The Orioles got a fresh arm back in the bullpen Tuesday, and it’s a name they know well.
Anthony Nunez was recalled again this afternoon, while Albert Suárez was designated for assignment again. Nunez, who carries a 4.60 ERA in 40 appearances with Baltimore, has already been through the full roster shuffle this year: Opening Day roster, optioned, recalled, then sent down again.
That move comes as the Orioles try to steady themselves after the Yankees swept them, with tonight’s series opener against the Rays starting another division stretch before they head out on a three-city road trip. Baltimore sits 15 ½ games behind first-place Tampa Bay, though the more immediate picture is tighter: the Orioles are two games out of the last Wild Card spot, with five teams in front of them and the Mariners one game back. It’s a packed race.
A loss would send Baltimore seven games under .500 for the first time since July 10. The Orioles already took three of four from Tampa Bay earlier this month at Tropicana Field, then returned home to face the Yankees.
That split history against the Rays has been a little odd, but the season series has matched the rest of 2026’s weirdness. Baltimore swept Tampa Bay in a three-game set in Baltimore in May after getting swept at The Trop.
The lineup tonight has Samuel Basallo behind the plate, Dylan Beavers in left, Leody Taveras in right and Tyler O’Neill at designated hitter. Beavers has been swinging it lately, with three home runs in his last four starts.
Jackson Holliday leads off at second base, with Pete Alonso at first, Gunnar Henderson at short, O’Neill in the DH spot, Basallo catching, Beavers in left, Coby Mayo at third, Colton Cowser in center and Taveras in right. Trevor Rogers gets the start on the mound.
The Orioles badly need cleaner at-bats after going 0-for-16 with runners in scoring position in the Yankees series. And the defense has to hold up too. Baltimore leads the American League with 82 errors and the majors with 75 unearned runs allowed.
Rogers faces Tampa Bay coming off his last start against them, when he allowed two runs and seven hits in six innings. That’s been the trend for him lately: two runs allowed in each of his three starts this month and in four of five overall.
He had been rolling for much of the season, giving up two runs or fewer in 10 of 11 starts, before the Rays tagged him for seven earned runs and eight total in 3 2/3 innings on May 18 in St. Petersburg.
His ERA at that point was 6.87; it’s down to 4.15 now.
Against Tampa Bay in his career, Rogers has a 5.40 ERA in six starts. Yandy Díaz is 7-for-13 against him with three doubles, while Ryan Vilade is 4-for-4 with a double, triple and home run.
The Orioles have also had plenty of success against the Rays over the last two seasons. Since the start of 2023, Baltimore is 30-19 against Tampa Bay, the second-best divisional record between two teams in that span, per STATS. The Rays’ best such mark is 32-20 against the Blue Jays.
Tampa Bay arrives with some recent wobble after winning nine straight and holding the best record in baseball before the Orioles nearly swept them this month. The Rays have now dropped five of seven, though they’ve still won nine straight road games and have never reached 10 in a row.
Baltimore also gets another look at Freddy Peralta, who allowed two runs and one hit in 4 2/3 innings against the Orioles in his last start. Since the Mets trade, Peralta has given up 12 runs and 16 hits in 14 1/3 innings. Before that, his Rays debut in Colorado was rougher, with seven runs and nine hits in 3 2/3 innings.
O’Neill is 4-for-16 with a double and seven strikeouts against Peralta, while Cowser is 2-for-5 with a double and a homer. Henderson, meanwhile, owns a career .600 slugging percentage against the Rays, the fifth-highest mark all-time among hitters with at least 200 plate appearances, trailing only Mike Trout, Manny Ramirez, Jose Cruz Jr. and Carlos Delgado, according to STATS.
There’s also a big bullpen development coming soon. Félix Bautista is set to begin his injury rehab assignment Sunday at Double-A Chesapeake and then move to Triple-A Norfolk on Tuesday.
Bautista said he’s feeling good as he works back from last August shoulder surgery to repair his labrum and rotator cuff. He hasn’t pitched for the Orioles since July 20, 2025.
“Feeling good right now, thank God,” he said via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “Body’s feeling great. There haven’t been any setbacks or anything like that, so I’m feeling really good.”
Bautista was the American League’s top reliever in 2023 and made his first All-Star team that season, posting a 1.48 ERA with 33 saves in 56 games and striking out 110 in 61 innings. He later missed the playoffs and underwent Tommy John surgery in October.
He’s been through this kind of grind before.
“It was another very difficult process, considering it was almost the same timeline as Tommy John, almost missing the same amount of time with those injuries,” he said of the latest rehab. “But I tried to stay mentally strong and persevere and get through it as strong as I could.”
In Other News...
Gunnar Henderson Has Become A Worrying Sign For The Orioles
Gunnar Henderson has been one of the faces of the Orioles young core, so any hint of regression lands with extra weight in Baltimore. MLB Network analyst Dan ODowd recently raised alarms about Hendersons direction, pointing to a decline in both his hitting and defense since the 2025 All-Star break and framing it as more than a temporary slump. For a team built around internal development, concerns like that naturally spill beyond one player and into the broader question of how the Orioles are shaping their talent.
ODowd went a step further by suggesting the organization, under Mike Elias, may not be getting the most out of Hendersons ability. He even floated the idea that the shortstop could be traded by 2027, while also recommending changes to the developmental setup, including bringing in Bill Ripken as an infield coordinator and perhaps involving Buck Showalter in some role. Whether Baltimore takes any of that seriously is another matter, but the conversation underscores how important Henderson remains to the franchises future and how quickly expectations can shift when a cornerstone player starts to look off track. [Read more 🡒]
Gunnar Henderson Might Finally Have The Fix Orioles Fans Needed
Gunnar Hendersons recent slide had become one of the quieter concerns around Camden Yards, especially for a lineup that leans on him to help set the tone. So the sight of Pete Alonso spending time with Henderson in practice, working through batting mechanics and zeroing in on lower-half posture and hip stability, offered a different kind of development for Orioles fans to track. It is the sort of behind-the-scenes tweak that can matter as much as any box score, particularly when a young hitter is trying to regain the timing that made him one of the clubs most important bats.
What makes the collaboration notable is the source of the advice, with Alonso drawing on his own experience to help Henderson sort out the issues that have made fastballs such a stubborn problem this season. Henderson has shown signs of improvement lately after the prolonged slump, but the work points to a more specific fix than a simple hot streak. For Baltimore, the appeal is obvious: if the changes hold, the Orioles might finally be getting closer to the version of Henderson they have been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Prospect Suddenly Has A Real Shot To Fill Key Bullpen Need
Luis De Len has become one of the more interesting arms in the Orioles system this summer, and not just because of his prospect status. Baltimore is moving him into a relief role at Triple-A Norfolk, a shift that gives the organization a chance to see whether his stuff can translate quickly to a bullpen setting and possibly help fill a need later in the season.
De Len already made his first relief appearance recently, and he has impressed in both Double-A and Triple-A this year, which is why the transition is worth watching closely. Manager Craig Albernaz has been upbeat about De Lens talent and what he could bring to the club, and if the adjustment keeps going well, the Orioles may have found a candidate for the bullpen without having to look far outside the system. [Read more 🡒]