Since early last season, the Orioles have lost just one American League East series. They need a win tonight at Rogers Centre for that stat to continue. Right before the All-Star break the O's lost a series to the Yankees. But they are 17-1-6 in their past 24 division series. 

They went 32-20 in AL East games last year and are 24-11 this season heading into this series finale. The O's are 7-5 against Toronto and 12-4 in AL East road games.

After losing Tuesday in Toronto 5-2 as they were held to three hits, they won 7-3 last night when they hit three homers.

With last night's win, the Orioles have clinched a second straight season series win over the Blue Jays. This is the first time they’ve accomplished that since winning the season series in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

From 2020-2022, they went 16-32 against Toronto. But since the start of 2023, they are 17-8 versus the Blue Jays. 

TORONTO - As he keeps mashing homers – he’s now hit a career-high 34 with a lot of games to play – O’s outfielder Anthony Santander is sure having a great “walk year.”

That is the year that leads into a player becoming a free agent and Santander can be that at the end of this season for the first time. Not a bad time to be putting up big numbers and making great plays on defense.

Once again today he expressed that he wants to remain an Oriole beyond 2024 but also acknowledges “that is out of my hands.”

Last night Santander hit two more homers and made a great catch to rob Vladimir Guerrero Jr. of extra bases and preserve what was at the time a one-run lead. The O’s beat Toronto 7-3 and Santander was a big reason for that.

He is now batting .248/.311/.540/.851. His 34 homers are second in the American League and tied for second the majors.

TORONTO - The Orioles have gone 7-1-2 in 10 American League East series this year, losing just one. Tonight they play the rubber match game against Toronto after splitting the first two games of this series.

The Orioles are 7-5 versus the Blue Jays and have won the season series. They are 24-11 against division opponents. They have not lost a road AL East series, going 3-0-1 in four series and 12-4 in those games.

In tonight's series finale, Colton Cowser will bat leadoff again, Anthony Santander will serve as the DH as Ryan O'Hearn moves from left to right field. Ramón Urías starts at third base, batting ninth. 

Five players in the majors have now hit 30 or more homers. Santander, at 34, ranks second in the AL and tied for second in MLB in home runs.

MLB homer leaders:

TORONTO – It didn't happen in April when he went 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts. But it's happening now. Jackson Holliday, who will not turn 21 until Dec. 4, is now doing special things for the Orioles.

So special that last night, Holliday's go-ahead homer in the seventh led the Orioles to a win but he also became the youngest player in American League history to homer in three straight games.

Looking overmatched and not ready in April, now he looks every bit like the best prospect in baseball. Those that called him overhyped and overrated then are eating their words faster than a buffet lunch. 

The fun started last Wednesday in Baltimore, in his first game back in the bigs since April. 

He drilled a ball 439 feet in the sixth inning against Toronto for a grand slam. A 4-3 lead became 8-3 and Jackson got all of that one. He hit an 0-2 slider with 109.2 mph exit velocity.

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.

I’m using flashcards to learn the names of the new players. My family is quizzing me.

Their first question: How did we get stuck doing this?

For me it's like, is that Austin Slater? No? Oh, hey Blake Hunt. Is that Seranthony Domínguez? Nope? I was gonna say Gregory Soto. I swear.

One thing that never changes is my mailbag except for the weight of its contents.

You’ll have a long wait if you think I’m going to worry about clarity, length and style.

Anthony Santander is having quite the season for a player about to enter free agency. He is a pretty invaluable player for the Orioles – productive on the field while being a leader in the clubhouse.

He is one heckuva Rule 5 draft pick. The O’s selected him from the Cleveland organization in the December 2016 Rule 5 draft.

Heading into Saturday’s game at Cleveland, over 106 games he was batting .246/.311/.534/.846 with 17 doubles, two triples, 32 homers and 75 RBIs.

He's on pace to finish with 47 homers and 109 RBIs. Chris Davis and Brady Anderson are the only Orioles ever to hit 50 homers. Tony taters has an outside shot.

We thought his June was great right, where he hit 13 homers. That month he batted .264 with a .960 OPS. But in July, he batted .303 with a .987 OPS and nine home runs.

The Cleveland Guardians, the American League Central leaders who hold the best record in the AL, have been tough to beat for the Orioles. Both this year and in recent seasons.

Cleveland hit three homers accounting for eight runs last night as they beat Baltimore 10-3 to take the opener of this four-game series. David Fry and Bo Naylor hit three-run homers and José Ramírez added a two-run shot.

