Bruce Zimmermann started Tuesday night for Triple-A Norfolk in the opening game of the International League championship series, was removed after only two innings and told not to pack his bags for the trip to Las Vegas.

Zimmermann is a pitcher, not a detective, but he figured it out.

The Orioles wanted the Baltimore native to stay available for a return to his hometown. Limit his innings and restrict his travel to the East Coast.

Informed last night that the Orioles were recalling him, Zimmermann had clearance to gather his belongings and walk through the clubhouse doors at Camden Yards. Leave his teammates behind as they tried to win a title, and join a club that’s celebrated two clinchings.

“It’s a little bit different, but it’s definitely a positive,” he said. “Feels good to be back up here and I know those guys are going to take care of business out in Vegas. Definitely going to have to try to find a way to get updates or something on them. It was a great season down there, and to watch these guys finish it off up here, to be able to come up and contribute and feel the environment of what’s going on and getting ready for the playoffs and everything, it’s great.”

The Orioles announced a roster move this morning, reinstating first baseman Ryan Mountcastle from the injured list and optioning left-hander Bruce Zimmermann to Triple-A Norfolk.

Mountcastle was set to complete his 20-day rehab assignment with Norfolk after going on the IL with vertigo. He hasn’t played for the Orioles since June 8 in Milwaukee and was in a 4-for-30 slump.

Mountcastle told the media in Minnesota that he hadn’t felt the effects of vertigo in the past. He isn’t in the lineup.

Today’s transaction leaves the Orioles with 12 pitchers and 14 position players. Manager Brandon Hyde used only two relievers yesterday, Bryan Baker and Danny Coulombe, behind starter Tyler Wells in a 6-2 win.

The Orioles play their final game of the season’s first half this afternoon. They’re two behind the first-place Rays in the division, and both teams have 35 losses.

One pitch tonight from Orioles rookie Alexander Wells, and the last home game of the 2021 season felt like too many others. Wells fed leadoff hitter Kiké Hernández a fastball and it landed in the left field seats. An immediate deficit against a team in the thick of the wild card race. One bad fastball didn't spoil the whole start. Wells worked a career-high six innings, and retired 10 of 11 batters and 16 of 18. Ryan Mountcastle hit his 33rd home run of the season, a three-run shot in...

The Orioles homestand continues tonight as they welcome the Detroit Tigers to Oriole Park for the first of three games. They will also host Detroit on Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon. The Orioles got swept three straight over the weekend by the American League East-leading Tampa Bay Rays. They lost by scores of 10-6, 12-3 and 9-6. They scored 15 runs in the series but gave up 31 runs with more than half of them, 16, coming in the eighth inning. As the Orioles (38-72) have lost five in a...

The Orioles rotation has gotten younger, but the best news is that it has gotten better in recent weeks. Three rookies have made their debuts in Keegan Akin, Dean Kremer and Bruce Zimmermann. Akin and Kremer have combined to go 2-1 with an ERA of 2.01 in their seven starts. And even at a time when the Orioles are not scoring much, they are 4-3 in those games. Zimmermann gave up five runs in his major league debut. But even adding in that start, the rookies have an ERA of 3.15 over eight starts...

A total of 18 different pitchers made starts for the Orioles on the mound in 2019. We know they'll need five to start next season and the number over 162 games will go well north of that, probably. Let's take stock of the rotation as of today. The 2019 O's produced a rotation ERA of 5.57 to rank 14th in the American League. The Los Angeles Angels were worst at 5.64. The Orioles rotation rated 10th in innings (789), ninth in opponent average (.271), 15th in homers allowed (179), 15th in OPS...

SAN DIEGO - Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias isn't the lone wolf of the Winter Meetings in 2019. He has a manager. He has a broader staff that can be deployed throughout the Manchester Grand Hyatt and on the minor league property. He can conduct business in a manner more befitting a major league executive, at least on a club undergoing a massive teardown and rebuild. "It's definitely a lot more focused," Elias said earlier today. "It's been pretty busy. We have...

After they lost three straight to the Yankees and two of three to the Oakland Athletics in this current series, the Orioles host the A's again this afternoon. The game marks the end of this four-game series and seven-game homestand before a road trip begins in Boston Friday night. The Orioles beat Oakland 12-4 Monday, but lost the last two nights by 13-2 and 10-3 scores. During this homestand, O's pitching has allowed 23 homers and 56 runs. MLB leaders, homers allowed: 32 - Orioles23 -...

The Orioles have played two pretty solid games in Cleveland this weekend and they posted an impressive 4-2 win on Saturday afternoon to end the Indians' six-game win streak. Right-hander Alex Cobb had another strong start. In fact, he pitched a complete-game five-hitter to improve to 4-15 with a 5.09 ERA. Cobb posted his fourth career complete game and his first nine-inning complete-game since a shutout versus Oakland on Aug. 23, 2012. Cobb has posted five straight quality starts with a 2.06...

It has been a dizzying day for the Orioles and their fans. As it turned out, the team did trade players who were under team control beyond 2018. They sent pitchers Kevin Gausman and Darren O'Day to Atlanta and traded second baseman Jonathan Schoop to Milwaukee. In the deal with the Braves, the Orioles got four players and $2.5 million in international bonus money. They got three players from Milwaukee. On the big league roster in New York this afternoon they have added right-handed relief...

NEW YORK - The Orioles dove deeper into their rebuild this afternoon, making a pair of significant trades ahead of the 4 p.m. non-waiver trading deadline. First, the Orioles sent right-handers Kevin Gausman and Darren O'Day to the Braves in exchange for four players - right-hander Evan Phillips, infielder Jean Carlos Encarnación, catcher Brett Cumberland and left-hander Bruce Zimmermann - along with $2.5 million in international signing bonus slot money. Just before the deadline, they...