Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Powers offense in wild win
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Basallo went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, a run scored and four RBI in Tuesday's 9-7 win over the Marlins.
The 21-year-old rapped an RBI double in the first inning, a two-run single in the third and an RBI triple in the fifth as part of an impressive offensive eruption by the O's. Basallo has four multi-hit performances in his last 10 games, batting a blistering .395 (15-for-38) over that stretch with seven of his 15 hits going for extra bases (four doubles, a triple and two homers), along with four runs and eight RBI.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Out against lefty again
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Basallo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
The left-handed hitter will hit the bench against a second straight southpaw in Max Fried. Adley Rutschman will draw the start at catcher while Pete Alonso serves as Baltimore's designated hitter in Basallo's absence.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Resting for early game
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Basallo is out of the lineup for the first game of the Orioles' doubleheader with the Astros.
Adley Rutschman will handle catching duties for the first game of the twin bill, but Basallo will presumably draw the start behind the plate for the nightcap. After producing four extra-base hits (two home runs, two doubles) over his last four games, Basallo has raised his season OPS nearly 200 points.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Homers again Sunday
Rotowire
Basallo went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Sunday's 5-3 loss to the Red Sox.
Basallo, who started at catcher Sunday due to Adley Rutschman serving as the DH, got the Orioles on the board in the fifth inning with a 392-foot blast off Connelly Early, Basallo's fifth homer of the season and first against a left-handed pitcher. The 21-year-old has now homered in back-to-back starts while going 6-for-9 in that span. He's boosted his slash line to .233/.325/.452 with eight RBI and 10 runs scored through his first 83 plate appearances this season.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Big day in Friday's win
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Basallo went 4-for-5 with a double and a solo home run in Friday's 10-3 win over the Red Sox.
The 21-year-old slugger drove a Brayan Bello cutter into the seats in right-center field in the third inning, one of six Baltimore homers on the night. Basallo has three multi-hit performances in the last eight games as he puts his early-season struggles behind him, batting .360 (9-for-25) over that stretch with two homers, four RBI and more walks (four) than strikeouts (three).
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Getting breather Sunday
Rotowire
Basallo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Guardians, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Basallo started eight of the previous nine games but will hit the bench Sunday while in the midst of a 4-for-38 slump (.105 average). Sam Huff will take over behind the plate and bat eighth for the series finale at Cleveland.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Receiving afternoon off
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Basallo is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Diamondbacks, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.
The Orioles are facing a left-handed starter (Eduardo Rodriguez) and are wrapping up their series with a day game after a night game, so the left-handed-hitting Basallo will get a breather following a stretch of five straight starts. Sam Huff will draw the start at catcher in his Orioles debut after being called up from Triple-A Norfolk earlier Wednesday.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Sitting after four-strikeout game
Rotowire
Basallo is out of the lineup for Monday's game against the White Sox.
After an 0-for-4, four-strikeout performance in Sunday's 8-2 loss to the Pirates dropped his season average to .148, Basallo will get Monday off to clear his head. Adley Rutschman will draw the start at catcher and Ryan Mountcastle will serve as the Orioles' designated hitter in the series opener in Chicago.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Idle Saturday
Rotowire
Basallo isn't in the lineup for Saturday's game against Pittsburgh.
Basallo will get a day off to regroup after going just 4-for-23 (.174) through his first six games. His absence will put Taylor Ward in the DH spot while Dylan Beavers, Leody Taveras and Colton Cowser form Baltimore's outfield trio.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Launches first homer of season
Rotowire
Basallo went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in Wednesday's 8-3 win over the Rangers.
The 21-year-old slugger helped chase Nathan Eovaldi from the game when he led off the fifth inning by launching a fastball 437 feet over the wall in center field. It was Basallo's first homer and first RBI of the season in his fifth game, and he's batting .211 (4-for-19) in the early going with a 2:6 BB:K.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Taking seat Monday
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Basallo is not in the starting lineup for Monday's game against the Rangers, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.
Basallo started each of the Orioles' three games against the Twins in the opening series, going 2-for-10 at the plate with a 2:4 BB:K. With Basallo getting the night off from the starting nine, Dylan Beavers will make the start in right field and bat sixth, while Tyler O'Neill hits fifth as the designated hitter.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Blasts HR, drives in five Friday
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Basallo went 2-for-4 with one home run, five RBI and two runs scored in Friday's Grapefruit League loss to the Phillies.
