Saturday afternoon Orioles game thread: at Astros, 4:10 ET

CINCINNATI, OHIO - JULY 03: Pitcher Trevor Rogers #28 of the Baltimore Orioles throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 03, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Jeff Dean/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Orioles are in unprecedented territory, carrying a season-best five-game winning streak into today’s game. What do you say we make it six?

The Birds’ second-half opener last night wasn’t the most crisply played affair, with nine walks by the O’s pitching staff and a nearly non-existent offensive showing, but Taylor Ward’s dramatic, eighth-inning home run turned a sure defeat into a dramatic victory. The win leapfrogged the Orioles a half game ahead of the Astros in the crowded wild card race.

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If the O’s hope to stay ahead, they’ll need to win at least one of their next two games in Houston. Preferably both! Today Trevor Rogers will make his first start of the second half, hoping to continue the roll he was on before the All-Star break. Since the start of June, the lefty has a 1.73 ERA in seven outings, going 4-1 with four quality starts. He’s shaved his once sky-high 6.96 ERA to a reasonable 4.48. If Rogers can hold Yordan Alvarez in check, he’s got a good chance to lower that mark even further.

The Orioles, against Astros righty Spencer Arrighetti, have eight of the same nine guys in the lineup as last night. The one exception is at third base, where newly recalled Christian Encarnacion-Strand makes his Orioles debut in place of Coby Mayo. This will be Encarnacion-Strand’s first MLB appearance in more than a year, since July 8, 2025 with the Reds. He’s never had much success at the major league level, batting just .233/.275/.404 in parts of three seasons with Cincinnati, but he was tearing up Triple-A Norfolk with 17 homers and a .555 SLG in 61 games. If he can play a decent defensive third base and hit a few dingers for however long he’s with the Orioles, I’ll take that.

At 17 letters, Encarnacion-Strand has the longest last name in Orioles history. So he’s got that going for him.

Orioles lineup:

DH Adley Rutschman
SS Gunnar Henderson
LF Taylor Ward
1B Pete Alonso
C Samuel Basallo
RF Dylan Beavers
CF Colton Cowser
3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand
2B Jackson Holliday

LHP Trevor Rogers

Astros lineup:

SS Jeremy Peña
DH Yordan Alvarez
3B Isaac Paredes
2B Jose Altuve
1B Christian Walker
C Yainer Diaz
RF Cam Smith
LF Zach Dezenzo
CF Lucas Spence

RHP Spencer Arrighetti

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