If nothing else, Sunday ought to feel different for the Baltimore Orioles.
It will be the first full day with Tony Mansolino as the interim manager following Saturday’s firing of Brandon Hyde.
Now fixing things will be a priority for the AL East’s last-place team, which wraps up a six-game homestand with an afternoon interleague series finale with the Washington Nationals.
“This isn’t a good thing for us,” Mansolino said. “We’re going to miss Brandon in a lot of ways. … To get where a chance is made is not something any of us wanted.”
The Orioles fell 10-6 to Washington just hours after the announcement about Hyde’s dismissal. They trailed 7-0 after two innings.
“As players, we have to play better,” outfielder Ramon Laureano said.
Mansolino had been the third-base coach, so there’s other staff shuffling.
He said he’ll likely have a broader message for the team in the future, but he just encouraged the team to get ready for the game as far as Saturday’s pregame.
“Our goal right now has to be to get to .500,” Mansolino said.
News of the managerial change dominated the day, overshadowing another rough outcome for the Orioles, who are stuck with a five-game losing streak. They’ve been on the wrong end of 11 of their last 13 results.
“When things are not going right, something has got to change,” infielder Ramon Urias said.
Other changes include the ouster of Tim Cossins, the team’s major league field coordinator and catching instructor. Meanwhile, Buck Britton has moved to the third-base coaching box and will also serve as infield coach.
Scoring six runs across the last three innings Saturday might have been an encouraging boost.
“You get a little momentum in this game, who knows what you can do?” Mansolino said.
The Nationals have won back-to-back games and will go for their first three-game streak since May 3-6.
Washington manager Dave Martinez, whose team also hasn’t excelled much lately, said job security isn’t something to dwell on.
“I never think about that,” he said. “If you start to think about that, things go awry. I come in ready to go and try to go 1-0 every day.”
Washington third baseman Amed Rosario hasn’t played the past two games because of a sore knee sustained in an off-field incident. Martinez said Rosario is close to returning.
The Orioles will try to get on track by sending right-hander Zach Eflin (3-1, 3.13 ERA) to the mound. It will be his second game since coming off the injury list. He notched a victory last Sunday — the last time Baltimore won a game — by holding the Los Angeles Angels to two runs in five innings.
Elfin is 5-5 with a 4.66 ERA in 13 all-time matchups (12 starts) against the Nationals.
Washington will use right-hander Michael Soroka (0-2, 6.43) as its starting pitcher. He’ll be in his fourth big league outing of the season, most recently tossing four innings and allowing two runs Tuesday at Atlanta in his shortest stint of the season.
Soroka has faced the Orioles once, giving up two runs (one earned) in three innings in a no-decision on May 26, 2024, while with the Chicago White Sox.
–Field Level Media
