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.

MIAMI - A road trip that began with promise - the O's scored 17 runs in winning the first two games out of the All-Star break in Texas - is ending with a thud. Especially if the Orioles lose again today at Miami. They will have been swept three in a row and will end the trip with four straight losses.

But the top three American League East teams are a combined 5-12 since the break. The Orioles are 2-3, the Yankees 2-4 and Boston 1-5.

The Orioles (60-41) lead the division by 1.5 games over the Yankees and by six games over the Red Sox.

Since scoring the 17 runs in the series at Texas, the O's have scored eight runs in losing the last three games. They have lost eight of 11 and 10 of their past 15. They are 11-16 with a -40 run differential since June 21. But they have actually gained two games on the Yankees, who have gone 9-18 in the same time frame.

O's ace right-hander Corbin Burnes (10-4, 2.38 ERA) gets the start in the series finale. He is a pitcher on a roll and really has easily been the club’s best starter throughout the season.

MIAMI – Infielder Jorge Mateo is going to miss “a significant amount of time” according to O’s manager Brandon Hyde. Just how much time and if he will need a surgical procedure, it’s too soon to know.

“It’s going to be awhile,” Hyde said pregame today. “Right now it’s so swollen and sore that they are going to take some time to get the swelling out. And then he’s going to get some second opinions and we’re going to have some other doctors take a look at it. But, it’s going to be a significant amount of time.

“Too soon (to know about a procedure). They have to get the swelling out first and then make a determination.”

Mateo went on the 10-day injured list this morning, retroactive to yesterday, with a left elbow subluxation. Infielder/outfielder Connor Norby was recalled from Triple-A for his second stint this year with the club.

The O’s also today recalled right-hander Bryan Baker, who was just optioned out yesterday. He can return early if replacing an injury player and they optioned Chayce McDermott back to Norfolk after his MLB debut last night.

MIAMI - The Orioles have recalled infielder Connor Norby for the series finale today at Miami and infielder Jorge Mateo goes to the 10-day injured list with a left elbow subluxation. Norby is in the O's lineup today and batting eighth. The move is retroactive to yesterday.

The club also recalled pitcher Bryan Baker and optioned right-hander Chayce McDermott, who started yesterday,  to Triple-A.

A road trip that began with two wins amid promise last Friday in Texas ends this afternoon in Miami with the Orioles looking to reverse a slide.

A slide that has seen them losing three games in a row scoring just eight runs. They have also lost eight of 11 and 10 of their past 15. They are only 11-16 since June 21. 

A loss today and the Orioles would have a four-game losing streak and a pair of five-game losing streaks since June 21.

MIAMI - We thought when the Orioles produced a winning season in 2022, winning 83 games which was 31 more than the year before, that they had stopped the losing. We were further convinced they had stopped the losing last season with 101 wins and their first AL East title since 2014.

The dark days were gone.

They have returned to the Orioles, who must prove to all of us that this is just temporary. But with each lackluster performance and each loss, the phrase "this too shall pass" does not seem as reasonable and appropriate as it once did.

Is the latest losing run a bump in the road or a bigger pothole - one that could derail what just recently looked like a special season was possible? 

These Orioles still have World Series hopes, right?

MIAMI – In his major league debut tonight, Orioles right-hander Chayce McDermott handled himself well, throwing three scoreless innings and one where he got in trouble. 

But with the Baltimore offense not doing much this series, basically since the fourth inning last night, that poor inning looked like it would be enough to beat him tonight.

However, after going scoreless through five innings tonight and over their previous 11 innings this series, the O’s finally got the big hit they needed in the top of the sixth.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Colton Cowser’s three-run double down the right-field line off reliever Huascar Brazoban tied the game 3-3. Just like that the Orioles had their first extra-base hit this series and three huge runs.

But that tie didn't hold.

MIAMI – After a series-opening 6-3 loss in Miami last night, the Orioles take the field tonight looking to turn around their recent poor play and even this series.

They do it with right-hander Chayce McDermott making his big league debut on the mound. The 2023 Jim Palmer Award winner as the O’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year was 3-5 with a 3.96 ERA at Triple-A Norfolk. Over 91 innings in 20 games, he had a 5.34 walks-per-nine-innings rate and 12.76 strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate.