The Guardians are 3-1 this year versus the Orioles and have won seven of the past 11 games between the teams. In their last 45 games, Cleveland is 30-15 against Baltimore.

The Guardians are 66-42 and are 34-15 at home. They have won four in a row and seven of their past nine games. 

The Orioles are 4-2 in the last six games, scoring 42 runs. But over their past 12 games, they are 5-7. And since June 21, they are 16-20.

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.

On the first full day after the trade deadline, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias expressed optimism that his roster was “fortified,” his pitching staff improved and that his team has “as good a shot as anybody.”

This morning the O’s began the process of retooling their roster after the flurry of deadline trades for the stretch run and trying to turn a recent small stretch of winning into a larger one.

With three wins in their past four games scoring 29 runs, the O’s took the field amid the Baltimore sunshine today looking for yet another American League East series win.

Ryan Mountcastle’s two-run triple to right in the last of the first got the Orioles off to a good start. They built an early 3-0 lead.

The deadline deals opened the door for Jackson Holliday’s return to this team. He electrified the crowd today when his first major league homer was a grand slam in the last of the fifth. It opened an 8-3 lead and led to a Holliday curtain call. The crowd was on its feet and roaring for Holliday, who went 2-for-34 with the Orioles in 10 April games.

The Orioles, still a work in progress with their roster after the trade deadline, take the field today with Jackson Holliday back in the lineup as they host Toronto to wrap up the four-game series.

The Orioles (64-44) lead the American League East by 1/2 game over the Yankees and by seven games over the Red Sox after last night's 6-2 win. They have taken two of three in this series, are 22-10 in division games and have scored 29 runs in winning three of the past four games.

The Orioles, now 7-6 the last 13 games, are hoping they are in the beginning stages of an extended stretch of winning as the playoff push is on now post-trade deadline.

The Orioles are 11-13 this month, so they are about to have a losing month for the first time since September of 2022. The nine consecutive winning months were the longest active streak in the majors. 

Today's roster moves included the recall of Holliday from Triple-A. In other moves, lefty Gregory Soto was activated after being acquired yesterday. In corresponding moves, catcher Blake Hunt, who was added to the active roster right before the game last night, and infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra, who had his contract selected from the Tides yesterday, were optioned to Norfolk (Hunt stayed in Baltimore on the taxi squad).

As Corbin Burnes walked to the mound tonight to begin his warmups, the Orioles were dismantling their roster at the trade deadline. He didn’t seem to notice.

A game that could determine whether the club stayed in first place or slipped into second became oddly secondary to the news.

As time passed, the importance of the outcome came back into focus. Burnes remains the undisputed ace, notching his 18^th quality start in a 6-2 victory over the Blue Jays before an announced crowd of 21,710 at Camden Yards.

Anthony Santander belted his 31^st home run, a solo shot onto the top of the grounds crew shed in the fifth, Ramón Urías homered and had an RBI single and infield hit while unsure how the next few days will impact his status, and the Orioles improved to 64-44. They remain a half-game ahead of the Yankees.

Burnes was charged with two runs and four hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings. Cionel Pérez let an inherited runner score in the seventh.

Zach Eflin will pitch in front of much larger crowds and with a lot more at stake. He won't always watch his battery mate bleed at home plate and refuse to leave. Today’s debut with the Orioles unfolded in the mid-afternoon opener of a doubleheader, a makeup from the May 14 rainout. Empty seats were spread at every level throughout the ballpark.

The start still seemed like a big deal. The scene just didn’t match it.

Eflin allowed three runs over six innings and equaled his season high with seven strikeouts, Anthony Santander hit his 30^th homer, and the Orioles took everything the Blue Jays gave them in an 11-5 win at Camden Yards in a game that will be remembered more for James McCann’s toughness than the right-hander’s first outing with his new team.

The veteran pitcher liked his results overall and loved his catcher.

Eflin carried a shutout bid into the fifth and surrendered a three-run homer to Addison Barger, the rookie’s first in the majors. Barger entered the game after the Blue Jays removed Justin Turner and traded him to the Mariners. Just some of the weirdness from today.

Two days ago the Orioles had a 6-0 lead and almost lost. Last night they held an early two-run lead, were tied in the ninth and lost 6-4 to the Padres in the opener of a three-game series.

The Orioles (61-42) still lead the American League East by two games over the Yankees as both clubs keep losing often lately.

