As you may have heard, Pete Alonso returned with his new team to Citi Field tonight, and the Mets lost to the Orioles 2-1. Although Jonah Tong pitched admirably, the Mets could not capitalize on their six hits and left nine runners on base.
After Jonah Tong struck out Dylan Beavers to lead off the first inning, Alonso stepped up to thunderous applause, cheers, and chants of his name. He flied out to Carson Benge in right field, but that did not dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd. Tong then retired Gunnar Henderson as well for a 1-2-3 start to his day. In the bottom of the inning, Francisco Lindor walked to lead off, but Juan Soto popped out, and Bo Bichette grounded into a double play for the second and third outs to end the inning.
At the top of the second inning, Jackson Holliday looped a one-out single into right field. He reached second on a passed ball by Francisco Alvarez, which had popped out of Alvarez's glove. It proved costly when Heston Kjerstad drilled a double into right field past Brett Baty. The ball made a weird hop past Baty, and Holliday scored the first run of the game. When the Mets came to bat in the second, they loaded the bases with two outs. Marcus Semien drilled a single down the left-field line, and then A.J. Ewing and Baty walked. Unfortunately, they were all stranded when Alvarez struck out on a foul tip for the third out, and the second inning ended with the score Orioles 1, Mets 0.
Alonso drew a two-out walk in the third inning, but was stranded there when Tong struck out Henderson. At the bottom of the third, Juan Soto smacked a one-out single into right field. Benge sneaked a single past third base, but both runners were again stranded when Jared Young grounded out for the third out. At the top of the fourth inning, Holliday hit a ground ball straight to Semien, but Semien could not get it out of his glove in a timely manner, and Holliday made it to first base safely. He was stranded as well, though. At the bottom of the inning, Ewing drilled a home run into right field. Alvarez smacked a ground ball to third base that Coby Mayo initially fielded but bobbled, allowing Alvarez to reach base safely on an infield hit. However, he was also stranded when Lindor struck out, leaving the score Mets 1, Orioles 1, at the end of the fourth inning.
To lead off the fifth inning, Colton Cowser hit a single that Semien knocked down but couldn't get to first base in time. The next three batters went down in order. Soto walked to lead off the bottom of the fifth and, with two outs, stole second base. Young also drew a walk, but Semien grounded out to end the rally attempt there. Tong came back out for the top of the sixth inning and only needed six pitches to retire the three batters he saw. Josh Walker replaced Brandon Young for the Orioles at the bottom of the sixth, and he also worked a 1-2-3 inning. The score remained 1-1.

#field

A busy week of girl's volleyball tournaments and cross country produced several standout performances across the Wichita Falls area.
From hitters piling up kills over a long weekend to a runner separating herself from the field, several area athletes made strong cases for recognition, and we've narrowed the field to four candidates.
Read about each nominee below and cast your vote. Coaching staffs in and around the Wichita Falls area can send nominations by 5 p.m. Sunday to sportstimesrecordnews.com. The poll is set to close at noon Friday.
Broussard turned in a dominant performance at the Nocona Invitational, winning the varsity girls two-mile race in 12 minutes, 9.97 seconds. The Bellevue junior finished nearly 52 seconds ahead of the second-place runner.
Grisel powered Memorial to a 7-2 run at the Nocona Tournament, totaling 109 kills across nine matches. She also finished with 22 digs, nine blocks and six aces. Grisel's most impactful performance came against Holliday, when she delivered 23 kills as the Mavericks earned a three-set victory.

#area #wichita #nocona #field

One week into the Texas high school football season and several Wichita Falls-area players have made their mark. From career-high games to quarterbacks leading their teams to crucial opening-week wins, Week 1 produced no shortage of standout performances.
We narrowed the field to four candidates for Wichita Falls-area Athlete of the Week. Nominations can be sent by 5 p.m. Saturday by coaching staffs in and around the Wichita Falls area to sportstimesrecordnews.com.
Read about each nominee below and cast your vote. The poll is set to close at noon Friday, Sept. 4.
Birkhead made the most of his first game as Memorial's starting quarterback, throwing for 394 yards and a school-record seven touchdowns in the Mavericks' 54-34 season-opening win over Fort Worth Paschal. Six of his touchdown passes came in the first half as Memorial built a 47-22 halftime lead to help Ross Dillard pick up his first win as a head coach.
Belcher accounted for seven touchdowns in Windthorst's 49-43 win over Holliday. The senior quarterback completed 22 of 30 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns while adding 122 rushing yards and three scores to help the Trojans down the Eagles in both teams' season opener. He nearly came down with an interception on defense as well but was ruled out of bounds.

