BALTIMORE–What happened? After the Orioles traded 30-year-old relief pitcher Seranthony Domínguez and added minor league right-handers Elvin Rodriguez and Houston Roth, their bullpen took on a most inexperienced look.
Three weeks ago, they had Domínguez, Bryan Baker, Félix Bautista and Gregory Soto. Now, they have none of them. Three have been traded, and Bautista is out for an indefinite period with a shoulder injury.
The Orioles traded Domínguez to the Toronto Blue Jays, their current opponent, between games of the day/night doubleheader that the Orioles swept, 16-4 and 3-2.
More trades are sure to come before Thursday’s 6 p.m. deadline with starters Zach Eflin, Charlie Morton and Tomoyuki Sugano, centerfielder Cedric Mullins and first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn the likeliest to be dealt.
Reliever Andrew Kittredge and outfielder Ramón Laureano are also possibilities. They have club options for next year while the other five are impending free agents.
They prepared themselves for the Domínguez trade, which included cash considerations and fetched 23-year-old pitching prospect Juaron Watts-Brown.
Watts-Brown, who’s been installed as MLB Pipeline’s No. 8 Orioles prospect, was playing for New Hampshire when he learned of the trade and shifted clubhouses to Double-A Chesapeake’s.
Rodriguez and Roth were with the Baysox, ready for their move to the Orioles since they’d been transferred to the Double-A roster from Triple-A Norfolk’s.
The Orioles sent outfielder Jordyn Adams, catcher David Bañuelos, first baseman TT Bowens and utility player Terrin Vavra to Chesapeake to be ready in case of additional trades.
What happened in the night game? Adley Rutschman’s eighth-inning double scored Gunnar Henderson to give the Orioles the 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in the second game of a day/night doubleheader before 14,929 at Camden Yards on Tuesday night.
It gave the Orioles (50-58) a doubleheader sweep and their fifth straight win.
The Orioles tied a major league record with five sacrifice flies and hit four home runs in a 16-4 win over the Blue Jays in the day game.
Henderson lined a double off the rightfield wall against Jeff Hoffman (6-4) with one out before Rutschman drove him in with a double off the same wall. It was Hoffman who blew a kiss toward the Orioles’ dugout in April after securing a win. The Orioles had agreed to a three-year $40 million deal with Hoffman but backed out after a physical because of concern about his right shoulder.
Veteran Andrew Kittredge (2-2) pitched a scoreless eighth for the Orioles, and Corbin Martin, who was designated for assignment on July 13th and re-signed on July 18th, registered his first career save, but not before some ninth-inning drama.
The 29-year-old Martin hit Ernie Clement with a pitch and walked Tyler Heineman. But he made a nice barehanded pickup and throw on Myles Straw’s bunt that moved both runners up. Then Martin struck out Nathan Lukes and Bo Bichette on a high fastball to end it.
Mansolino used Yennier Cano in the first game. Keegan Akin pitched the seventh in the second game, and after Kittredge, he chose Martin. It wasn’t what he planned.
“Oh, we had no idea,” Mansolino said. “It worked out, thank goodness.”
Brandon Young, who was added as the 27th man, allowed two runs on six hits in six strong innings.
What are O’Hearn’s thoughts on the trade deadline? With the trade deadline approaching, O’Hearn, who had a run-scoring triple, isn’t hiding from it.
“I’ve had some time to kind of process and understand what is potentially about to happen,” he said. “Just definitely trying to enjoy every minute with these guys. We’ve grinded together all year long, so to potentially leave in the next few days sucks, it really does. But at the same time, I’m going to enjoy every minute with them.”
He said he isn’t anxious about his next destination.
“If I’m leaving, let me know where I’m going, and then I’ll worry about it then,” O’Hearn said. “I think it’s human nature, you open up Google or something and you see a picture of your face on there, and it’s like, ‘All right, like, let me check that out, I guess.’ But for the most part, I try to stay away from the articles and the media.
“My mom doesn’t. My mom reads it. But personally, me, I’m trying to stay away from that, try to be where my feet are, show up to the yard every day, enjoying being an Oriole. I’ve enjoyed being an Oriole the last three years, and that’s not going to change now.”
What does Martin think about his role? On Monday, Martin got his first major league win and followed it with his first save. He said the save was like his recent movement, a “rollercoaster.”
“It was kind of like an all-hands-on-deck situation,” he said. “I was ready for any inning they gave me, and it just so happened to fall into the ninth inning and then took advantage of it, which was huge rolling forward.
“It’s not something I’m going to sit on for a long time. I’ve got to wake up and play the game tomorrow, too. So I’m going to take advantage of every opportunity, and this team is playing really well right now, so I’m going to be, hopefully, a big part of that moving forward.”
Young has long followed Martin.
“Getting to talk to him, knowing him as a person, I had full confidence in him,” he said. “I know he’s probably a little amped up. Trying to breathe a little bit. Soon as I saw him go after Lukes, I knew he had it in the bag, for sure. I knew he was on the attack and it kind of changed up his mojo a little bit.”
Will Domínguez be missed? Domínguez pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out two and picking off Dylan Carlson.
“After the first game, I was in there with the guys, and they call me and they tell me, ‘Hey, we got you traded. Go to the next dugout,” Domínguez said.
He leaves behind a grateful Mansolino.
“Obviously, the performance stands out for itself, and we think he got better here, too,” Mansolino said. “We think our pitching group helped him. That’s important to point out. I think what people don’t know about Seranthony, he’s an incredible dude. It’s a leader amongst the Latin players, the American players. It’s a really, really smart, intelligent baseball person.
“Toronto, they struck gold on him. We’re going to really miss him. We’d love to see him back here in 2026 if he’d want to come back. He’s a guy we’re really fond of.”
What does it mean? Martin’s save was a cool story, and for the final two months of the season, the Orioles will be looking for bullpen pieces to build on for 2026.
What’s the stat of the day? The Orioles swept a doubleheader for the second time in three weeks. It’s the first time they’ve recorded consecutive doubleheader sweeps since beating Seattle and Toronto in 2004.
What’s the word? “It’s a grown man out there. It’s not a young kid standing on that mound for the first time. It’s a grown man who’s been through a lot. As a coach, you have a weird trust in that type of maturity.”–Mansolino on Martin.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Kyle Bradish pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings for Chesapeake in his second rehab appearance, allowing one hit and striking out two. He threw 38 pitches in the Baysox’s 6-1 win over New Hampshire.
Cade Povich allowed five runs, four earned, on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings for Norfolk. He struck out three and threw 86 pitches in the Tides’ 10-4 loss to Memphis.
Ryan Mountcastle hit a three-run home run, his second of his rehab staff.
Rightfielder Elis Cuevas hit a three-run home run and drove in four in Aberdeen’s 9-1 win over Bowling Green.
Keeler Morfe allowed five runs and five walks in two innings in Single-A Delmarva’s 11-2 loss to Kannapolis.
What’s next? The Orioles finish their four-game series with Toronto at 12:35 p.m. on Wednesday. Dean Kremer (8-7, 4.23) will face José Berrios (7-4, 3.83).
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