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.

After an off-day, the Orioles' road trip moves on to Oakland tonight for the start of a three-game weekend series. 

The Orioles (74-47) lead the American League East by two games over Tampa Bay, which also plays on the West Coast tonight against the Los Angeles Angels. 

The Orioles lost their last two games at San Diego. But over longer stretches they have won four of seven, 11 of 17, 17 of 27, 25 of 37 and 26 of 40. Playing .612 ball, the Orioles have the best record in the AL and third-best in MLB behind the Braves and Dodgers. 

Oakland (34-87) has had a miserable season pretty much since the start of the year. They began the season going 3-16 and 5-23.

It has gotten a bit better recently, with Oakland going 22-37 (.373) over the last 59 games dating back to June 6 after going 12-50 (.194) over the first 62 contests. Oakland is playing .281 baseball after 121 games. At this pace they would finish the year at 46-116. The last two Major League teams to finish with a winning percentage under .290 are the 2003 Tigers (43-119, .265) and 1962 Mets (40-120, .250).

He wasn’t named the American League Rookie of the Year last night. The Orioles' Adley Rutschman finished second to Seattle’s Julio Rodriguez. But there is no shame in that, and it doesn’t diminish from the strong rookie year he had or what is expected for his future.

And that is simply, greatness, so the expectations, as always for Rutschman, are high. He could be the face of this franchise for many years to come.

Rutschman did get one first-place vote and Rodriguez got 29 of 30 to easily win with 148 points to 68 for Rutschman and 44 for Cleveland’s Steven Kwan, once an Oregon State teammate of Adley.

Rutschman, over 113 games, batted .254/.362/.445/.807 with 70 runs, 35 doubles, one triple, 13 homers and 42 RBIs. After his call to the majors on May 21, the Orioles went 67-55. He produced 18 Defensive Runs Saved, which was second among MLB catchers and tied for eighth in the majors.

Among FanGraphs.com’s Wins Above Replacement, Rutschman produced 5.3 WAR and so did Rodriguez with Kwan at 4.4. In the baseball-reference WAR version, Rodriguez produced 6.2 with Kwan at 5.5 and Rutschman 5.2. But Rutschman’s projected WAR over 162 games was 7.5.

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There isn’t much of a question about who will win the American League Rookie of the Year. Julio Rodríguez, Adley Rutschman and Steven Kwan were named the three finalists, with Rodríguez firmly cemented as the favorite. 

Rodríguez mashed 28 home runs, 25 doubles and stole 25 bases while accumulating a 6.0 WAR, according to baseball-reference.com. The center fielder also ranked in the 90th percentile or better in a number of important statistical categories, including average exit velocity, barrel percentage and sprint speed, according to baseballsavant.mlb.com.

Despite Rodríguez’s dominance, Rutschman still has a case for the award, albeit not an incredibly strong one. Playing in 19 fewer games than Rodríguez, the catcher’s counting stats fall short. Thirteen home runs and a 5.2 bWAR are impressive numbers, but don’t encapsulate the value that the rookie brought. 

If you were making the case for Adley Rutschman to win the Rookie of the Year award, you wouldn’t just point to the numbers. You would point to the fact that after Rutschman’s debut on May 21, the Orioles went 67-55. Just one year removed from losing 110 games, the O’s found themselves in a playoff race, thanks in large part to their rookie catcher. 

It was Juan Soto’s chance for redemption. After falling to eventual repeat champion Pete Alonso in the semifinals of last year’s Home Run Derby at Coors Field, this year’s event gave the Nationals slugger the chance to be a part of a star-studded field and win it all.

It’s hard to deny Soto twice. And with the eyes of the sporting world focused on Hollywood (including super agent Scott Boras sitting in the front row behind home plate), one of the game’s biggest stars stood on top of it all in more ways than one.

Soto won the 2022 Home Run Derby tonight at Dodger Stadium, beating Mariners rookie Julio Rodríguez 19-18 in the finals. Soto joins Bryce Harper, who beat Kyle Schwarber in an electric finale in 2018 at Nationals Park, as the only Nats players to win the Home Run Derby.

“It feels amazing,” Soto said on the broadcast after the win. “All of the hard work I put in and everything. It just feels amazing.”

After hitting the clinching home run, Soto launched his bat in the air in celebration and was mobbed by his father, Juan Sr., and brother, Elian, other Dominican players from across the major leagues, and Nationals manager Davey Martinez, who joined Soto this week as part of the National League coaching staff.

After a 4-4 road trip where they went 1-2 at New York and 3-2 at Boston, the Orioles return home tonight to open an eight-game homestand where they will face the Mariners and Gaurdians for three games each and the Cubs for a two-game series.

The Orioles are 12-11 at home for the year and 4-2-1 in seven home series. They went 3-4 on their last homestand against the Yankees and Rays, and are 7-5 in the past 12 home games at Oriole Park.

The Orioles improved to 6-2 in rubber match games when they won Monday night 10-0 at Boston to win that series. Ryan Mountcastle’s solo homer in the first provided a 2-0 lead following Trey Mancini’s RBI triple. Ramón Urías added a two-run shot and Anthony Santander hit a three-run blast in the ninth, his team-leading ninth of the season. The Orioles hit eight homers in the Boston series and have hit 15 over their past 12 games.

The Orioles improved to 4-4 in series against American League East teams after going 3-19-2 in such series last season. They are 11-16 against AL East teams, including a 5-3 record versus the Red Sox.

Four shutouts of the 2022 season:

BRADENTON, Fla. - The Orioles made a minor league trade today, acquiring 22-year-old pitcher Julio Rodriguez from the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Ronnie Welty. Rodriguez is a 6-foot-4 right-hander from Puerto Rico and a former eighth-round pick in the 2008 First-Year Player Draft. He spent last season with Double-A Reading, going 7-7 with a 4.23 ERA in 29 games (22 starts) and 136 strikeouts in 134 innings - placing him third in the Eastern League. Rodriguez was chosen to the World...