched from Tuesday night’s start in Toronto after experiencing discomfort in his right lat/teres while warming in the outfield. Albert Suárez replaced him and tossed five scoreless innings.

The immediate concern centered on the possibility of a similar absence to 2022 with Triple-A Norfolk. Rodriguez missed three months with a lat/teres strain, ruining the Orioles’ plans to promote him.

His current injury isn’t as serious and he’s expected back in the rotation by late September. The discomfort is centered more in the region of the teres major muscle but also involves his lat.

TORONTO – The kid did it again. Jackson Holliday hit yet another homer off the Toronto Blue Jays and this one was huge.

With the Orioles down 3-2 in the seventh, Holliday connected on a two-run shot – his fourth in seven games since rejoining the club – and the O’s had a 4-3 lead.

Anthony Santander provided insurance, with a solo homer in the eighth, his second home run of the game. It came not long after he made a leaping catch against the right-field wall in the seventh to rob Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The robbery came with a man on second and two outs, which preserved the 4-3 lead.

The O’s bullpen got the outs late to make it stand up as the Orioles beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-3 to even this three-game series.

They improved to 68-47 and are 10-9 since the All-Star break. The Orioles are 24-11 in AL East games and 12-4 in division road games.

TORONTO - After losing both a game and pitcher Grayson Rodriguez to injury last night, the Orioles have to figure night two in Toronto will go better for them. 

Now in second place for the first time in over a month (since June 26), the Orioles 67-47 are now 33-22 on the road and 6-5 against Toronto.

The Birds had won the last two games at Cleveland but have now lost three of five and nine of their past 16 games. They are 9-9 since the All-Star break.

The Orioles are 23-11 in American League East games and 11-4 in division games on the road. They are 3-0-1 in four AL East road series. To not lose their first one of the year, they'll need two straight wins at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles had scored 16 runs on 30 hits on Saturday and Sunday in Cleveland and they went 3-for-29 at-bat last night. Jackson Holliday's solo homer to right-center in the sixth was Baltimore's first hit and the Orioles went 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position.

TORONTO - Lefty Trevor Rogers (2-10, 4.76 ERA) will make his second O's start tonight as the Orioles look to even their series with the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Alejandro Kirk hit a three-run homer off lefty reliever Gregory Soto in the sixth inning last night as Toronto beat the Orioles 5-2.

Now 67-47, the Orioles are a half-game behind the Yankees for the division lead. They are not in first place - tied or alone - for the first time since June 26.

Rogers gave up six hits and five runs over 4 1/3 innings on Thursday at Cleveland in his O's debut. He threw 94 pitches in that outing at Progressive Field.

In one career start against Toronto, he allowed five hits and three runs in five innings.

The O's were held to two runs and three hits in the series-opener at Rogers Centre after scoring 16 runs on 30 hits in the last two games at Cleveland. Over their previous 12 games heading into this series, the O's offense was scoring 6.4 runs per game, batting .291 and with an OPS of .859 as a team. But they went just 3-for-29 last night.

TORONTO - The Orioles rotation began play last night with a 3.83 ERA and that ranked as third-best rotation ERA in the American League. That is a solid placing but how long can a rotation stay there when it keeps taking hits?

Kyle Bradish made just eight starts this year. John Means made four and Tyler Wells made just three. Recent trades brought reinforcements with right-hander Zach Eflin and lefty Trevor Rogers. But then righty Grayson Rodriguez gets scratched last night minutes before the game and seems likely headed to the injured list for the second time this year.

Rodriguez is returning to Baltimore to get further evaluation and imaging on an issue the club announced as right lat/teres discomfort. No word yet on how long he may be out.

With that news as a backdrop, lefty Rogers makes his second O's start tonight. In 22 starts this season with 21 for Miami and one for Baltimore he is 2-10 with a 4.76 ERA.

In his last nine Marlins starts before the O's traded for him, he had an ERA of 3.17. But in his first O's outing on Thursday at Cleveland, he gave up five runs over 4 1/3 innings.

When the Orioles beat Toronto 10-4 on Wednesday and Jackson Holliday hit a grand slam, the high of that win got deflated postgame by the news that Jordan Westburg had fractured his right hand and would miss significant time.

When they got hammered 10-3 by Cleveland last night as lefty Trevor Rogers gave up five runs in his O’s debut, the gloom and doom of that loss was lifted by the news that Coby Mayo is joining the Orioles today in Cleveland.

The news was first reported here on MASNSports.com last night.

Mayo is ranked as baseball’s No. 12 prospect in the top 100 by Baseball America and No. 15 via MLBPipeline.com.

It seemed that when Westburg got hurt, that Mayo might replace him at third base. But Livan Soto was called up yesterday. However now, just like that, the team is turning to Mayo.

CLEVELAND – Trevor Rogers walked into the visiting clubhouse at Progressive Field this afternoon with bags in hand and met his new teammates, manager and staff. The plan called for some small talk and heavy preparation for his first start with the Orioles. The time to get acclimated was scarce. Save it for later.

“Those things happen,” Brandon Hyde said this afternoon. “I’ve seen it many times before.”

Hyde watched as Rogers fell behind early, appeared to find his rhythm and lost the slim margin that separated the teams with the best records in the American League.

David Fry hit a three-run homer in the third inning, Rogers didn’t get out of the fifth and the bullpen didn’t get enough outs in the Orioles’ 10-3 loss to the Guardians before an announced crowd of 26,194.

Anthony Santander belted his 32^nd home run in the fourth inning, one short of his career high, to reduce the lead to 5-2. Ben Lively’s sinker traveled 416 feet to right field at 111.2 mph off the bat, moving Santander into a tie with Shohei Ohtani for second-most in the majors.

CLEVELAND – The Orioles made a series of roster moves this afternoon leading into their four-game series against the Guardians at Progressive Field.

Jordan Westburg was placed on the 10-day injured list with a fractured right hand, and the Orioles recalled Livan Soto from Triple-A Norfolk. Westburg could return by late September. Soto is wearing No. 73.

Outfielder/designated hitter Eloy Jiménez has joined the club after the Orioles acquired him from the White Sox at the deadline and he’s wearing No. 72. Heston Kjerstad was optioned again to Triple-A Norfolk.

Kjerstad is batting .301 with a .998 OPS, 14 doubles and 16 home runs and 58 RBIs in 56 games with Norfolk, but his opportunities remain limited in the majors.

Outfielder Austin Slater, acquired from the Reds, was activated and given No. 15. Reliever Keegan Akin was optioned.

The immediate takeaway from the Orioles’ work at the trade deadline is how they went hard after quantity and also feel like they improved the quality of their rotation and bullpen and the depth of their right-handed hitters.

They really didn't skimp on the quantity.

They were as busy adding players as the Marlins were subtracting them. The flurry over the last 15-20 minutes made the evening a blur. Blizzard conditions in 90-degree heat.

The Orioles didn’t get overly aggressive and go for the trade kill, keeping top prospects who would have netted an elite starter. And I’ll say again that they weren’t dealing those guys, no matter how many rumors swirled and reports surfaced about aggressive pursuits.

How aggressive are talks if they don’t include Jackson Holliday, Coby Mayo, Samuel Basallo or Colton Cowser?