He leads the International League in strikeouts and is tied for the overall minor league lead.

Ranked as the O’s No. 6 prospect by Baseball America, he is No. 7 via MLBPipeline.com, which provides 60 grades on his fastball and slider and 45 for his control.

In 10 Triple-A games to end the 2023 season, McDermott pitched to an ERA of 2.49 and 1.01 WHIP and felt then he was on the way to making command gains.

MIAMI – As of the time of Brandon Hyde's pregame press update with the media this afternoon, the Orioles still do not know if infielder Jorge Mateo is headed to the injured list.

He collided with shortstop Gunnar Henderson in the third inning last night while going for a grounder up the middle. His left elbow got badly twisted and he left the game. Initial X-rays were negative, but Mateo was headed last night for further testing. He was not in the clubhouse today during the media access time.

“He’s got an MRI this afternoon. We’re awaiting results on that. He was getting tested last night and then today,” said Hyde. “So we’re hoping for the best, but the results haven’t come back yet."

Hyde said Connor Norby was not yet at loadDepot park.

“He is flying in. He’s going to be on taxi (squad) tonight,” said Hyde. “He’s flying in tonight. We’re waiting on Mateo’s results and other stuff, so he’ll be on taxi for tonight’s game.”

MIAMI – The Orioles made a few roster moves to get right-hander Chayce McDermott from the taxi squad to the active roster. He will make his big league debut tonight and get the start on the mound versus the Marlins.

To get McDermott on the active roster, right-hander Bryan Baker was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. To add him to the 40-man roster, right-hander Jonathan Heasley was designated for assignment.

McDermott will wear No. 60.

Over 20 games at Triple-A, he went 3-5 with a 3.96 ERA. In 91 innings, he had a 5.34 walks-per-nine-innings rate and 12.76 strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate.

McDermott leads the International League in strikeouts and is tied for the overall minor league lead.

MIAMI – It is an interesting lead-up to the trade deadline this time around in the Orioles clubhouse. Interesting in that the players who are being rumored and speculated about by media and fans alike are players mostly not currently in the Baltimore clubhouse.

There has been more speculation about prospects a step below at Triple-A and questions about whether the O’s deal some of their highest-rated young talent.

I asked Ryan O’Hearn, a veteran of a few deadlines with two teams, how the pre-deadline lead-up has been this year in the Baltimore clubhouse.

“I think guys maybe, a story comes out and they might pay attention to it a little bit. But not to a great degree,” he said. “I know when the deadline is, but don’t know what is going to happen or what Mike (Elias) and the front office want to do. That’s kind of their job to plan out the long-term health and success of the organization, and it’s kind of my job to be present and win a baseball game today. And that is kind of how I look at it.

“Obviously, there are some really good players out there that could be dealt and if we get some of those guys or one of those guys that can help us win, that’s awesome. We want to win deep into October and do special things with this group.”

MIAMI – The first game of the Orioles' road series against the Miami Marlins could have started better. A whole lot better. 

As the last of the third inning ended tonight, the Orioles found themselves down three runs and two injured players.

The Marlins, who entered with a National League-worst 35-65 record, scored four runs in the second to lead the Orioles 4-1. After the Birds pulled within 4-3 in their half of the third, Miami scored twice more in the home half to make it 6-3.

In that inning, both second baseman Jorge Mateo and starting pitcher Albert Suárez left with apparent injuries. It was definitely an injury for Mateo, who left with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel and assistant Pat Wesley. Suárez left with Wesley, but he may have been about to be pulled from the game anyway.

After a leadoff single in the home third, Jesús Sánchez, who homered an inning earlier, hit a grounder up the middle. Both shortstop Gunnar Henderson and Mateo at second went for the grounder on the first base side of the bag at second. They came together and hit each other with Mateo left’s arm and elbow becoming badly twisted as he went sprawling into Henderson. He came up holding his left arm, and after Ebel looked it for several minutes, they walked off the field along with Wesley.

MIAMI – After opening their post-All-Star break schedule with a series win in Texas, the Orioles road trip has moved back to the East Coast. They open a three-game series tonight in Miami at loadDepot park. 