#high #school

Happy Saturday, folks! Hope you're having a nice weekend. If you decide to spend it watching late-night West Coast baseball, I hope the Orioles grace you with a series win tonight. They ******* ed a win in Game One last night with a 4-3 victory in ten innings. Although Brandon Young pitched a strong seven innings, the bullpen couldn't hold onto a meager 2-0 lead, and it took extras to sort things out: two clutch base hits by Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand gave the birds the winning margin of victory.
Let's hope the Orioles make Game Two worth staying up for. Tonight, taking the mound at Sacramento's Sutter Health Park for the Athletics is Jack Perkins, a 26-year-old righty who debuted for the A's in 2025, and has been used mostly as a swingman. In 11 starts and 20 relief appearances in 2026, he has an ugly 6.68 ERA, although it seems he's been the victim of bad defense, to judge by his FIP (4.79) and xERA (3.96). He's still been much more effective as a reliever, going by his ERA splits (4.76 ERA in relief/8.17 ERA as a starter). His best pitch is the sweeper, which generates a 36.1% whiff rate, followed by a decent changeup and cutter. The soft spot in Perkins' ******* nal is his mid-90s four-seamer: it's been his most hittable pitch by far (.318 average, .664 slugging against, Run Value -14), and he still throws it nearly a third of the time. Perkins is also ******* e to the long ball (1.69 HR/9) and to putting runners on via the walk (3.79 BB/9) or hit-by-pitch (9 on the year).
As for the O's starter, I don't know if it's crazy or reasonable to hope for a win, given that it's unlucky Shane Baz who takes his turn on the mound tonight. Despite the fact that Baz (4.04 ERA, 3.34 FIP) has allowed three or fewer runs in 19 of his 26 starts, he doesn't have a win in his last twelve starts (which is incredible to process). And he's been pretty good! He had a 3.68 ERA in June, a 3.00 one in July, and August, while slightly worse, shows him at a 4.30 mark. Poor Baz. Can the schneid please end tonight?
Tonight's lineup features a surplus of lefties. Jackson Holliday back in the leadoff spot, and Henderson, hopefully rested after his day off, hitting third. Dylan Beavers, hot lately, is back in, and so is Cowser playing center field. The newly activated Blaze Alexander is sitting today. However, Coby Mayo, slayer of lefties, is getting a start against the right-handed Perkins anyway, hitting seventh. And Pete Alonso, lately called our team's "iron man," is still out there, hitting, even with a sore calf.
Last night saw these Orioles ******* a game back from Cleveland's lead to put them just two games back of the third and final Wild Card spot. Earlier today, the lowly Royals did the Orioles a huge favor, pummeling the Guardians 8-3, which gives the team chance to make up yet another game! The next four games against the A's and the Rockies, whom the O's visit next, represent a best chance to make score some easy wins in the wild card race

The Orioles kicked off a crucial nine-game road trip with a blowout 13-1 win over the hosting Cardinals on Tuesday night. Pete Alonso paced the lineup before he left the game with a flare up of his calf injury. O's starter Chris Bassitt turned in a solid 6.2 innings before Anthony Nunez over-powered the opposing hitters in the late innings.
This was the Orioles most dominant win of the season by run differential, besting a 12-1 win over the Dodgers on June 21. It also tied their season high in runs scored, which they originally achieved back on June 5 in a 13-3 victory against the Blue Jays.
The Orioles scored all of those runs between the third and sixth innings of this game. Power got things started, and then the rest of the lineup just peppered the ball all over the park for the remainder of the runs.
Alonso put the O's up 3-0 in the fourth inning with his 31st home run of the season, a 435-foot bomb to left center field that scored Leody Taveras and Jackson Holliday, who had singled ahead of him. A few batters later Christian Encarnacion-Strand went even deeper, launching a 450-foot solo shot to make it 4-0.
It was in the fifth inning where the Orioles put the game completely out of reach. The Cardinals had to use three different pitchers in that inning alone while the O's sent 13 batters to the plate and scored the eight runs on seven hits, two walks, and a hit by pitch. Six of those seven hits were singles.

#june

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pete Alonso had four hits, including a three-run homer, and drove in four runs before leaving the game in the fifth inning, and the Baltimore Orioles routed the swooning St. Louis Cardinals 13-1 on Tuesday night.
Chris Bassitt (5-4) allowed one run on six hits in 6 2/3 innings, matching his longest start of the season. He struck out five and walked none as the Orioles, who are chasing an AL wild-card spot, won for the third time in four games.
The Cardinals lost their fourth straight.
Alonso, who has been dealing with a nagging calf injury, left shortly after he contributed his fourth hit, an RBI double during Baltimore's eight-run fifth that made it 12-1. He put the Orioles ahead 3-0 with his 435-foot shot in the third off Matthew Liberatore (5-12), his 31st of the season.
Jackson Holliday had three hits, scored twice and drove in a run for the Orioles in his first big league appearance in St. Louis, where his father, Matt, starred for the Cardinals. Christian Encarnacion-Strand had a pair of hits, including a 450-foot homer in the third, and drove in three. Leody Taveras had two hits, scored twice and drove in two runs.

