Happy Labor Day, Camden Chat - and the Orioles are trying to make sure it stays happy.
That’s a tall ask after the kind of September they’ve opened with. Baltimore comes in 0-6 this month, four games behind the Guardians, and fresh off a series that didn’t even end with a win over the Colorado Rockies. Not exactly the kind of momentum you want when the postseason race is tightening.
Still, the day brings a matchup that gives both sides a chance to stay alive: a left-on-left duel between Cleveland’s Joey Cantillo and Baltimore’s Trevor Rogers.
Cantillo, listed at 9-8 with a 3.91 ERA, moved from swing man to full-time starter this season. The Honolulu-born lefty has been solid enough overall, but the big issue has been his control.
He leads the league with 72 walks. On the other side of that, he’s also a strong whiff-getter, especially with his curveball and changeup.
For a lineup that has to deal with a lefty throwing offspeed stuff, that’s a problem waiting to happen.
Baltimore is at least giving itself some left-handed firepower in the order, with Jackson Holliday, Gunnar Henderson, Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers all in the lineup. Rece Hinds was just called up yesterday, too, so this is a first look at him in the mix. The Orioles are clearly hoping he can bring something extra.
Rogers, meanwhile, hasn’t been the source of Baltimore’s bigger problems. His season line isn’t flashy, but there are a couple of important caveats: he had a rough start that he’s already moved past, and the poor results behind him have been shaped by bad batted-ball luck and shaky defense, reflected in a .301 BABIP for opposing hitters. His strikeout and walk numbers are still close to what he posted in his brilliant 2025.
And when Rogers has been on the mound lately, he’s looked the part. His last outing came in Colorado, where he set a career high with 11 strikeouts.
The Orioles lost that one anyway after a bullpen collapse, because of course they did. One thing to keep in mind, though: José Ramírez has a history of doing damage against Rogers.
Baltimore’s lineup: Blaze Alexander RF, Pete Alonso 1B, Jackson Holliday 2B, Coby Mayo 3B, Gunnar Henderson SS, Christian Encarnacion-Strand DH, Samuel Basallo C, Rece Hinds CF, Dylan Beavers LF.
Cleveland’s lineup: Steven Kwan LF, Jo Adell DH, José Ramírez 3B, Angel Martínez RF, David Fry 1B, Angel Genao 2B, Austin Hedges C, Petey Halpin CF, Brayan Rocchio SS.
In Other News...
Orioles Late-Season Injury Picture Just Got More Complicated
The Orioles spent part of their series against the Guardians sorting through a late-season injury picture that keeps shifting around the edges. Keegan Akin and Ryan Mountcastle are both with the club, giving Baltimore at least a couple of familiar faces back in the mix, while the team also laid out where several others stand in their recoveries as the calendar keeps moving toward the finish.
Mountcastle will not play again this season because of an oblique injury, a reminder of how much attrition has worn on the roster, and the rehab updates do not bring a simple wave of reinforcements just yet. Luis Robert Jr. and Christian Franklin are working in Sarasota, Flix Bautista is at Triple-A Norfolk on assignment, and Kyle Bradish is being handled carefully after Tommy John surgery, with his workload watched closely as the Orioles keep managing one of the more complicated health charts on the board. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Face Two Big Questions As Wild Card Push Gets Tighter
The Wild Card race has tightened enough that every little update matters, and Craig Albernaz had a familiar opponent in mind when he talked about the Orioles place in it. The Baltimore manager, who spent time on the Guardians coaching staff, knows how closely these two clubs are watching each other as the standings compress and the margin for error shrinks. For the Orioles, the late-season picture is being shaped not just by the schedule, but by the health of a roster that has had to juggle a few key moving parts.
Ryan Helsley, Tyler ONeill, Flix Bautista, Ryan Mountcastle, Keegan Akin, Luis Robert Jr. and Christian Franklin all figure into that evolving injury picture, and Baltimores recent stretch has made each of those updates feel more important. The club has been trying to keep pace while sorting through those absences and tracking its recent results, but with the Guardians right there in the mix, the bigger questions are starting to come into focus. How quickly those players can return, and how much they can help once they do, may decide just how long the Orioles stay in the hunt. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Fans Just Got Another Brutal Reminder About This Rebuild
A rough week for the Orioles in Boston did not end with much comfort for anyone still tracking where this rebuild stands. The Red Sox completed a four-game sweep, and in the same stretch of bad news for Baltimore, former Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman was already making noise in his new home with Boston by leaving the yard against Angels pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, another familiar name to Baltimore fans.
Rodriguez, once a first-round pick the Orioles hoped would help anchor the next wave, is now with the Angels after being dealt last winter for outfielder Taylor Ward. His Baltimore exit followed a frustrating run of injuries and uneven performance, which only adds to the sting when ex-Orioles keep popping up in meaningful moments elsewhere. Baltimore did at least stop the bleeding with a win the same day, ending a six-game skid, but the bigger picture for fans remains hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]