What an exciting day it is in Birdland. The Orioles finally signed a player to a contract extension. No, really! It’s officially announced and everything: Samuel Basallo has gotten eight years and $67 million guaranteed by the Orioles, starting next year.
This next part may sound like a joke, but it isn’t: Basallo is not in the starting lineup tonight after signing the extension. Interim manager Tony Mansolino offered the explanation that this is for a little rest after he took the physical for the contract
today. I question the truthfulness of that explanation. More likely, it’s about making extra sure that Basallo does not end up exceeding 130 at-bats by season’s end, which would knock away his rookie status going into 2026.
It’s weird. That’s the Orioles for you. Why would you actually play the guy who you’ve just gotten everyone excited by signing for eight years the same night that you signed him? That would just make too much sense. So Basallo is on the bench, at least to start out, as the Orioles continue this series against the Astros. Sheesh.
One other guy who isn’t in the lineup is Jordan Westburg. In his case, that’s because he’s now on the injured list with an ankle sprain that he suffered in Boston. Brandon Young is also now on the IL with a hamstring strain suffered last night. In their place, the Orioles selected the contracts of Matt Bowman and Vimael Machín from Norfolk. Each of these moves necessitated clearing a 40-man spot, which was accomplished by transferring Gary Sánchez and Félix Bautista to the 60-day injured list. The 2025 Orioles, man. That’s some bad injury luck.
Orioles lineup
- Jackson Holliday – 2B
- Jeremiah Jackson – RF
- Gunnar Henderson – SS
- Ryan Mountcastle – DH
- Colton Cowser – CF
- Coby Mayo – 1B
- Dylan Beavers – LF
- Luis Vásquez – 3B
- Alex Jackson – C
A person might have thought that Westburg going to the injured list would mean the end of infielder Jeremiah Jackson playing in the outfield. A person would have been wrong to think that. The 2025 Orioles!
Cade Povich is the starting pitcher tonight. Through three starts, he’s been participating in the Orioles rotation’s “be better in August” initiative, although in his case, “be better” is still a 4.32 ERA over three games, which isn’t all that good. He gave up three runs in five innings against this Astros team back in Houston last weekend.
Astros lineup
- Jeremy Peña – SS
- Carlos Correa – 3B
- Jose Altuve – DH
- Christian Walker – 1B
- Yainer Diaz – C
- Ramón Urías – 2B
- Mauricio Dubón – LF
- Cam Smith – RF
- Chas McCormick – CF
The Astros starter, Lance McCullers Jr., has been terrible this year, with a 6.90 ERA in 11 games. He’s been on the injured list for the last month. This will be his first start after being activated. Whether the Orioles offense is capable of capitalizing is one of those 2025 mysteries/frustrations.