#cardinals #four #alonso

Tuesday night was an opportunity for the St. Louis Cardinals to rebound from a profoundly disappointing end to the road trip returning home from Philadelphia, but would they? Much of that would depend on which version of Matthew Liberatore took the mound for the Cardinals. The answer is not the one most Cardinals fans were hoping for and the end result was appalling. Not to spoil this for you if you didn't see the game, but everyone in Busch Stadium that was not an Oriole's fan should demand their money back.
The game would get off to an auspicious start in the top of the 1st inning when Matthew Liberatore fielded Jackson Holliday's dribbler on the 1st base side of the mound and fired the ball over Alec Burleson's head into right field. Pete Alonso followed that with a solid single into left field with Holliday running on the play which gave the Orioles runners at first and third with no outs. Matthew would find a way out of the jam as he got Gunnar Henderson to pop out and then struck out Mayo and Encarnacion-Strand.
The top of the 3rd inning would be similar to the top of the 1st, but the result would be much different. Taveras reached as he beat out an infield hit. Jackson Holliday whistled a single into center which brought up Pete Alonzo who was not fooled by an 88 mph changeup which he sent soaring 435 feet deep into the left field stands for a 3-0 Baltimore lead. Two outs later, Encarnacion-Strand absolutely annihilated a 94 mph four-seam Liberatore fastball 450 feet even deeper into the left field stands for a 4-0 Orioles lead. That's the longest home run in Busch Stadium this season.
The Cardinals would not go away silently. Nathan Church waited on a 72 mph curveball from Orioles pitcher Chris Bassett and ripped it 405 feet into the Cardinals bullpen giving St. Louis a run making the score 4-1.
That brief moment of St. Louis Cardinals optimism was short-lived. Matthew Liberatore would not survive the 5th inning. Jackson Holliday led off with his third hit of the night followed by another single from Cardinals nemesis Pete Alonzo. Matthew Liberatore then walked Gunnar Henderson to load the bases with no one out. Liberatore's last batter was Mayo who he surrendered a single to making it 5-1 Orioles and even though Matthew was done, Baltimore wasn't done scoring. Liberatore's replacement was Peter Strzelecki who didn't fare much better than his predecessor. He immediately gave up a single to Encarnacion-Strand which plated two more Orioles upping the Baltimore lead to 7-1. Stzelecki did accomplish one good thing during his relief outing. He struck out Basallo and…yeah, that's it. Next he hit Franklin with a pitch, gave up a single to Taveras, a single to Holliday and a double to Alonzo. When the dust settled, it was 12-1 Orioles and by the time the horrific 5th inning was done, Caleb Ferguson was in the game as the designated "you're pitching until you're too tired to pitch for the rest of the game" guy.

#matthew #holliday #inning

BALTIMORE (AP) — Pete Alonso hit a go-ahead two-run homer for his 30th of the season, Trevor Rogers struck out six in seven innings and the Baltimore Orioles defeated the AL East-leading Tampa Bay Rays 5-3 on Friday night.
Alonso also had an RBI single in the first to extend his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games. He's batting .480 during the stretch.
Rogers (9-8) allowed three runs and six hits in his third quality start across four starts in August. He walked one.
After Alonso put the Orioles ahead in the first, Chandler Simpson tied it in the second with an RBI single. Kenny Piper hit first career homer, a two-run 410-footer to center, to give the Rays a 3-1 lead.
Dylan Beavers launched a solo shot in the fourth to get one back. Jackson Holliday tied it with a sacrifice fly in the fifth.

#first #rogers #orioles

The Orioles were swept away tonight, ruining every bit of goodwill and excitement they had built up with their series against the Rays last weekend. Tonight's game, a 6-1 loss to the Yankees, had a little bit of everything bad. The offense could not solve Gerrit Cole. One big error cost the team a couple runs. And Kyle Bradish struggled for his second straight start. It was not an uplifting game, to say the least.
Let's start with Bradish. He faced just three batters in the first inning, but there was foreshadowing for the rest of his game. He walked leadoff batter Trent Grisham on six pitches. To make matters worse, Carlos Narváez challenged ball four and lost. On the first batter of the game. Bradish then went 3-2 to Ben Rice, but Rice bailed him out by swinging at ball four and popping out. Heliot Ramos grounded into the first of three Yankees double plays to end the inning.
The third inning was the worst one for Bradish, with an ***** ist to Gunnar Henderson. Back-to-back singles put runners on the corners with no outs. José Caballero hit a groundball to Jackson Holliday, who fired to Henderson to start the double play, but Henderson missed the catch. No outs were recorded and a run scored. The next batter did hit into a double play, but Bradish couldn't close out the inning. Three batters and three hits later, the Orioles were down 3-0.
Bradish allowed two more baserunners in the fifth inning but was once again saved by a double play ball. He ended the fifth inning with 89 pitches. After his struggles, I thought that might be the end of his night. Unfortunately for him, he went back out for the sixth. He faced four batters and retired two of them. The other two hit home runs. Whoops! He was pulled after the second one. His final pitching line: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K. Henderson's error led to the unearned runs, but Bradish did allow three more hits in the inning after that play. Not great.
The way that the Orioles' offense played, Bradish could have been a lot better and it wouldn't have mattered. They looked like they might have something cooking in the first inning with Pete Alonso singled and Gunnar Henderson walked, but they were stranded.

