The Orioles are one win in San Diego away from pulling off their unlikeliest three-game sweep of the season. But winning this game would be the unlikeliest of them all, considering their starting lineup.

Gunnar Henderson is on the bench against Padres southpaw Nestor Cortes Jr. So too are Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers, whose playing time the Orioles are managing carefully to keep them under the 130-at-bat threshold to retain their rookie eligibility for 2026.

That leaves the Orioles with a starting offense that looks, um, threadbare. They’re rocking a 3-7 in the order of Ryan Mountcastle, Emmanuel Rivera, Dylan Carlson, Colton Cowser, and Coby Mayo, who have ranged from sub-par to horrible hitters this year (though Rivera and Cowser were productive last night). Usual bench guys Alex J

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