Adley

Rutschman

Rutschman sat out his second consecutive contest on Tuesday night. It doesn’t sound like a potential injured list situation at the moment, but the Orioles can’t really afford to take any chances with Samuel Basallo playing through a wrist injury. Sam Huff has handled the catching duties in back-to-back games. There should be some additional clarity on his status heading into the final two games of the clubs’ current series against Seattle.

Adley Rutschman is also on the bench for the second consecutive contest. His status is up in the air, but he’s clearly dealing with some sort of physical issue. Sam Huff is handling the catching duties with Basallo sitting out to rest a lingering left wrist issue. The 21-year-old came off the bench as a pinch-hitter during Monday’s series opener and appears likely to avoid the injured list.

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz told reporters Basallo is dealing with a left wrist issue that he’s been playing through for some time. He added that he doesn’t believe it will require surgery. There’s no indication he’ll require a trip to the injured list at this time. Basallo will receive some extra time off following his involvement in a home-plate collision during Sunday’s series finale against the Blue Jays that led to his early exit from the contest. The 21-year-old former top prospect also missed time earlier in the series with an abdominal issue. There’s a lot to unpack here. It’ll be Sam Huff handling the catching duties with Adley Rutschman also receiving a day off.

Huff receives the call to join Baltimore’s catching mix as emergency depth behind starter Adley Rutschman while Samuel Basallo deals with an abdominal issue. The 28-year-old offers some over-the-fence pop but little else at this stage of his career. He got into three games for the Orioles earlier this month.

Rutschman kicked things off with a solo homer in the first inning to give the Orioles the early lead, and wound up falling a triple shy of the cycle. He would drive in four more runs in this one, with two of those coming on an RBI single in the sixth inning to retake the lead over Trey Yesavage and the Jays in what ended up being a five-run inning for the Birds. Rutschman continues to be one of the hottest bats in the O’s lineup and is slashing .308/.424/.577 in his last seven games.

Rutschman takes a seat with youngster Samuel Basallo handling the catching duties in this one. The 28-year-old backstop has put together a strong campaign, hitting .254/.325/.478 with seven homers and 26 RBI across 154 plate appearances through 37 games.

Rutschman continued his bounce-back campaign with four walks today. His walk rate is well below the high-end marks he was posting earlier in his career, but he’s slugging at a higher clip than ever before. The Orioles host the Rays and Blue Jays in a seven-game week beginning Monday.

Rutschman’s round-tripper came in garbage time with Baltimore trailing by double-digit runs, but it counts all the same for fantasy purposes. He’s homered twice in his last four contests. The 28-year-old backstop has looked outstanding this season, hitting .276/.325/.534 with seven homers and 26 RBI across 31 games, on the heels of last year’s injury-marred campaign.

He also had a sac fly. Rutschman didn’t get all of the home run ball — he actually put his head down after the swing, thinking it was just a flyout — but the wind pushed it and 6-for-7 Spencer Jones had it tick off his glove just over the wall in right field. Rutschman, who missed time with an ankle injury last month, is hitting .291/.339/.553 with 24 RBI in 28 games this season.

Rutschman gets a breather after three consecutive starts behind the plate. Samuel Basallo will handle the catching duties in his place. The 28-year-old switch-hitter is putting together a strong bounce-back campaign after last year’s injury-marred season, hitting .288/.333/.526 with four homers and 17 RBI through 20 games.