BOSTON -- Given the Orioles’ run of bad injury luck in 2025, any time a player shows signs of pain on the field is a cause for concern. On Sunday afternoon, Baltimore again held its breath when star catcher Adley Rutschman was removed during the top of the fifth inning of a 5-1 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Rutschman took a foul ball off his catcher’s mask in the bottom of the third, showing immediate discomfort. Rafael Devers got a piece of a first-pitch four-seam fastball from O’s starter Dean Kremer that came back and hit Rutschman in the head. The action was halted for a brief moment, but Rutschman remained in the game.
Interim manager Tony Mansolino did not indicate whether Rutschman has entered concussion protocol.
“We’re just going to monitor and evaluate over the next 24 hours, and we’ll go from there. ... It’s just a precaution at the moment,” Mansolino said. “As we kind of saw it play out, we have a great medical team, they were on him immediately. And we have [bench coach and former catcher Robinson] Chirinos, too, who lived it himself.
“They were communicating with him immediately. The communication was great. Once [head athletic trainer] Scotty [Barringer] felt like there was a need to take him out as a precaution, we did it immediately.”
Teammates felt for Rutschman, who showed them no indication he was feeling any effects.
“Getting hit with baseballs does not feel good, I promise, whether you have protection on or not,” Kremer said. “I think he’s doing OK, he seems OK. Again, I’m not a medical professional, so it’s not up to me. But I think he’s OK.”
The Orioles (18-34) could use an injury-related break, and it appears they may have gotten one. The 27-year-old Rutschman did not go on the injured list Monday, when the club selected the contract of catcher Chadwick Tromp from Triple-A Norfolk and designated outfielder Cooper Hummel for assignment.
If Baltimore believes Rutschman can return in a day or two, then it makes sense to keep him off the IL. Tromp and fellow catcher Maverick Handley are both on the 26-man roster.
Ailments have hampered the O’s during their disappointing start to the season, and they currently have 10 players on the IL, including catcher Gary Sánchez (right wrist inflammation), who was signed to serve as Rutschman’s backup. Sánchez went 3-for-30 (.100) in 13 games before being placed on the IL on April 28.
Rutschman (who has never gone on the IL during his four-year MLB career) was replaced by Handley, who struck out swinging to end the fifth and finished 0-for-2 to drop his batting average to .045 (1-for-22) since debuting on April 29.
The best-case scenario, of course, is Rutschman returning to the lineup within the next few days as the Orioles look to build on their recent positive momentum.
Baltimore has won a season-high-tying two straight for the third time after earning a split of the four-game set in Boston. Sunday marked one of the club’s best all-around wins of the year.
Kremer tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings -- which followed Trevor Rogers’ 6 1/3-inning scoreless gem on Saturday night -- while Dylan Carlson and Ryan O’Hearn each hit solo home runs. The O’s added a pair of runs in the eighth on a Little League homer featuring a pair of Red Sox errors that allowed both Gunnar Henderson and O’Hearn to score.
“I think every time you get a win, you build confidence,” O’Hearn said. “Dean pitched great today. Guys are throwing good right now, and I’m just proud of the complete game we put together.”
“The last two games were right where we should be,” Kremer added. “It’s something to build off of, and all we can do is continue to move forward.”
The Orioles will look to secure their first three-game winning streak of 2025 on Monday, when they return home for a Memorial Day matchup vs. the Cardinals at Camden Yards.
“I think any time you win two straight there’s some momentum,” Mansolino said. “As a vibe, these guys always have the good vibes. Just a little bit of momentum with a couple wins, and hopefully, we can carry it into Camden.”