#first #play

The Yankees (71-55) and the Orioles (61-66) conclude their three-game AL East series tonight at Camden Yards. With wins in the first two games, New York has pulled to within five games of first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East. Baltimore opened the series sitting in the final Wild Card spot but now are 1.5 games behind the Twins for a postseason berth.
Last night the Yankees won, 5-3. Along the way, they may have gotten a little help from the umpires. More on that in a moment. The Orioles struck first in unusual fashion in the bottom of the first. Jackson Holliday stole home to give Baltimore an early 1-0 lead. New York answered quickly. In the second inning, Ryan McMahon delivered an RBI single that scored Jazz Chisholm Jr., tying the game before being thrown out trying to stretch the hit into a double. Moments later, George Lombard Jr. hit a sacrifice fly that brought home Spencer Jones to give the Yankees a 2-1 advantage. The Yankees extended the lead in the third when Ben Rice launched a 447-foot solo homer to right-center field, his 34th home run of the season. Baltimore responded immediately as Pete Alonso crushed a 423-foot homer of his own in the bottom half, trimming the deficit to 3-2. The game remained close into the sixth inning when Orioles outfielder Dylan Beavers tied the score at 3-3 with a solo homer to left-center.
The pivotal and controversial moment arrived in the seventh. Alonso thought he had given Baltimore the lead with a deep drive down the left-field line. The ball clearly looked to tuck inside the foul pole but was ruled foul...even after review. Instead of taking a 4-3 lead, the Orioles remained tied, and the Yankees took advantage in the eighth inning. In the top of the eighth, New York loaded the bases and grabbed the lead when Lombard Jr. beat out an infield single, scoring Heliot Ramos. Moments later, Orioles reliever Yennier Cano uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Jazz Chisholm Jr. to score an insurance run and give the Yankees a 5-3 advantage. The Yankees bullpen closed the door from there. Brent Headrick earned the victory with a scoreless seventh, while David Bednar recorded his 29th save with a clean ninth inning.
Tonight's pitching matchup features a couple of veteran righthanders in Gerrit Cole (6-6, 3.22 ERA) and Kyle Bradish (7-11, 3.65 ERA). After missing last season and the first couple of months this season following Tommy John surgery, Cole has been an ace over his last four starts allowing a mere four earned runs across 24.2 innings. As good as he has been, the Yankees' bats have rarely supported him, though, as New York has lost four of his last seven starts. Bradish has also been stingy over the past couple of months. The righthander has allowed two or fewer earned runs in his last three starts and in five of his last six outings. The O's have won four of his last six starts.
Lets dive into tonight's matchup and find a sweat or two.

#orioles

The Yankees, on the strength of Trent Grisham, pulled out a 3-1 win over the Orioles on Tuesday night.
But the game could have been very different if not for ABS.
In the second inning with the game still scoreless, the Orioles loaded the bases thanks in large part to a fielding error by Jazz Chisholm Jr. after the second base umpire screened him on a groundball. What could have been an inning-ending doubleplay turned into a massive jam for Carlos Rodon and the Yankees.
Rodon would wind up striking out Carlos Narvaez before Jackson Holliday stepped into the batter's box with two outs. After Rodon got ahead 0-2, the southpaw threw a fastball away and a bit high. Holliday didn't bite, but Austin Wells hopped up to head into the dugout but stopped once he realized homeplate umpire Will Little didn't ring up the young Orioles infielder.
After a few seconds, ABS confirmed that it was a strike and the Yankees escaped.

#didn 't

The New York Yankees got a key piece of their rotation back Tuesday night with the return of three-time All-Star Carlos Rodón from a multi-week layoff.
Rodón was limited to 4 innings in his first MLB game since June 28, but he looked good in those frames while allowing a single run via a solo home run.
Rodón had been sidelined due to left elbow inflammation following a strong start to his season. He made multiple rehab starts before being cleared for Tuesday's road game against the Baltimore Orioles.
Rodón issued an early walk to Tyler O'Neill, but didn't allow another base-runner in the first inning. He then faced pressure in the second before working out of a one-out, bases-loaded jam that was created in part by an error by Jazz Chisholm Jr. on what could have been an inning-ending double-play ground ball.
Rodón got Carlos Narváez out with a swinging third strike for the second out of the frame. He then caught leadoff hitter Jackson Holliday looking with high heat on the outside corner.

#tuesday

Tess Holliday shared a video addressing recent body-shaming comments she's received and her confident and empowering response to critics
The model and activist has previously shut down critics suggesting she take weight-loss medications like Ozempic
Holliday continues to advocate for body positivity and self-confidence, despite ongoing criticism about her appearance
Online criticism is not interfering with Tess Holliday's confidence.
On Thursday, Aug. 13, the model and body activist, 41, posted a video on TikTok listing some of the recent body-shaming comments she's received — "You're so fat," "Ew disgusting," "I'm just worried about your health," "Lose weight," "Ozempic exists," "Cover up" and "No one wants this."

