Adley Rutschman’s family and friends can watch him serve as the Orioles’ designated hitter tonight in Seattle.

Rutschman is batting fifth and trying to extend his six-game hitting streak. He’s 18-for-55 (.327) in his last 15 games, with 10 doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs.

Tyler Nevin is starting at third base. Austin Hays is in right field and Anthony Santander is in left.

Rougned Odor gets the start at second base.

For the Orioles
Cedric Mullins CF
Austin Hays RF
Anthony Santander LF
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Adley Rutschman DH
Tyler Nevin 3B
Rougned Odor 2B
Robinson Chirinos C
Jorge Mateo SS

CHICAGO – Orioles rookie Kyle Bradish is optimistic that he can pitch again after his 15 days expire on the injured list. Manager Brandon Hyde thinks it will be close to the date, if not hitting it exactly.

Bradish is eligible to return on July 6. For now, he’s shut down with inflammation in his right shoulder.

“I’d say Monday on the off day, it kind of started to get a little tight,” he said today. “And then Tuesday I woke up and then threw a bullpen, and it didn’t get better from there. Right now it’s feeling good. We’re on some treatment and some other stuff, and it’s feeling good.”

Which leads Bradish to believe that he can jump back into the rotation when rules allow it.

“Yeah, no doubt,” he said.

CHICAGO – The Orioles waited to post their lineup until checking Rougned Odor’s back.

Odor worked out on the field and remained on the bench for the fifth game in a row - the last four due to injury.

Richie Martin is the second baseman and Jonathan Araúz is the third baseman, with Tyler Nevin among the reserves.

Trey Mancini stays in the lineup after being hit on his left hand yesterday. X-rays were negative.

Jordan Lyles has a 4.92 ERA and 1.500 WHIP in 14 starts. He held the Nationals to two runs over 6 1/3 innings in his last appearance after going four consecutive starts without reaching the sixth.

CHICAGO – Kyle Bradish began feeling some discomfort in his right shoulder a few days ago after his bullpen session, and the Orioles had to put him on the 15-day injured list this afternoon, with fingers crossed that it isn’t an extended absence.

Bradish has made 10 starts in his first major league season and posted a 7.38 ERA and 1.770 WHIP. He hasn’t finished five innings in his last five outings, unable to recapture the form that enabled him to strike out 11 batters with no walks in seven innings in St. Louis.

“We’re doing this out of precaution,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We’re hoping it’s just going to be a couple weeks, but he does have some fatigue in there. We’ll take a couple weeks to get some treatment, be with Brian (Ebel) and the guys in the training room, and hopefully he just misses a couple weeks.”

The reasons behind Bradish’s shoulder inflammation aren’t clear. Hyde can’t blame the high-stress innings in the majors or any other excuse.

“Tough to speculate,” Hyde said. “I think there’s a lot of things going on around the league, but the intensity level up here is definitely different. It’s hard to put my finger on why his shoulder is a little bit sore. But hopefully it’s just a little bit of a hiccup and he’s back in a couple weeks.”

CHICAGO – Rougned Odor is out of tonight’s lineup with some stiffness in his back. He could be available off the bench.

Odor pinch-hit for Richie Martin last night and struck out. He felt the discomfort on one swing and dropped to his knee.

Martin is starting tonight at second base.

Odor normally would be playing against White Sox right-hander Johnny Cueto.

Spenser Watkins remains available to start Saturday afternoon after working only one inning in last night’s start for Triple-A Norfolk. Watkins threw 10 pitches.

CHICAGO – Richie Martin is starting at second base and Rougned Odor is on the bench for tonight’s series opener against the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Odor usually starts against right-handers, and the White Sox are sending Johnny Cueto to the mound.

Tyler Nevin is starting at third base. Anthony Santander is in left field and Austin Hays is in right after hitting for the cycle last night.

Hays leads the Orioles in hits (71), extra-base hits (27), total bases (119), batting average (.287), slugging percentage (.482), OPS (.829), RBIs (40) and runs scored (37), and he’s tied with Cedric Mullins for the lead in doubles with 16.  

For the Orioles
Cedric Mullins CF
Trey Mancini DH
Anthony Santander LF
Austin Hays RF
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Adley Rutschman C
Tyler Nevin 3B
Jorge Mateo SS
Richie Martin 2B

Trey Mancini is back in the Orioles’ lineup tonight as the designated hitter for the series opener against the Nationals at Camden Yards.

Mancini didn’t play Sunday against the Rays due to some lingering soreness in his right hand.

Adley Rutschman is catching and batting sixth. Tyler Nevin is the third baseman.

Rougned Odor is starting at second base, as he usually does against a right-hander.

Rylan Bannon, recalled today from Triple-A Norfolk, is counted among the four reserves. Bannon led the International League in slugging (.906) and OPS (1.424) last week.