The Orioles (60-39) lead the American League East by 1 1/2 games over the Yankees (60-42) while the Red Sox (53-46) are seven games back in third place. 

The Orioles scored 17 runs and hit seven homers in winning the first two games of their series in Texas. On Sunday, their offense was held to five hits and two runs in a 3-2 loss.

In the eighth inning, Anthony Santander hit a first-pitch two-run homer. It was No. 27 for Santander and his fourth in four games.

Santander hit 13 homers and produced a .960 OPS in June. That number is now .976 in July. In 43 games since June 1, he is batting .278/.326/.639/.965 with 18 homers and 37 RBIs. As of Monday night, Santander’s 18 homers led the majors since June 1, with Shohei Ohtani next with 16 and Aaron Judge third hitting 15 homers in that span.

MIAMI – The signs seem to be pointing toward right-hander Chayce McDermott making his major league debut on Wednesday night and getting a start for the Orioles against Miami.

But it’s not official yet.

McDermott was added to the taxi squad today and could be activated to start tomorrow.

“Not yet,” manager Brandon Hyde said pregame when asked about Wednesday’s starter. “Chayce is here and we’ll see how tonight goes and make a determination after tonight’s game.”

Hyde has said that Corbin Burnes will start Thursday and he would be on normal rest tomorrow, but he's going to get the extra day. He's not starting tomorrow and it is too soon to recall Cade Povich. So again, signs point to a rookie debut in that game. 

MIAMI – The Orioles (60-39) play Game No. 100 tonight and begin a three-game series at loanDepot park versus the Marlins (35-65), who have the worst record in the National League.

The O's will face right-hander Kyle Tyler (0-1, 3.38 ERA) with Gunnar Henderson leading off, Ryan O'Hearn batting fourth as the designated hitter and Jorge Mateo hitting ninth at second base.

Albert Suárez (5-3, 2.82 ERA) will be making his 13th start. In the first 12, he is 4-3 with a 3.13 ERA and the Orioles are 7-5 in those games. 

The Birds took two of three at Texas and lead the American League East by 1 1/2 games over the Yankees and seven games over the third-place Red Sox.

Baltimore has won its last four games against Miami going back to late July, scoring at least five runs in each. It is the Orioles’ longest winning streak against the Marlins and the first time they have scored at least five runs in four straight against them.

It was a question that came up during the recent MLB Draft. Why do the O’s draft some college pitchers with modest stats? What do they see here?

Said O’s vice president of player development and domestic scouting Matt Blood: “It’s usually a combination of raw stuff, physical capacity, the athleticism, the way they move and then performance. It’s some sort of combination of those things. We have people that feel with this adjustment or that adjustment or this improvement or this other thing, that they will be better than maybe they have been in the past. It’s a combination of all those things.”

Pitching well right now at High-A Aberdeen we have an example of a pitcher working to improve to be better than he ever has been.

For 22-year-old right-hander Jackson Baumeister, that improvement may be coming with the development of his third or fourth pitch, his changeup.

He already throws his fastball and curveball often and is confident in those solid offerings, but he needs more pitches than those two.

The Orioles that played in Texas over the weekend look more like the Orioles we saw for most of this season and not the Orioles who went 1-5 on their homestand heading into the All-Star break.

Perhaps whatever ailed the team for several days of lackluster baseball is gone forever and more solid play and wins are ahead of us.

What is directly ahead of us – besides the rest of this road trip – is the July 30 trading deadline. And news in recent days that the Orioles have interest in Detroit ace lefty Tarik Skubal.

What we don’t know is if the Tigers would move him under any circumstances or only if they get blown away by a deal.

The Orioles, with their fertile farm, could probably blow away any team with an offer – if they choose to make such a blockbuster deal.

Even though the Orioles' first half ended with that crazy win over the Yankees last Sunday in Baltimore, they did go 1-5 on that homestand and were 9-13 in their past 22 games heading into the break.

But today, after wins by 9-1 and 8-4 at Globe Life Field, they have a chance to begin the second half with a three-game sweep of the Rangers.

