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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
Rotowire
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: Timely hitting in win
Rotowire
Basallo went 2-for-3 with two RBI, a run scored and two walks in Monday's 7-5 victory over the Royals.
Basallo came through in the clutch, tying Monday's contest with an RBI single in the ninth inning off Lucas Erceg before adding another RBI single in the 12th to give the Orioles the lead. It's been a slow start to the season for the catcher, who's slashing .167/.275/.317 through 17 games, though it's worth noting the former top prospect is just 21 years old with only 48 games of big-league experience. Adley Rutschman (ankle) is likely to return from the injured list in the near future, but Basallo should continue to see considerable playing time.
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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
Rotowire
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: Homers in win
Rotowire
Basallo went 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI and a walk in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Giants.
Basallo opened the scoring with a two-run homer off Adrian Houser. The 21-year-old has gotten off to a slow start but should be in the lineup nearly every day with Adley Rutschman (ankle) and Ryan Mountcastle (foot) both on the shelf. On the season, he's slashing .150/.261/.300 with two home runs, three RBI and five runs scored across 46 plate appearances.
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Orioles' Samuel Basallo: Playing time trending down
Rotowire
Basallo is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the White Sox.
After starting six of the first seven games of the season, Basallo has been in the lineup just twice over the past five games and has not started consecutive games over that span. The young slugger has gotten off to a sluggish start, going 5-for-30 with a 38.2 percent strikeout rate. Pete Alonso will be in the designated hitter slot Wednesday and Ryan Mountcastle will start at first base for the Orioles.
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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
Rotowire
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.
Basallo went 3-for-3 with two solo homers during Thursday's Grapefruit League win against the Pirates.
Basallo has crushed the ball during spring training and is batting .375 with four doubles, three homers, nine RBI and nine runs in 12 games. The 21-year-old is expected to open the season as Baltimore's primary designated hitter while also operating as the No. 2 backstop to Adley Rutschman. Basallo had a .165/.229/.330 slash line over 31 games in his first taste of the majors last year, but he enters 2026 with high expectations as one of the top prospects in baseball.
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