“If a kid had a chance, go ahead and take it.” he said. “Attack the space and get the ball on the ground in front of the goal.”

Kai Gibson heard his coach’s plea and stepped up, scoring two goals in the opening moments of the second half. The Huskies held on defensively, stalling the Mavericks’ offense to walk away with the 3-1 victory Monday night.

“They’re a solid program and they’ve got a good team,” Rich said. “This was a great win for us.”

After a slow start in the first half, the Huskies came out aggressive and active from the beginning of the second, keeping the ball moving with precise passes and leading one for good looks close to the goal.

“That’s how we’re going to generate chances this year,” Rich said. “Then, we need guys to be confident and fire away when they get a good look.”

Gibson had no issue taking open shots Monday. After Phil Toliver weaved through three defenders, his beautiful cross set up Gibson for a goal. Mere seconds later, the junior found the back of the net once again as the Huskies took control.

“I’m out here to finish,” Gibson said. “If they play the ball through, I’m just there to outrun the other team and score.”

After Benjamin Phillips scored the lone goal for the Mavericks in the first half, the chances became scarce for a young Manchester Valley team looking to find it’s rhythm and stamina. Passes became erratic and easily picked off by the Huskies. Alex Martinez had a good look in the second half, but sailed it over the crossbar as the Mavericks failed to convert.

“We played half a game today,” Mavericks coach John Woodley said. “We have a very young team and we need to come out and learn what it takes to get going for a full game.”

The early season matchup against an out-of-county opponent allowed both teams to learn a lot about themselves. No matter the result, Rich and Woodley each feel there is a lot to build on after Monday.

“We’ve got three new starters on defense, so there’s going to be mistakes.” Rich said. “We’re not going to let one mistake throw off our whole mentality. I think we’ll get better every game with that back four.”

For Woodley, he noted his young team showed promise in the first half. With a roster that boasts only six seniors and a schedule littered with tough battles left and right, he is confident his team will get better fast.

“There’s a lot to build off,” he said. “We just have to put together two solid halves, we do that and we’ll be OK.”

The Huskies will host Rising Sun on Thursday, while the Mavericks will look to bounce back with a road trip to Oakdale to face the Bears.

Patterson Mill 3, Manchester Valley 1

Goals: PM- Kai Gibson (2), Reza Mousavi (1). MV- Benjamin Phillips (1)

With 18 games left on their regular-season schedule, Monday’s series opener against the Red Sox offered plenty of opportunities to put up some crooked numbers on the Fenway Park scoreboard. Instead, they stranded 11 base runners and their bullpen crumbled late as they fell to their division rivals, 12-3, for their third straight loss.

Anthony Santander did his part, becoming the eighth player in Orioles history and first since Mark Trumbo in 2016 to hit 40 home runs in a season with a solo shot in the seventh inning. He drove in all three of the team’s runs to improve his team-leading RBI total to 94, but Baltimore otherwise squandered scoring chances in each of the first four frames.

The Orioles loaded the bases in the first and fourth innings and walked away with only one run each time courtesy of Santander. He scored Gunnar Henderson on a hard-hit single in the first before later bringing Colton Cowser home on an RBI walk. Otherwise, the Orioles went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position to stay true to what has become an all-to-familiar theme over the past three months.

Rookie starter Cade Povich, coming off the best start of his young career with 7 1/3 scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox, got an early hook from manager Brandon Hyde after allowing a lot of hard contact, including back-to-back home runs by Rob Refsnyder and Tyler O’Neill in the third that helped Boston jump out to a 4-1 lead.

He lasted two outs into the fifth before giving way to Burch Smith, who got out of the inning with some help from his defense. Cowser played a fly ball off the Green Monster perfectly and fired a 95.1 mph throw home that Adley Rutschman gathered before making a diving tag to nab Refsnyder trying to score from first. The play was part of a defensive clinic put on by the Orioles’ outfield with Cedric Mullins making a diving catch in center field in the third.

But Smith unraveled in the sixth, loading the bases before Ceddanne Rafaela extended the Red Sox’s lead with a two-run single. Gregory Soto then came in to get out of the jam and Refsnyder struck again with a two-run single that made it 8-2. All four runs were charged to Smith, who has allowed 15 earned runs in his last 14 2/3 innings (9.20 ERA) dating to Aug. 6.