For the second time in a less than a month, they have a chance to sweep the team that swept them out of the 2023 American League playoffs. They took the first three games of a four-game series in Baltimore late last month, but they lost the fourth game. Now they have a shot for a three-game road sweep.

The Orioles have swept five series of three or four games this year: They've had three-game sweeps at Boston (April 9-11), versus Minnesota (April 15-17) and at Cincinnati (May 3-5). They have four-game sweeps in Chicago against the White Sox (May 23-26) and in St. Petersburg, Fla., versus the Rays (June 7-10).

The Orioles are 5-1 against the Rangers this season, scoring 6.33 runs per game in the season series. They have hit 14 homers versus Texas, batting .273 with an .879 OPS. They have a team ERA of 3.83 in the six games.

Orioles right-handed reliever Yennier Cano is a pretty important pitcher in the Baltimore bullpen. He has three saves this season but has made most of his appearances as a setup man in the eighth inning.

While some numbers for him are not as good as last season when he was an American League All-Star, he recently made a few tweaks that helped him find his sinker again. He’s now put together six straight scoreless outings through last night’s game. (Although he did allow two inherited runners to score and gave up a double when he entered with two on in the eighth last night.) 

His ERA (2.11 to 2.75), WHIP (1.00 to 1.32) and his opponent's OPS (.600 to .703) are higher this year. But Cano does lead the AL with 24 holds. And his 116 appearances since the start of 2023 are tied for fourth-most in the major leauges.

But from June 14 to 28, he allowed five runs and six hits in 3 1/3 innings. However, in his last six games over 5 2/3 combined innings, he has allowed just three hits with a .158 batting average and .449 OPS against.

“I’ve been able to recover my sinker,” he told me during the last homestand through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “I think a few weeks ago I lost it a little bit. And then these last few outings I have back that feeling with it and it’s a huge factor in my recent success.

After mashing four more home runs, to lead the majors with 153, the Orioles opened the second-half with a 9-1 romp over Texas last night. They improved to 59-38 and could open a two-game lead atop the American East with another win tonight.

Lefty Nestor Cortes allowed six runs in 4 1/3 innings this afternoon as the New York Yankees (59-41) lost 9-1 to Tampa Bay. The Yankees are now 17-20 in AL East games. They have lost 9 of 14 games and are 9-19 since June 15.

The Orioles ended the first half going 1-5 on a homestand and had lost five of six, six of eight and seven of 10 heading into the Texas series. Now they are 10-13 since June 21 with Friday's win.

Anthony Santander hit two of their four homers, driving in five runs. With his first home run last night, Santander reached 25 home runs and he's the ninth player in O's history to do so in at least three straight seasons. He matches Frank Robinson (1969-71), Lee May (1976-78), and Manny Machado (2015-17), and trails Eddie Murray (1982-85) and Rafael Palmeiro (1995-98), who did so in four consecutive years, Chris Davis (2012-17) and Cal Ripken, Jr. (1982-87), who had six, and Adam Jones (2011-17), who hit at least 25 homers in seven straight years. He now has 15 multi-homer games, eighth-most in club history.

Since the start of June, Santander is slashing .280/.322/.640 (45-for-161) with five doubles, one triple, 17 home runs, 24 runs, 34 RBIs, and 11 walks across 41 games. His 17 homers and 103 total bases are the most in MLB during that span, while his 23 extra-base hits are tied with teammate Gunnar Henderson for the most in the AL in that time.

For the first time since they drafted him No. 1 overall in 2022, you hear fans open to trading one of baseball’s best prospects in Jackson Holliday.

I don’t have a vote or say here in anything and neither do fans, but I do have an opinion. And I still see Holliday as an untouchable.

While he may have lost his No. 1 prospect status with some outlets, that is fine. He did go 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts for the Orioles in April.

Once it started going south for him with the O's, it stayed that way.

He looked overmatched for whatever reason. This will sound like an excuse but some players coming up from Triple-A Norfolk agreed with an opinion that while Holliday was getting every pitch out of the zone called a ball against him in Triple-A with the ABS system, that changed in the majors. He seemed to be down 0-2 every at-bat. He took some pitches that may have been called balls by the computer but were strikes in the bigs.