More updates on injured Orioles, tonight's lineups

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias took his turn today providing injury updates to the media, asking in a joking manner for questions to be broken up individually rather than in one lump inquiry. Just trying to simplify the process.

Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) is in a hitting progression down in Sarasota, the most positive news about the first baseman since he was shut down.

“I was there during instructional league yesterday and had a chance to see him work out,” Elias said. “He has a sore wrist and he’s making his way back from that, and that takes a few steps, but I do think we have a really good chance of seeing him playing for Norfolk here pretty soon, and I do think we’re going to get him back, and he’s making a push. And we definitely will take what we can get from him, and we’re hopeful to get him back before the season’s over.”

Jordan Westburg took batting practice for the first time since fracturing his right hand. “Like a normal citizen,” Elias said.

“Jordan’s doing great, too,” Elias added. “We can’t wait to have him back, and we are expecting him back before the end of the regular season. We’re not totally there yet, but it’s going really well.”

Westburg should be able to join Norfolk to get some at-bats.

“Yeah, I do think that’s a possibility,” Elias said. “With the timeframes we’re dealing with here, it’s not really fair to me or the player to put exact timeframes on here. They’re allowed to have a day where they’re sore. We might back things up a day. I don’t want to rule any of that out, but it is a possibility. He’s taking BP out on the field today, so he’s getting really close to playing baseball games.”

Ramón Urías (ankle) took early batting practice and ran sprints. Elias also watched him yesterday in Sarasota.

“That’s chugging along well,” Elias said. “I would put him in a similar bucket with our other position players, Mounty and Westburg, where we feel like we’re getting close to hopefully shipping them out to play some real baseball here soon and getting them back before the end of the regular season.”

Left-hander Danny Coulombe was supposed to appear in his third rehab game tonight with Norfolk but rain has pushed him back to Wednesday.

“We will take it from there,” Elias said. “I think the bottom line is with where we’re in with the calendar and then the nature of these rehab assignments that each outing is informative, you know? And then the next day is informative, how they feel the next day. So whenever he’s ready, we’re going to activate him when he’s ready.

“Right now he’s gonna pitch at least one more time and possibly multiple times with Norfolk, but it's really gonna kind of be Danny’s call and his stuff and his performance and all that. But he’s doing well and getting close to being an option. But we’re not gonna jump the gun on him until he’s fully healthy and back to his accustomed level.”

Grayson Rodriguez threw in the bullpen but still hasn’t faced hitters. The chance to go on a rehab assignment is decreasing with Norfolk’s final game on Sunday.

“I think time is the key element here,” Elias said. “He’s doing really well. I think he’s only about 5 1/2 weeks out from the injury, and even sort of optimistically, these are six-to-eight-week type of things usually. So we’re still really on the front end of the window.

“It’s healing. It seems like everything’s really moving in the right direction. Obviously, some days move a little faster than others, but it’s been a real steady course progression. That said, time and the calendar is not exactly our friend here with 12 games to go in the regular season, so we’re just kind of doing everything that we can to keep it moving in the right direction on a day-by-day basis, and sort of see where we’re at in terms of the calendar and then also our scenarios and what we’re projected to be in postseason-wise and all that, and we’ll see where we’re at with Grayson. But right now it’s a one-day-at-a-time thing.

“He’s throwing a bullpen today. Hopefully that continues to go well. If it does, the next step would be live BPs, so on and so forth. One thing to keep in mind is Norfolk’s done after this weekend, so anything we have to do to build him up after that will have to be of the simulated variety. We’ll just see. We’re taking it one day at a time, but he is healing and doing really well, and that’s the most important thing.”

Would the Orioles consider using Rodriguez as a reliever, since he'll need a certain amount of innings to stay in the rotation for the stretch run and playoffs?

“I think time would be the factor that might prevent that kind of buildup more than anything, but it’s a real factor, and yeah, a reliever takes less buildup for sure," Elias responded. "But this kid is a starting pitcher. And also, first and foremost, we’re going to be most interested in doing the right thing for his health and career, so we’ll take all that into account. Very difficult for me to give you a real direct answer on that, because it’s going to depend on the circumstances of the rest of our staff, the standings, yada, yada, yada. There’s a lot that’s going to go into it. But the main thing is making progress with his health one day at a time and when we get to a fork in the road about how much to build him up and when, we’ll address that then.”

Reliever Yennier Cano still is dealing with some unspecified soreness but should be available tonight.

The tarp is on the field as rain falls. Coby Mayo is playing first base for the first time in the majors, with Emmanuel Rivera at third. Anthony Santander is taking ground balls at first but Hyde likely will use him only as a replacement during games.

Jackson Holliday is sitting for the third game in a row, giving Livan Soto another start. Cedric Mullins is in center, with Colton Cowser going to the bench.

Albert Suárez pitched for the Giants in 2016-17, appearing in 40 games, and he’s facing them tonight. He’s allowed two runs or fewer in six of seven starts since going back into the rotation on Aug. 6.

The Orioles rotation has registered a 2.55 ERA this month that ranks as the fifth-lowest in the majors, but the offense has scored only 49 runs, which is the third-fewest. They’re batting .224 with a .677 OPS.

The day begins with the Orioles three games behind the Yankees in the division race and 2 ½ ahead of the Royals for the first Wild Card. They’ve lost seven of their last 10 games and three consecutive series.

Adley Rutschman needs one more home run to become the fourth Orioles catcher with multiple 20-homer seasons, joining Gus Triandos, Chris Hoiles and Matt Wieters.

Left-hander Blake Snell has posted a 3.52 ERA and 1.120 WHIP in 18 starts in his first season with the Giants, including his no-hitter on Aug. 2 in Cincinnati. He’s averaging 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings  and has allowed only six home runs.

A left adductor strain in April and left groin injury in June reduced Snell’s availability. He has a 1.45 ERA since returning from the IL on July 9, and the Giants are 10-2 in his starts.

Snell has made eight career starts against the Orioles and posted a 4.35 ERA and 1.016 WHIP in 41 1/3 innings. Slater is 4-for-18 with a double, six walks and six strikeouts against him.

The Giants have lost four in a row and are 72-78. They’re 31-41 on the road.

They won two of three games against the Orioles at Camden Yards in 2004 and 2019.

For the Orioles

Austin Slater LF
Adley Rutschman C
Gunnar Henderson SS
Anthony Santander RF
Eloy Jiménez DH
Emmanuel Rivera 3B
Cedric Mullins CF
Coby Mayo 1B
Livan Soto 2B

Albert Suárez RHP

For the Giants

Mike Yastrzemski RF
Tyler Fitzgerald SS
LaMonte Wade Jr. 1B
Heliot Ramos LF
Michael Conforto DH
Patrick Bailey C
Grant McCray CF
Donovan Walton 2B
Brett Wisely 3B

Blake Snell LHP

The Giants are starting right-handers Hayden Birdsong on Wednesday night and Logan Webb on Thursday afternoon.