The Orioles are rolling out a right-handed-heavy look tonight at Citi Field, with Rece Hinds leading off for the second game of the Mets series.
Jeremiah Jackson is at second base, Yohel Pozo is behind the plate for his first start since Aug. 16, and Coby Mayo is hitting third as the designated hitter. Leody Taveras is in right field, while Colton Cowser is in center despite the left-on-left matchup.
The rest of the lineup follows with Christian Encarnacion-Strand at third, Gunnar Henderson at short, and Shane Baz on the mound. Pete Alonso is also in the mix, trying once again to reach 300 career home runs.
Mayo comes in with a career-best streak of reaching base in 18 straight games, but the Orioles’ bats have also been piling up strikeouts. Baltimore has finished with double-digit strikeouts in each of the last five games and in nine of the last 11.
Baz will be trying to keep from taking a 16th loss in his 30th start. In his last outing, he gave up five runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings against the Guardians, though the offense at least gave him some support. He has had one strong showing against the Mets already, throwing 6 2/3 scoreless innings with three hits allowed in his only career start against them, and that came at Citi Field.
A few matchups stand out in the numbers. Juan Soto is 3-for-5 with a double, home run and three walks against Baz. Bo Bichette is 1-for-9 with a home run.
On the other side, left-hander Josh Walker kept things clean last night, retiring all five batters he faced and stretching his scoreless streak to 17 appearances. The last Oriole to go 18 straight outings without allowing a run was Donnie Hart, from July 17-Sept. 20, 2016.
Mets left-hander Sean Manaea has taken the mound three times against the Orioles in his career and has allowed 13 runs and 16 hits in 12 1/3 innings. Alonso has seen him well, going 1-for-2 with a home run and two walks.
The Orioles’ lineup tonight: Rece Hinds, LF; Pete Alonso, 1B; Coby Mayo, DH; Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 3B; Gunnar Henderson, SS; Jeremiah Jackson, 2B; Yohel Pozo, C; Leody Taveras, RF; Colton Cowser, CF; Shane Baz, RHP.
Elsewhere, Baltimore is sending eight players to the Peoria Javelinas in the Arizona Fall League. The group includes 2024 first-round pick Vance Honeycut and 2025 first-rounder Ike Irish.
Also headed there are infielder Brandon Butterworth, acquired from the Padres in the Ryan O’Hearn/Ramón Laureano trade with the Padres, plus Patrick Reilly, Braxton Bragg, Kiefer Lord, Teddy Sharkey and Kailen Hamson. Bragg missed the 2026 season while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery.
Triple-A Norfolk fundamentals coach Billy Facteau will serve as bench coach. The AFL Championship Game is Nov. 14 and will air on MLB Network.
In Other News...
Rubenstein Is Pushing A Camden Yards Plan Orioles Fans Need To Watch
David Rubenstein has quietly put Camden Yards back into the center of a bigger Baltimore conversation. The Orioles owner has re-engaged efforts to redevelop the area around the ballpark, including the B&O Warehouse and the adjacent parking lot controlled by the state, as part of a broader push to give the downtown footprint a more ambitious future.
The club holds exclusive negotiation rights for that land through the end of next year under its lease, which gives the Orioles a real window to shape what comes next. Rubenstein has also teamed with Seregh, a real estate firm focused on sports entertainment districts, signaling that this is being treated as a multiyear redevelopment effort rather than a quick fix, and it is one fans around Camden Yards will want to keep an eye on. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Face One Costly Offseason Mistake The Mets Already Made
The Orioles win over the Mets on Thursday did more than keep Baltimore moving in the right direction, it also ended New Yorks season and offered a reminder of how quickly an aggressive offseason can go wrong. The Mets spent heavily and shuffled their roster in hopes of turning momentum into October baseball, only to wind up on the outside looking in, which makes their path a useful cautionary tale for a Baltimore club that will soon have to decide how bold it wants to be.
For the Orioles, the bigger question is less about chasing headlines than avoiding the kind of missteps that leave a team paying for yesterdays urgency. Retaining Trevor Rogers looms as one of the more important decisions on the board, especially with the pending free-agent class offering limited star power, and Baltimore has to weigh whether its next move should be a splash or a more measured bet on keeping the right pieces in place. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Keep Their Fading Playoff Push Alive With A Late Heroics
Cedric Henderson Jr. gave the Orioles the kind of late jolt they have been chasing as their postseason push has tightened, launching a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth inning that lifted Baltimore to a 2-1 win over the Mets at Citi Field. It was the sort of narrow, survival-minded victory that has become essential for a club trying to keep itself in the race, with Heston Kjerstad supplying the earlier run on an RBI double and the pitching staff doing just enough to hold New York to a single run.
The game also had a little extra edge because Pete Alonso, facing the team he once played for, was held in check with an 0-for-3 night and a walk. For Baltimore, though, the bigger storyline was the way the offense found one timely swing after another and the mound corps protected it, a formula the Orioles will need to keep repeating if this fading push is going to last much longer. [Read more 🡒]