The Orioles (61-64) open a three-game home series Tuesday against the New York Yankees (69-55) at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in what's a key AL East battle, especially for Baltimore, which is eyeing the league's final wild card spot after a strong series against the division- and league-leading Tampa Bay Rays.
Baltimore dropped a 7-6 decision to Tampa Bay in its most recent outing in a back-and-forth game blown by Yennier Cano. The loss meant Baltimore didn't sweep the Rays, but still left the Orioles tied for the third and final AL wild-card spot.
Tonight, as this three-game series begins in Baltimore, the pitchers are the big stories.
New York's Carlos Rodón was actually supposed to make a third minor-league rehab start Tuesday, continuing his buildup from the left elbow inflammation that's sidelined him since early July. Instead, the Yankees reversed course and activated him straight from rehab to start at Camden Yards — a genuine about-face from the plan they'd announced just days earlier. Rodón worked back through two rehab outings this month, an uneven one at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on August 8 (three runs allowed over 2.2 innings) followed by a sharp one at Double-A Somerset on August 13 (4.1 scoreless innings, seven strikeouts on just 58 pitches). That second outing was apparently enough to convince New York he was ready.
"I feel like I'm always ready to get big league hitters out," Rodón said after the Somerset start. "I'd love to go out there, compete and help our team win, but that is not up to me." Given his limited pitch count in that last rehab appearance, the Yankees are expected to closely manage his workload and won't push him deep into Tuesday's game — manager Aaron Boone has discussed "piggybacking" him with another arm, similar to how New York handled Max Fried's own return from injury last month.
Rodón was 4-2 with a 3.30 ERA over nine starts before landing on the injured list, following an All-Star 2025 season in which he went 18-9 with a 3.09 ERA. He returns to a Yankees rotation that already includes Gerrit Cole, Cam Schlittler, Ryan Weathers, and Will Warren, giving New York another proven arm as it pushes for the postseason.
For Baltimore, Shane Baz will be looking to put his last start behind him. Minnesota knocked him around for nine hits and five earned runs in just three innings in his most recent outing, a 7-5 Twins win in which Baz was pulled after only 65 pitches. He couldn't point to any single explanation afterward.
"I don't know if it was just the day game, or just one of those days where you're not feeling good," Baz said. "The command was just not good. I wasn't really executing anything, really. They just kept putting the ball in play and finding holes."
Manager Craig Albernaz described a similarly unclear picture, noting Baz's velocity was down and that "it looked like he had a tough time feeling out the strike zone."
Baz insisted afterward he wasn't hurt and that he'd thrown a sharp bullpen just days earlier, chalking the outing up to poor execution rather than anything physical. "This is the time of the year where you either show up or you start to freakin' mail it in and give up. That's not really what I do," he said. "I'm going to go out there in five days or however many and just execute better."
the stakes are straightforward for the Orioles. With the trade deadline in the rearview and the Orioles sitting three games under .500 in a crowded wild-card race, every series the rest of the way carries real weight — and beating a good Yankees team, even one working an injured ace back into the fold carefully, would be exactly the kind of result Baltimore needs to climb back into sole possession of a playoff spot, which they briefly held over the weekend.
Probable Starters
New York Yankees: LHP Carlos Rodón (4-2, 3.30 ERA)
Baltimore Orioles: RHP Shane Baz (4-12, 4.00 ERA)
Where to Watch/Listen
First pitch: 6:35 PM ET at Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Weather: 88°F, Mostly Clear
TV: MASN
Radio: 98 Rock (97.9 FM) and WBAL NewsRadio (AM 1090 / FM 101.5)