Craig Kimbrel’s equally unimpressive ongoing stretch continued as well. The demoted closer struck out the first two batters he faced in the seventh before giving up a single, stolen base, walk and two-run double by Rafaela. Since recording his latest save on July 7, Kimbrel has an 8.83 ERA over 18 appearances with three losses and two blown saves.

He was replaced by Cole Irvin, who became the second pitcher of the night to allow consecutive home runs to Refsnyder and O’Neill. Refsnyder came to the plate in the eighth a triple short of the cycle and had to settle for a multi-homer game, driving in his fifth RBI by poking one just inside of Pesky’s Pole in right field. O’Neill then capped off the evening with another Green Monster-clearing blast.

Baltimore (82-63) will send Albert Suárez to the mound Tuesday against Boston starter Kutter Crawford as the club looks to even the series.

This article will be updated.

Orioles at Red Sox

Tuesday, 7:10 p.m.

TV: MASN

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

The Mets said the cause was cardiac arrest.

He is the fourth member of the Mets’ 1969 World Series championship team — the “Miracle Mets,” as they were called — to die this year, following Jerry Grote, Bud Harrelson and Jim McAndrew.

The Mets were nearly halfway to a 40-120 record in 1962, their first season as a National League franchise, when they signed Kranepool for a bonus of $80,000. A tall, left-handed batter, he had just broken Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg’s single-season home run record at James Monroe High School in the Bronx. Ed was 17 and living at home.

Kranepool brought a jolt of youthful promise to a team managed by Casey Stengel, the wizened former New York Yankees skipper, and stocked with mediocrities, castoffs, players past their primes and the inaccurately nicknamed Marvelous Marv Throneberry.

When Stengel assessed Kranepool’s talent, he told The New York Times: “He don’t strike out too much and he don’t let himself get suckered into goin’ for bad pitches. I wouldn’t be afraid to play him. He don’t embarrass you.”

After playing briefly for the Mets at the end of the 1962 season, Kranepool struggled against major league pitching during the next two seasons. When he faltered in 1963, one fan raised a banner that asked, “Is Ed Kranepool Over the Hill?”

He was 18.

He was soon sent to the Mets’ top minor league team in Buffalo, New York, for parts of the 1963 and 1964 seasons.

And in 1970, when a batting average of .118 led to another demotion, Times columnist Robert Lipsyte wrote, “Kranepool was the last player linked to the bad old days, and it might have been more than symbolic that the Mets rose into first place the day after he was cut loose, like a balloon freed of ballast.”

He was promoted about six weeks later, played sparingly and wound up hitting .170. And the Mets faded to third place.

But the next season was one of Kranepool’s best — he hit 14 home runs, drove in a career-high 58 runs and batted .280.

Nicknamed “Steady Eddie, ” Kranepool inspired fans to chant “Ed-die! Ed-die!” He was selected to the 1965 National League All-Star team, though he didn’t play. In the 1969 World Series, he hit a home run as the Mets rolled to the championship in five games over the favored Baltimore Orioles.

After the ’69 Series, Kranepool and several teammates, including Tom Seaver and Cleon Jones, put together a musical act that performed in Las Vegas, singing, among other songs, “The Impossible Dream.” After the group’s debut on the Circus Maximus stage at Caesars Palace, Kranepool conceded that the singing Mets were nervous.

“It’s not like Shea Stadium, where we know what we’re doing,” he told the Times. “But we had enough Scotch.”

Edward Emil Kranepool III was born in New York City’s Bronx borough on Nov. 8, 1944, less than four months after his father, Edward Jr., an Army sergeant, was killed in battle in Saint-Lô, France, during World War II. His mother, Ethel (Hasselbach) Kranepool, raised her son and her daughter, Marilyn, on a military pension and earnings from various jobs.

Ethel Kranepool told The Daily News in 1963 that it had been difficult to be a single parent. “With Edward it was always a case of slapping him on the backside with one hand and handing him an ice cream cone with the other,” she said.