#comments #model

Stephen A. Smith has spent decades making a living by delivering criticism at maximum volume. Former NFL running back Marcus "Doc" Holliday thinks receiving it can be less comfortable.
Holliday reacted Sunday after the National **** ociation of Black Journalists gave Smith its 2026 "Thumbs Down" award. The organization criticized what it called a recurring pattern of disparaging commentary about prominent Black women, prompting Smith to promise a response.
"I see a lot of people have been talking about the National **** ociation of Black Journalists giving a thumbs down to Stephen A. Smith," Holliday said in a video heposted Sunday.
Holliday said the criticism matched concerns he has voiced about Smith for years, arguing that Smith treats Black public figures more harshly than others.
"That's the route he chose to take," Holliday said. "That's the hill he chooses to stand on."

#sunday #thumbs

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Colton Cowser hit a two-run homer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand had a three-run double in a seven-run sixth, Trevor Rogers allowed two runs in six innings and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-2 on Sunday.
Jackson Holliday also drove in three runs for Baltimore, which has won three consecutive games as it chases the final wild-card spot in the American League.
Rogers (8-8) scattered seven hits while striking out six.
The teams will conclude a four-game series on Monday.
Freddy Peralta (5-10) allowed just one hit through 4 2/3 innings but allowed two runs to take the loss in his first start at home for Tampa Bay since being acquired from the New York Mets on Aug. 3. Peralta has not recorded a victory since June 14.

#seven

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Colton Cowser hit a two-run homer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand had a three-run double in a seven-run sixth, Trevor Rogers allowed two runs in six innings and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 10-2 on Sunday.
Jackson Holliday also drove in three runs for Baltimore, which has won three consecutive games as it chases the final wild-card spot in the American League.
Rogers (8-8) scattered seven hits while striking out six.
The teams will conclude a four-game series on Monday.
Freddy Peralta (5-10) allowed just one hit through 4 2/3 innings but allowed two runs to take the loss in his first start at home for Tampa Bay since being acquired from the New York Mets on Aug. 3. Peralta has not recorded a victory since June 14.

#three #since

During my tenure at Pinstripe Alley—hell, during my entire time as a baseball fan—I've never been shy about delving into the team's history and exploring the lives of its long roll call of players, both incredible and regrettable. We provide plenty of other coverage on the current-day activities of the teams, so I like having one spot per day on the schedule to open the ol' books and tell a story.
Whether it's remembering championship teams, Top 100 players, or notable free agent signings, there's always something out there to explore. For the past three years, we've celebrated the 25th anniversary of the 1998-2000 Yankees dynasty by doing a diary on all their regular season and playoff activity. The final pages were written this past October, so it's time for a new daily project.
With that in mind, we'll ring in the new year by beginning the Yankees Birthdays series. Every day in 2026, we'll have a new Yankees figure to discuss whose birthday happened to fall on that day. Some days will feature far more famous stars than others! But that just adds to the challenge and our interest in the exercise. As a spoiler for today, that's exactly what you'll see soon for January 1st.
Happy new year and happy 365 days of Yankees birthdays!
January 1: Charlie Devens
January 2: David Cone
January 3: Luis Sojo
January 4: George Selkirk
January 5: Art Fletcher
January 6: Don Gullett
January 7: Alfonso Soriano
January 8: Jason Giambi
January 9: Ralph Terry
January 10: Del Pratt
January 11: Loren Babe
January 12: Iván Nova
January 13: Darrell Rasner
January 14: Chet Brewer
January 15: Matt Holliday
January 16: Jack McDowell
January 17: Chili Davis
January 18: Michael Pineda
January 19: Fernando Seguignol
January 20: Kevin Maas
January 21: Andy Hawkins
January 22: Brian Dayett
January 23: Johnny Sturm
January 24: Neil Allen
January 25: Les Nunamaker
January 26: Brian Doyle
January 27: Fred Heimach
January 28: Lyn Lary
January 29: John Habyan
January 30: Hipólito Peña
January 31: Duke Maas

#maas #brian

Twins 9, Orioles 5
Just 10 days after the Orioles dealt Dean Kremer to the Twins ahead of the trade deadline, the veteran starter turned in his best outing of the season — against his former teammates.
Facing the team that he had pitched for for parts of the past seven seasons, Kremer allowed just one hit and one run across seven innings, marking his longest outing of the season thus far.
That one hit wasn't hit hard — just 52.6 miles per hour off Jackson Holliday's bat — and didn't travel far. It came in the fourth inning and shortly after, Holliday broke for second, getting himself caught in a rundown long enough to let shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who had walked earlier in the inning, score from third.
But that was all the Orioles could manage against Kremer, who struck out seven in his outing and allowed very little hard contact in his first start as a Twin at Target Field.