There’s nothing dads love more than fundamentals. They preach it in Little League. They drill it on empty fields on Saturday afternoons. 

There were probably plenty of beaming fathers in the Baltimore area pointing at their televisions Sunday, turning to their sons or daughters, and saying, “See? Fundamentals.”

The Orioles (30-38) played a clean, fundamental game and turned several phenomenal defensive plays to help Brandon Hyde navigate an unwelcome bullpen game and beat the Rays 2-1 on Father’s Day at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

It started in the top of the second inning, when a picture-perfect relay from right fielder Ryan McKenna to second baseman Rougned Odor to catcher Adley Rutschman turned a Vidal Bruján single into an inning-ending tag play. The Orioles, already leading 1-0 on a first-inning home run by Anthony Santander, kept the Rays off the scoreboard.

It continued in the sixth, when Odor scooped a Taylor Walls grounder from the dirt and underhand lobbed it to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle to get Mike Baumann out of a jam. Another scoreless frame, and a 2-1 lead preserved.

Nothing that I do in my life, nothing that’s accomplished in a press box or television booth, is more fulfilling and important to me than being a Girl Dad. My daughter is my best work.

I lost my father to cancer three years ago. He was the ideal role model. I miss him terribly and try every day to live up to his standard. To reach the bar that he raised.

Being on road trips to cover the Orioles satisfied me professionally but also hurt my heart. Six weeks at spring training felt like an eternity, no matter how much I loved Fort Lauderdale. I’d fly home and go directly from the airport to my daughter's classroom, where the teacher waved me in like a third base coach.

She’d jump in my arms – my daughter, not the teacher - and ask whether I brought T-shirts for her instructors and friends. Of course I did. I just had to take out a second mortgage.

I lifted her up when she was in fifth grade and she whispered into my ear, “Put me down, put me down.” I was embarrassing her in front of her friends. My little girl was growing up.

The idea of platooning Orioles second baseman Rougned Odor doesn’t seem to carry the same logic as it did earlier in the season.

Manager Brandon Hyde kept Odor in the lineup tonight against Mariners left-hander Robbie Ray. One pitch validated his decision.

Odor jumped on a slider from Ray in the second inning and drove it to the back of the flag court for a three-run homer. And the Orioles were just getting started.

Didn’t matter who was on the mound. Didn’t matter where the ball was hit.

Ryan Mountcastle, Ramón Urías and Trey Mancini homered in the sixth inning after Sergio Romo entered the game, and the Orioles cruised to a 9-2 win at steamy Camden Yards.

Cedric Mullins is leading off and playing center field tonight after getting a rest day for the final game in Boston.

Adley Rutschman is catching and batting fifth, followed by first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

Ramón Urías is the third baseman again. Rougned Odor gets the start at second base against Mariners right-hander George Kirby.

Bryan Baker is making his second start. Left-hander Zac Lowther was recalled to provide a fresh bullpen arm and provide length.

For the Orioles
Cedric Mullins CF
Trey Mancini DH
Anthony Santander RF
Austin Hays LF
Adley Rutschman C
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Rougned Odor 2B
Ramón Urías 3B
Jorge Mateo SS

BOSTON - With years spent dumping out my mailbag, making snow angels with the contents, reading the questions and spending way too much time searching for movie sequel titles that I haven’t already used, I’d like to switch it up and provide some inquiries of my own.

See how the other half lives.

Nothing about timelines for major league promotions, players to be named later or casseroles. And especially not casseroles to be named later.

Sorry to bore you.

And I’m limiting myself to only three off the top of my head.

BOSTON – Denyi Reyes went from a modest signing back in November, a minor league contract that barely drew notice, to his first major league start tonight. Against the team that let him go as a free agent.

These stories can swerve in any direction. A tale of redemption or bitter disappointment.

Reyes had some fun with it, neither vindictive nor victorious.

Jorge López had his own family story and it produced a beautiful chapter, his 9-year-old son Mikael able to watch him pitch, to record a four-out save. 

The night couldn't have gone any better.

NEW YORK – Bruce Zimmermann wasn’t going to pitch around Aaron Judge tonight after Aaron Hicks led off the bottom of the first inning with an infield hit. Zimmermann pretty much emptied the bag, showing Judge his curveball, changeup, fastball and slider while running the count full and getting a groundball double play.

Anthony Rizzo came up next and homered into the second deck in right field.

Win some, surrender plenty.

Jose Trevino homered into the visiting bullpen in the third inning and Gleyber Torres found the seats in left with two outs in the fourth, and again with one out in the seventh. Judge cut the Orioles a break tonight, halting the constant torment, but Zimmermann lost other battles.

The Orioles eventually lost the game, the first beyond regulation after four successes.

The Orioles won another rubber match game on Sunday. Those are games to decide a series after the clubs have split the first two games. The Orioles had to win via a walk-off to get it against the Rays, but they will surely take it.

