The Latest Breaking News from Orioles

But La Russa says coach needs to stay aggressive

CHICAGO — Adley Rutschman has arrived.

BALTIMORE — The ball off Adley Rutschman’s bat rattled its way into the right-field corner, allowing the catcher to cruise into second base with a double. That was as close as the Orioles would get to crossing home plate Tuesday night against the Washington Nationals.

There’s a bevy of speculation surrounding what the Orioles will do with the first pick of next month’s amateur draft, with various mocks linking them to as many as five prospects. But it’s near-certain whoever they take won’t be a pitcher.

The Orioles’ bullpen is an amalgamation of waiver claims, failed starters and longtime minor leaguers getting their first extended major league opportunities. Unexpectedly tasked with a rubber game against the Tampa Bay Rays, that relief corps again delivered for Baltimore.

BALTIMORE — The challenge for the Rays has been to score runs, and that they did Saturday, snapping a 15-inning drought that started Thursday.

BALTIMORE — When Mike Elias was first introduced as the Orioles’ executive vice president and general manager in November 2018, he sat between brothers John and Louis Angelos as he promised to bring an “elite talent pipeline” to Baltimore. Now, that process again finds itself in the middle of the…

BALTIMORE — Based on his accomplished amateur and minor league career, it figured that when Adley Rutschman started hitting, he would do so in bunches. The evidence appears to be building.

TORONTO — Look around the Orioles starting rotation, and the holes are incredibly apparent. Left-hander John Means and right-hander Grayson Rodriguez are injured, left-hander Bruce Zimmermann was sent down to the minors and right-hander Kyle Bradish is experiencing the lumps that can follow a first-year major leaguer.