The Orioles have lost four of five, nine of 13 and 11 of their past 17 games. Since June 21 they are 12-17 with a -41 run differential.

The Yankees have lost five of six games and are 2-5 since the All-Star break (the O’s are 3-4). Since June 21, New York is 9-19 with a -16 run differential.

San Diego (56-50) has a six-game winning streak after Friday’s 6-4 victory and they have outscored their opponents 34-8 in those games.

Jordan Westburg and Ryan Mountcastle are on the bench this afternoon and Connor Norby is at second base, as the Orioles continue their series against the Padres.

Colton Cowser is in left field and Heston Kjerstad is the designated hitter.

Adley Rutschman is catching. He’s 8-for-64 (.125) this month.

Anthony Santander, who’s in right field, has hit six home runs in his last eight games and leads the club with 29, one more than his 2023 total.

Cowser has a career-high seven-game hitting streak. He’s 10-for-24 during that stretch.

The Orioles traded for another starting pitcher and might not be done. The rotation was targeted as an area of need. Surgeries and struggles left them no choice.

Grayson Rodriguez wanted to provide the latest example that the top portion is in good hands, and he did it for a while. Corbin Burnes registered his 17^th quality start yesterday in Miami and Rodriguez carried a shutout into the sixth tonight, but Jurickson Profar hit a game-tying, two-run homer and manager Brandon Hyde went to his bullpen.

Another area that's under some construction.

Burnes and Rodriguez remain a formidable one-two punch, but the Orioles had to get off the canvas again like they did yesterday in extras. They managed it briefly and went down again, this time unable to scramble back to their feet.

The defense let down reliever Burch Smith in the sixth. The Orioles tied the game in the eighth, but Craig Kimbrel surrendered a two-run homer to Profar with two outs in the ninth in the Orioles’ 6-4 loss to the Padres before an announced sellout crowd of 43,692 at Camden Yards.

The first road trip of the second half produced a 3-3 record for the Orioles, who fumbled a three-run lead in the ninth yesterday and won 7-6 in the 10th. They lead the Yankees by two games in the American League East during a stretch when they could have plummeted down the standings.

Maybe it isn’t the best division in baseball anymore.

Corbin Burnes remains one of the best pitchers and a very smart trade acquisition despite costing DL Hall and Joey Ortiz and likely being a rental. He was the stopper again yesterday before Craig Kimbrel’s blown save, holding the Marlins to three runs – the last scoring after he exited - in a season-high 7 1/3 innings for his 17^th quality start. He’s so good, his ERA actually went up from 2.38 to 2.45.

Burnes made his major league debut in Miami on July 10, 2018 and he recorded a six-out save.  He won a Cy Young Award three years later and could make it two this season.

That’s your Game 1 starter. That’s what they look like.

MIAMI – In desperate need of a win today in the series and road trip finale at Miami, the Orioles hit a bunch of early homers and watched ace right-hander Corbin Burnes deal on the mound for most of his day.

It was a combination that has worked before and looked like it would again today.

It looked like it could and would be easy, but it was not.

The O's let leads of 6-0 in the fourth, 6-1 in the eighth and 6-3 in the ninth get away. The game moved to the 10th inning.

O's closer Craig Kimbrel allowed a one-out infield single and walked the next two hitters to load the bases in the home ninth with the O's up three. Then shortstop Gunnar Henderson bobbled a grounder off the bat of Jazz Chisholm Jr. and it was 6-4. A sac fly by Xavier Edwards made it 6-5 and when Josh Bell singled to right, the game was tied. Yennier Cano replaced Kimbrel and recorded a strikeout to deny Miami a walk-off win and send the game to the 10th.

The 2025 schedule is much kinder to the Orioles, in case you hadn’t perused it. Four days off in April, four in May, three in June, three in July along with the All-Star break, three in August and four in September.

They began the second half by winning two of three games in Texas and were off yesterday. Seems early after the break, but they won’t complain.

The offense remains hot and cold. The Orioles staggered into the break, scored a combined 17 runs in the first two games against the Rangers and were shut out Sunday for seven innings before Anthony Santander’s two-run shot.

Asked about the two-night outburst after the season was paused, co-hitting coach Matt Borgschulte said, “I think it’s a chance for guys to take a little bit of breath, like realize how much success we’ve had in the first half. And the recent struggles that we had are a thing of the past and we can come back from that.”

The past tends to bleed into the present. The Orioles went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 15 Saturday and were 0-for-6 Sunday with seven left on base.