Tyler O’Neill belts ninth home run in win

Encarnacion-Strand has become a fixture in the middle of the O’s lineup since his arrival, but he’ll get a breather in this one against tough right-hander Nathan Eovaldi. Coby Mayo will cover the hot corner in his absence while Tyler O’Neill serves as the Orioles’ designated hitter and will bat cleanup on Friday.

With Taylor Ward gone, O’Neill should have started this game. He’s been one of the Orioles’ hottest hitters of late, batting .289/.333/.667 since the beginning of July even before the homer tonight, but the Orioles have been hesitant to use him against righties, even though he doesn’t have particularly pronounced splits over the course of his career. The homer tonight was off a lefty reliever, so that’s probably not much help. He should be in the lineup Wednesday against southpaw Reid Detmers, though.

O’Neill entered the game in the ninth inning as a pinch hitter, but didn’t make an impact until the 11th. His go-ahead RBI single gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead and they would go on to win 4-2. While O’Neill is hitting just .199 on the season, he’s shown signs of life in recent weeks.

O’Neill homered off Drew Pomeranz in the seventh and Caleb Thielbar in the eighth. The latter was the second of back-to-back homers with Coby Mayo. O’Neill had just three homers in 164 plate appearances this season prior to tonight. He’d been playing mostly against lefties, even though his scant production this year had come versus righties. Both homers tonight were off southpaws, though. He should be in the lineup with the Orioles throwing a lefty in David Peterson on Thursday.

Baltimore was being no-hit through four innings before O’Neill hit a solo blast off Noah Schultz to begin the fifth. He also made an impressive diving catch, but was later pinch-hit for and remains in a very part-time role for the Orioles. O’Neill has started against just one of the past nine right-handers the team has faced. He’s signed through 2027 as part of a three-year, $49.5 million deal he was given as a free agent.

It appears to be nothing more than a routine night off for the 27-year-old outfielder. Tyler O’Neill will start in his place in right field and will bat eighth for the O’s against Griffin Canning and the Padres.

This will be the third straight game that both players miss. As of now, there is no indication that either one of them will need to go on the injured list, but that could change if these injuries linger. Sam Huff will catch and bat ninth on Wednesday, while Taylor Ward will be the DH, and Tyler O’Neill will play right field and bat eighth.

It was strike three, so Basallo didn’t technically leave the game. However, from the looks of things, he certainly would have had to if the game had continued. Basallo was taking a cut when his right hand let go of his bat, leading to an awkward followthrough. Basallo reached for the left shoulder afterwards and never really let go as he made his way into the dugout and towards the clubhouse. Hopefully, it’s not a severe injury, but if he needs to go on the IL, the Orioles would probably replace him with catcher Silas Ardoin. Tyler O’Neill would probably be the biggest beneficiary in terms of playing time.

O’Neill showed some signs of life with an RBI double off Will Warren in the sixth inning, though it came on a ball Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham ultimately could’ve caught. It was just O’Neill’s second extra-base hit this season in 60 at-bats. The Orioles signed him through the 2027 season, so O’Neill will be given some kind of leash, but he could be phased out if he doesn’t start hitting soon.

O’Neill was activated prior to Friday’s series opener but didn’t end up making an appearance. The 30-year-old slugging corner outfielder wound up missing just over two weeks with a concussion. He’s back in right field and hitting fifth in his first game action since April 8.