#hard

ARLINGTON, Texas — Missing: The Baltimore Orioles' offense, last seen before the trade deadline.
Another night of frustrating results at the plate was to be expected Saturday with Jacob deGrom on the mound for the Texas Rangers. Yet despite driving his pitch count up enough to force Texas to go to its bullpen after five innings, the Orioles still struggled to string together any kind of rally in a 5-1 loss to the Rangers.
It's the Orioles' third straight game with one run or fewer and fifth in their past seven overall.
The loss ensured Baltimore (56-61) would lose its series in Arlington and drop the club to three games back in the American League wild-card race.
A solo home run by Jackson Holliday off deGrom in the first inning was the only run the Orioles pushed across. They had six hits and drew three walks but finished 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position to strand six men on base.

#degrom

During my tenure at Pinstripe Alley—hell, during my entire time as a baseball fan—I've never been shy about delving into the team's history and exploring the lives of its long roll call of players, both incredible and regrettable. We provide plenty of other coverage on the current-day activities of the teams, so I like having one spot per day on the schedule to open the ol' books and tell a story.
Whether it's remembering championship teams, Top 100 players, or notable free agent signings, there's always something out there to explore. For the past three years, we've celebrated the 25th anniversary of the 1998-2000 Yankees dynasty by doing a diary on all their regular season and playoff activity. The final pages were written this past October, so it's time for a new daily project.
With that in mind, we'll ring in the new year by beginning the Yankees Birthdays series. Every day in 2026, we'll have a new Yankees figure to discuss whose birthday happened to fall on that day. Some days will feature far more famous stars than others! But that just adds to the challenge and our interest in the exercise. As a spoiler for today, that's exactly what you'll see soon for January 1st.
Happy new year and happy 365 days of Yankees birthdays!
January 1: Charlie Devens
January 2: David Cone
January 3: Luis Sojo
January 4: George Selkirk
January 5: Art Fletcher
January 6: Don Gullett
January 7: Alfonso Soriano
January 8: Jason Giambi
January 9: Ralph Terry
January 10: Del Pratt
January 11: Loren Babe
January 12: Iván Nova
January 13: Darrell Rasner
January 14: Chet Brewer
January 15: Matt Holliday
January 16: Jack McDowell
January 17: Chili Davis
January 18: Michael Pineda
January 19: Fernando Seguignol
January 20: Kevin Maas
January 21: Andy Hawkins
January 22: Brian Dayett
January 23: Johnny Sturm
January 24: Neil Allen
January 25: Les Nunamaker
January 26: Brian Doyle
January 27: Fred Heimach
January 28: Lyn Lary
January 29: John Habyan
January 30: Hipólito Peña
January 31: Duke Maas

#january #time #past

Orioles 22-year-old former first overall pick given 40% chance of being traded originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Baltimore Orioles are sitting on the outside looking in for the AL Wild Card this season, though they're only 1.5 games back of a spot. But that position in the postseason hunt has resulted in a bit of an odd situation.
The 54-56 Orioles, entering Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies, might end up selling at the trade deadline. Taylor Ward and other rentals make sense, but Adley Rutschman might be on the move, too.
However, the more surprising player who, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan and Kiley McDaniel, has a 40% chance of being traded this summer is 22-year-old infielder and former No. 1 overall pick Jackson Holliday.
"19. Jackson Holliday, 2B, Baltimore Orioles. Chance of being traded: 40%," Passan and McDaniel project. "... Since the All-Star break, he is hitting over .400, and though the slug hasn't arrived, Holliday is still just 22 and would likely be flipped for pitching."

#sporting

What's the definition of "not going well?" How about playing a series against a team that came in on a 12-game losing streak, and getting swept? The series against the Marlins showed that it's not just one thing plaguing the Phillies at the moment, it's everything. Each loss came in a different fashion, with the one common thread being poor defense.
Next, the Phillies will travel to Baltimore to take on an Orioles team that theoretically should provide some opportunities for victories. However, considering how poorly the team has played since the All-Star Game, any future opponents could say the same thing.
Jackson Holliday was a can't miss prospect. The son of a former All-Star and first overall pick of the 2022 draft, Holliday was rated as the top prospect in baseball prior to the 2024 season. When he was called up to the majors in April of that year, it was expected that the middle infielder would become an instant star.
For every Phillies fan who complains that the team is too slow to promote their young players, just remember that not every prospect, no matter how touted they are, is going to be succeed immediately upon reaching the majors. Holliday struggled so much that the team quickly demoted him. (For the fans who want to trade every prospect, this is some ammunition for your case.)
He returned to the majors at the end of July that year, and while he wasn't awful, he certainly didn't look anything like the star that was promised. 2025 was slightly better as he hit 17 home runs, but his defense was subpar and his OPS was only .690.