Basallo missed a couple days with an abdominal issue last month but has been on a tear at the plate this spring, as he's now slashing .320/.414/.560 across 29 trips to the plate. His third-inning home run Friday came off Andrew Painter and left the bat at 105.7 mph. Basallo later added a 108.7 mph bases-clearing, three-run double to center field. The 21-year-old Basallo is expected to see regular at-bats at designated hitter while spelling Adley Rutschman at catcher this season.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Good to go Sunday
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Basallo (abdomen) is starting at catcher and batting cleanup in Sunday's Grapefruit League game against the Red Sox, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.
The 21-year-old departed Thursday's spring game due to abdominal discomfort, but he's ready to retake the field after getting a couple days off. The fact that Basallo is immediately working behind the plate rather than being eased back in as the designated hitter is a good indication that the injury wasn't a serious concern.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Aiming to return this weekend
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Basallo (abdomen) believes he'll be ready to return to Grapefruit League play this weekend, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.
Basallo was pulled from Thursday's game against the Tigers due to right-side abdominal discomfort, but he thinks it was merely cramping and imaging was deemed unnecessary. Consider the young slugger day-to-day.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: No additional testing scheduled
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Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said that Basallo's (abdomen) removal from Thursday's game versus the Tigers was precautionary, and the skipper doesn't believe the catcher will require additional testing, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Albernaz added that Basallo could have remained in the game but felt no need to push things this early in spring training. Basallo was diagnosed with right-side abdominal discomfort following a tag play at home plate Thursday, but it appears he has avoided a serious injury and can be considered day-to-day.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Dealing with abdominal injury
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Basallo was pulled from Thursday's Grapefruit League game against the Tigers due to right-side abdominal discomfort, Matt Weyrich of The Baltimore Sun reports.
Basallo suffered the injury when he lunged to tag out Matt Vierling on a play at the plate. Though it's a positive that the Orioles are not immediately calling the injury a strain, it's possible Basallo still needs to undergo more testing. The club could offer more details regarding the 21-year-old's condition after the game, but he'll likely be unavailable for at least a few days, at minimum.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Slims down over winter
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Basallo said at the Orioles' recent Birdland Caravan fan event that he's lost around 15 pounds this offseason, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Listed at 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Basallo could afford to slim down a bit without sacrificing the massive power that's helped propel him to being one of the most exciting young hitters in baseball. The 21-year-old is locked into an Opening Day roster spot after signing an eight-year, $67 million contract extension six days into his big-league career. Where the playing time will come from is less of a sure thing, as the Orioles have Adley Rutschman at catcher and Pete Alonso at first base. Settling in at designated hitter is Basallo's most likely path, but he will get starts in the field, as well.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Resting for season finale
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Basallo is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Yankees, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Basallo will be rested for the season finale after he made starts at catcher and designated hitter in the first two contests of the series, going 0-for-7 with five strikeouts. Unless he's called upon off the bench Sunday, Basallo will finish out the 2025 campaign with a .165/.229/.330 slash line to go with four home runs, 15 RBI and 10 runs across 31 games with the Orioles. Despite a rough showing in his first big-league stint, Basallo is locked in as a cornerstone piece for Baltimore after inking an eight-year, $67 million contract with the club in August.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Starting Friday
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Basallo (hand) will DH and bat eighth during Friday's game against the Yankees, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
Basallo left Wednesday's game after being hit in the right hand by a pitch. X-rays on his hand came back negative, and after a one-game absence, Basallo has returned to the starting nine. The 21-year-old is slashing .176/.243/.353 in 111 big-league plate appearances this season.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Getting X-rays on hand
Rotowire
Basallo was removed from Wednesday's game against the Rays after getting hit on the right hand by a pitch, Jake Rill of MLB.com reports.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino said after the game that Basallo will receive an X-ray on his hand, which will help determine the severity of the backstop's injury. Should the 21-year-old need to miss any amount of time, Ryan Mountcastle would stand to benefit from extra reps as Baltimore's designated hitter.