The Birds are now 5-1 in rubber match games in 2022 and 3-0 against the American League East with such wins over the Yankees, Red Sox and Rays. They also won series-deciding games against the Royals and Cardinals.

Other impressive notes out of Sunday’s win:

* The Orioles have won via walk-off in five games this year, the most walk-off wins in the major leagues. The Orioles won five games via walk-off in all of 2021.

* The Orioles are 5-0 in walk-offs this year, one of six teams in the major leagues to have not been walked off against in 2022. And the Orioles went 5-7 in walk-offs in 2021.

They feature five players ranked among the Orioles' top 30 prospects on MLBPipeline.com. It has been that group of five and several more key contributors that have led the Orioles' high Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds affiliate to the best record in all of minor league baseball through their first 35 games.

The IronBirds cooled off Friday night, losing 6-0 to Rome for their first shutout loss of the year. But their record of 26-9 is good enough to be playing .743 baseball and that is the best mark among 120 full-season clubs in the minors.

An MLB team winning at such a pace would go 120-42.

“The guys come to work every single day, man," Roberto Mercado, the Aberdeen manager and a first-year staff member in the O's organization said of his club on Friday afternoon. "They enjoy each other. There is a great team chemistry in the clubhouse. Guys enjoy being around each other. They will get here early and hang out before they start their workday. Lot of positive energy going around the club. And we have a great staff that has really helped prepare the guys. What a solid job they all have done so far."

The top 30 prospects include outfielder Colton Cowser (No. 4), infielder Coby Mayo (No. 7), infielder Connor Norby (No. 11), infielder César Prieto (No. 12) and outfielder John Rhodes (No. 23).

While the Orioles were beginning their home series tonight against the Rays, catcher Adley Rutschman sat on the visiting bench at Truist Field in Charlotte. The Triple-A Norfolk lineup card listed him among the reserves. He stood in front of the dugout for the anthem.

Any reported sightings at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport were done in jest.

The debut remains on hold, leaving fans to press for answers, some more aggressively than others, and a team to worry only about its opponent and life inside an unforgiving division.

The Yankees carried baseball’s best record out of Camden Yards, and the Rays walked in after beating the Orioles 18 times in 19 games last season and sweeping them this year in the opening series.

They won 15 in a row against the Orioles, their longest streak against any opponent in franchise history, and their last loss in Baltimore came in 2020.

The left field wall can’t keep every baseball in front of it. The Orioles have cleared it a few times in defiance of the new measurements, but there are more denials than dugout celebrations.

Ryan Mountcastle thought he hit a game-tying, two-run homer off Kansas City’s Zack Greinke in the fifth inning of the opening game of today's doubleheader, but umpires held him at second base with a run-scoring double. The Orioles lost the challenge, took the lead, lost it and fell to the Royals 6-4 in Game 1 at Camden Yards.

Rougned Odor was a hero in the seventh with his go-ahead, two-run double, but he committed an error with two outs in the ninth by failing to backhand Nicky Lopez’s grounder, Jorge López threw the ball into right field on a pickoff attempt and Michael A. Taylor singled to left.

A dramatic swing in the game and Odor’s afternoon.

Cionel Pérez allowed back-to-back singles, with Salvador Perez bringing home Taylor with an insurance run.

When the Orioles scored a season-high nine runs last Sunday at home versus Boston, they followed up that game by scoring one and two in the next two games against Minnesota. But when they tied that season high by scoring nine runs on Wednesday night, they came back the next night and hit five solo homers in Thursday’s 5-3 win.

The Orioles scored 14 runs the last two games against Minnesota's good pitching staff, one that was having a heckuva year until the last two nights. The Twins, as a result of those games, dropped to fourth in team ERA in the American League at 3.36.

But Kansas City, which faces the Orioles for three games over the next two days in Baltimore, ranks last in the AL in team ERA at 4.57 and last in WHIP at 1.36. The Royals' rotation ERA ranks 13th at 4.32.

Kansas City, since going 5-5 to begin the season, has lost 10 of 13 games and is 1-5 over its last six games. Can the O’s now take advantage of another team considered more on their level that is now struggling? We begin to find out tonight.

There are signs the O’s offense is continuing to trend up, as we’ve written about over the last week or so.

Ryan Mountcastle wasn’t keeping count in his head. Jorge Mateo and Rougned Odor also didn’t know. Three infielders just living in the moment.

Double plays were turned in crisp fashion Wednesday night, but the math was fuzzy.

The Orioles tied the club record with five in a 9-4 win over the Twins. They did so within the first seven innings. It moved from convenient to comical.

Mountcastle stood at first base and waited for the throws, the first coming from Mateo in the opening inning after the shortstop made a basket catch of Carlos Correa’s popup with his back to the infield, spun and doubled off Luis Arraez.

“That play he made was pretty crazy,” said Mountcastle, who wasn’t anticipating a second out.