#team #star #prospect #series

During my tenure at Pinstripe Alley—hell, during my entire time as a baseball fan—I've never been shy about delving into the team's history and exploring the lives of its long roll call of players, both incredible and regrettable. We provide plenty of other coverage on the current-day activities of the teams, so I like having one spot per day on the schedule to open the ol' books and tell a story.
Whether it's remembering championship teams, Top 100 players, or notable free agent signings, there's always something out there to explore. For the past three years, we've celebrated the 25th anniversary of the 1998-2000 Yankees dynasty by doing a diary on all their regular season and playoff activity. The final pages were written this past October, so it's time for a new daily project.
With that in mind, we'll ring in the new year by beginning the Yankees Birthdays series. Every day in 2026, we'll have a new Yankees figure to discuss whose birthday happened to fall on that day. Some days will feature far more famous stars than others! But that just adds to the challenge and our interest in the exercise. As a spoiler for today, that's exactly what you'll see soon for January 1st.
Happy new year and happy 365 days of Yankees birthdays!
January 1: Charlie Devens
January 2: David Cone
January 3: Luis Sojo
January 4: George Selkirk
January 5: Art Fletcher
January 6: Don Gullett
January 7: Alfonso Soriano
January 8: Jason Giambi
January 9: Ralph Terry
January 10: Del Pratt
January 11: Loren Babe
January 12: Iván Nova
January 13: Darrell Rasner
January 14: Chet Brewer
January 15: Matt Holliday
January 16: Jack McDowell
January 17: Chili Davis
January 18: Michael Pineda
January 19: Fernando Seguignol
January 20: Kevin Maas
January 21: Andy Hawkins
January 22: Brian Dayett
January 23: Johnny Sturm
January 24: Neil Allen
January 25: Les Nunamaker
January 26: Brian Doyle
January 27: Fred Heimach
January 28: Lyn Lary
January 29: John Habyan
January 30: Hipólito Peña
January 31: Duke Maas

#brian #happy #time #teams

The Orioles focus for much of today is on the future. They made a few draft picks, including seventh overall pick Eric Booth Jr., a high school outfielder from Mississippi. Hopefully a few of the youngsters they call on this weekend will turn into quality Orioles a few years from now.
The 2026 Orioles, however, are still hoping that they can win on the field right now. At seven games under .500, things aren’t great. But they have won two in a row, and are only three games out of the final wild card spot, which is currently occupied by the sub-.500 Seattle Mariners. The AL is so poor that a bad team (or two) is probably going to play meaningful October baseball.
In order for the Orioles to be that bad team, they need to beat up on the few teams that are currently below them in the standings. They did that in game one with the Royals on Friday. Another win tonight would make it three in a row.
The pitching matchup favors them. Kyle Bradish, when on, is a stud atop the rotation. Noah Cameron hasn’t been as good this year as he was in his debut last year. But he throws with his left hand, and sometimes that is enough to take the Orioles down.
Craig Albernaz mostly has his lineup for left-handed starters on display tonight. That means Coby Mayo and Tyler ONeill get prominent spots. But it’s the left-handed Jackson Holliday at second base rather than right-handed Blaze Alexander. Hollliday has been hot lately, and actually has better numbers again southpaws than he does righties. Alexander has been torching righties, not lefties. So, it’s a logical decision.

Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Even in a season that isn't going according to plan, an immutable fact remains: life seems a little bit better after an Orioles win. That's especially true when the O's make it a dramatic win, like last night's 5-3 takedown of the visiting Royals at Camden Yards. After Brandon Young's bid to pitch into the eighth inning went haywire in heartbreaking fashion, Samuel Basallo stepped up to reinvigorate the team and the sizable crowd of O's fans with his electric go-ahead homer — and epic bat toss — in the Birds' last at-bat. Check out Stacey's recap of a delightful night at Oriole Park.
The game was a fun reminder of what the Orioles can look like when they're playing well, something that unfortunately has happened far too little this season. A win against a last-place Royals team doesn't fix the many problems that still plague the Birds. But with two games remaining against lowly Kansas City, the Orioles have a chance to head into the All-Star break feeling better about themselves if they can put together a couple more performances as competent as last night's.
While the players (hopefully) keep their attention on the field, the O's front office decision-makers have other things on their mind this weekend. The 2026 MLB Draft begins today at 1 pm, and the Orioles hold the #7 pick. As Mark Brown wrote, there's no consensus among draft pundits about which player the O's will take; five different writers have suggested four different possibilities for the Orioles in their mock drafts. And of course the Birds' actual selection could end up being someone not even mentioned. They do that sometimes.
The Orioles' #7 pick is their highest since 2022, when they held the #1 overall selection and drafted Jackson Holliday. Since then, their highest first-round picks have been #17 in 2023 (which they used on Enrique Bradfield Jr.), #22 in 2024 (Vance Honeycutt), and #19 in 2025 (Ike Irish).

