Orioles middle infielder Jorge Mateo reached base twice last night on infield singles and is out of tonight's lineup with soreness in his lower back/hip, his status listed as day-to-day, per manager Brandon Hyde.
Mateo has 21 hits in 17 games with the Orioles and is slashing .356/.387/.492 with six doubles and a triple.
"Just a little sore today. Hoping he'll be back in there in a day or two," Hyde said.
"He kind of jammed his leg when he hit the base there last night, so he's just a little sore today, but hopefully he'll be back in there soon."
Ramón UrÃas was supposed to get most of his starts at third base, but he moves to shortstop tonight.
Cedric Mullins
Mullins has followed a 3-for-5 game on Aug. 12 by going 5-for-40 with 11 strikeouts.
"Cedric right now, for me, is just going through one of those times where every hitter goes through throughout the season," Hyde said. "He hasn't had really all year a prolonged period of time where he's struggled. And really the last couple games they're pitching to him tough and he's probably pressing a little bit. But I expect him to bounce out of it soon.
"He is overdue for a few tough games in a row because he's had such a great year."
Mullins has been immune to the team's struggles, but they'll eventually catch up to everyone.
"I think Cedric's done an amazing job of separating how the team's playing and continuing to give great at-bats and play really good defense through a tough season from a team standpoint, so I'm really proud of him for that," Hyde said.
"I just think right now he's kind of gone through a few games of maybe not swinging the bat as well as he did for the majority of the year, and those things happen. I don't think the team's success or failure is going to dictate his five at-bats a night. He's going to compete every single game and compete every single at-bat, and I expect him to finish the season strong."
Austin Hays is on a thin bench tonight with his average down to .234 with a .686 OPS. He doubled last night but also struck out four times and is 4-for-29 in his last eight games.
The players in the lineup must contend with two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who's 8-1 with a 2.79 ERA and 1.060 WHIP in 18 starts and is averaging 10.8 strikeouts and 0.7 home runs allowed per nine innings. He also leads the majors with 40 home runs and ranks second with a 1.001 OPS.
"Amazing. It's amazing what he can do," Hyde said.
"I don't think any of us have seen a player like him, as talented as he is. He's just a special, special, once in a generation type player. I've never seen a guy be able to throw 100 (mph) off the mound with a 92 mph split-finger and hit the ball 500 feet and a chance to hit 45-50 home runs this year. And the speed that he has also. The strength, the power, the speed, what he can do on the mound, it's incredibly unique. And it's fun to watch him on TV."