Samuel Basallo is a catcher by trade, but he can also play first base and his bat is more than good enough to land him at designated hitter.

The Baltimore Orioles smoked the Houston Astros, 12-0, on Sunday night. It was the rare bright spot in an otherwise dour campaign for this O's team. Viewed as a potential World Series threat not that long ago, Baltimore has fallen to the bottom of the AL East this season. Changes are on the horizon as a result, and very few players are safe.

Jordan Westburg hit a three-run homer among four hits with a career-best five RBIs and Dean Kremer pitched seven sharp innings to give the Baltimore Orioles a 12-0 win over the Houston Astros.

Jesus Sanchez had a night, robbing a grand slam and a three-run homer. Unfortunately for him, the rest of the team imploded.

Jason Alexander, coming off two strong starts in a row, pitches against the Orioles as Houston tries to bounce back from near no-hitter.

For Baltimore Orioles' first baseman Coby Mayo, Players' Weekend was celebrated by him sporting hand-made Florida Panthers' Stanley Cup Champion cleats. Mayo, a

Baltimore Orioles right-hander Brandon Young lost his bid for a perfect game against the Houston Astros on Friday night with two out in the eighth inning on an infield hit by Ramon Urias.

Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle reports that Alvarez will begin a minor-league rehab assignment on Tuesday with Double-A Corpus Christi. He’ll serve as a designated hitter in his first rehab game back, and the club plans to have him down for “a few games” before he can be activated off the injured list.

Highly touted Dylan Beavers will make his Major League Baseball debut Saturday night, batting sixth and playing right field for the Baltimore Orioles when they meet the Houston Astros. The 24-year-old Beavers arrived in Houston from Triple-A Norfolk earlier Saturday.