Sometimes, one small play in a game ends up ruining it. When Adley Rutschman didn't challenge a pitch in the eighth inning that was called a ball, I thought that was the small ruining play. The batter went on to homer. The game was tied, and I **** umed the Orioles would soon fall behind. But that didn't happen! Instead, the stage was set for Samuel Basallo to come along and serve up some heroics. He did just that, with a home run to put the Orioles ahead and give them a 5-3 lead to start their series with the Kansas City Royals.
The Orioles started scoring early but were held to just three runs for most of the game. They got the scoring started in the second inning with a singles party. Dylan Beavers, Blaze Alexander, Jackson Holliday, and Gunnar Henderson all singled. Beavers and Alexander came in to score on hits from Holliday and Henderson. It was a nice start against Royals' starter Luinder Avila, who allowed his share of baserunners in his five innings pitched.
Taylor Ward led off the third inning with a single, but was thrown out trying to steal second base with Pete Alonso at the plate. Ward got a good job and could have beaten the throw, but appeared to try the swim move to avoid the tag. Instead, he avoided the bag just long enough to get tagged out. Not great, Taylor! Alonso walked not long after, which made it seem even dumber. They did not score.
The Orioles had just one baserunner in the fourth inning, but it was a Blaze Alexander bomb to put the team up 3-0. It was already Alexander's second hit of the game and he played good defense as well.
Unfortunately, the Orioles did not score again off Avila. They had two more baserunners in the fifth but couldn't capitalize, and Avila left the game after five innings. The Royals' bullpen held strong until they didn't, but more on that later.

Charles Huff has done this before.

Marshall was terrific for years under Doc Holliday. Huff had the pressure of coming in to keep the success going when he took over in 2021, and he did just that with 32 wins in four years and a Sun Belt ***** le.

He left for Southern Miss last season, bringing along a slew of top Thundering Herd players with him. It worked, turning a 1-11 team into a solid 7-6 team that got to a bowl.

Memphis needed a coach, and now Huff is at his third head coaching gig in three years.
© Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
His situation with the Tigers is a bit like the expectations he had at Marshall.

Memphis is a winner.

It hasn't had a losing season since 2013, and won 21 games in two years before former head coach Ryan Silverfield's bunch went 8-5 last year.

Silverfield left for Arkansas, Huff stepped in, and there's no grace period whatsoever.
Almost the entire team is made up of transfers, but there's continuity with 12 key players coming over from Southern Miss.

But can Memphis win in the American Conference with (mostly) a Sun Belt team?

It came up with one of the stronger coaching hires in the cycle to find out.
Head Coach: Charles Huff (1st year; 6th year overall, 39-25)

The Baltimore bats couldn't deliver in the clutch, and a strong Kyle Bradish start went to waste, as the O's dropped their series finale in Cincinnati 3-2.
The O's came into the bottom of the 9th trailing 3-1 after struggling to get their bats going all afternoon. The pinch-hitting Dylan Beavers worked a leadoff walk to put the winning run on base. Jackson Holliday then entered for Jeremiah Jackson, with the former No.1 overall pick correctly challenging a 3-1 pitch to also reach via walk. The red-hot Blaze Alexander then battled Reds closer Emilio Pagán, finally getting ahold of a 2-2 cutter and sending a single into left to load the bases.
With the bases loaded and one out, former All-Star Gunnar Henderson stepped to the plate. After falling behind 1-2, Gunnar just missed a fastball up and away, sending a fly out to deep left field. The sac fly allowed Beavers to score and cut the deficit to one.
That put the weight of the Orioles' chances on the newly named All-Star Adley Rutschman. The Orioles' catcher fell behind like Henderson and could only send a fly ball to center, ending the game with the tying run on second base.
The rally in the 9th was the Orioles' first good scoring opportunity since the 6th inning. With the O's trailing 2-0. After Adley Rutschman started off the frame with a fly out, Taylor Ward got the rally going with a double to the left field gap. Pete Alonso then sent a rocket of a ground ball to short, where a bobble by Elly De La Cruz allowed Ward to advance on a 6-3 groundout. That brought up Coby Mayo, the lefty masher, against Reds' left-handed starter Nick Lodolo. The southpaw left a 1-1 changeup over the plate and Mayo smashed it into left field to bring home Ward.

Out with the old, in with the new for Jussie Smollett's dating life!
The actor soft-launched his latest romance with media personality Karamo Brown, just a few weeks after breaking up his engagement to actor and producer Jabari Redd to focus on his career after nearly three years together.
Jussie Smollett and his ex-fiancé got together after co-starring on "The Lost Holliday" in 2024, which was also directed by the actor. Original proposal pictures from the failed engagement have since been scrubbed off social media.
The duo was spotted on Monday, June 29, enjoying an all-day date filled with several activities, including lunch with Brown's mother, running errands, and taking a hike through Runyon Canyon. Smollett and the TV personality appeared very calm and comfortable in each other's company as they went about their day.
The actor could not keep his hands off Brown as he was spotted playfully cupping his chin in a playful display that did not help douse the flaming fires of rumors that there is more to their friendship.

New mock draft predicts Georgia Tech star crashing the Orioles first round originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Baltimore Orioles are another team that knows just how important it is to hit on these first-round picks in the MLB Draft. They use these top draft picks as the engine of their franchise.
They have done well over the years, drafting players like Ryan Mountcastle, Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser, and Jackson Holliday in the first round.
Last year, they were given the No. 19 pick, taking University of Auburn catcher Ike Irish, but this year, they will be drafting much higher as they were awarded the No. 7 pick.
MORE: Orioles' 1.72 ERA potential All-Star may 'vanish' before trade deadline