Ed Kranepool swung a toy bat at age 3, then played baseball in local playgrounds and sandlots. By high school, he stood 6-foot-3 and was launching long drives at James Monroe’s home field toward a large oak in right center field that came to be known as “Eddie’s Tree.”

He played for the Monroe team that lost, 6-5, to Curtis High School of Staten Island in the Public Schools Athletic League title game in 1962. Around graduation time, he tried out for the Mets at the Polo Grounds, the former home of the New York Giants and the Mets’ temporary home before Shea Stadium opened in 1964. He impressed the team by hitting nine balls into the stands.

That flash of teenage muscle helped give rise to the improbable notion that the Mets might have signed another great left-handed-hitting first baseman, like Mel Ott of the Giants or Lou Gehrig of the Yankees.

But Kranepool never became a superstar. Rather, he was a line-drive hitter with modest power — he never had more than 16 home runs in a season — who turned into an elite pinch-hitter as his time as a first baseman and outfielder diminished.

When the Mets returned to the World Series in 1973, facing the Oakland A’s, Kranepool went hitless in three plate appearances. The Mets lost in seven games.

From 1974 to 1978, he came off the bench to hit .396 as a pinch-hitter. In 1978, he had 15 hits in 50 at bats in that reserve role, including three home runs.

When he retired after the 1979 season, Kranepool held several Mets career records, all but two of which have been surpassed: the most pinch hits, 90, and most games played, 1,853

Kranepool admitted to regrets that he had spent too little time being nurtured in the minor leagues and that he had played for a team so desperate for fresh talent. “If I could have seen ahead in 1962, I would have signed with another club,” he told the Times as the Mets were heading to the World Series in 1969. “It was a lot of fun playing in the majors, but a lot of frustrations, too.”

He is survived by his wife, Monica (Bronner) Kranepool; his daughter, Jamie Pastrano; his sons, Keith Kranepool and Darren Todfield; seven grandchildren; and a sister, Marilyn Ternay.

During his playing career, Kranepool was a stockbroker and, with his teammate the outfielder Ron Swoboda, an owner of The Dugout, a restaurant in Amityville, New York, on Long Island. When he heard in 1979, during his final season, that the Mets might be for sale, he said, he assembled a group to purchase the franchise. But it was acquired by a group led by Fred Wilpon and Doubleday & Co., the publishing house. The Wilpon family later became the team’s majority owner and ultimately sold the Mets to the current owners, Steve and Alex Cohen, in 2020.

In about 2011, with Wilpon and his family facing financial pressure following losses from their involvement with fraudster Bernard L. Madoff, they sought investors to buy minority stakes in the club. At a team dinner, a Mets spokesperson recalled, Kranepool talked to Jeff Wilpon, the club’s chief operating officer and one of Wilpon’s sons, about the sales of the shares.

“I don’t want shares,” the spokesperson quoted Kranepool as saying. “I want to buy the whole team so I can run it better than you and your father.”

The encounter caused a rift that ended seven years later with a call from Jeff Wilpon that led to Kranepool’s throwing out the first pitch before a game in 2018.

“I was on the outside looking in,” Kranepool told the Times, “and I’m glad I’m not anymore.”

In 2017, after announcing that both his kidneys were failing, Kranepool auctioned his 1969 Mets world championship ring for $62,475 to defray medical expenses. After undergoing transplant surgery nearly two years later, he learned who his donor was: a Mets fan.

A few months after the surgery, he helped the Mets celebrate the 50th anniversary of their World Series victory. Speaking at Citi Field during the ceremony, he encouraged the team, then near the bottom of the National League East, to turn their season around.

“They can do it, like we did — you got to believe in yourself,” he said. “Good luck. You have half a season. I wish you the best so that we can celebrate in October.”

The team did rally, finishing third in the division, but there was no 50th-anniversary miracle. The Mets didn’t make the playoffs.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Field hockey

Francis Scott Key 5, Frederick 0: The Eagles blanked Frederick led by a hat trick from Jena Stambaugh. She scored once in the first quarter and twice in the third. Josie Bachtel and Dory Kelley also found the cage for FSK. Audrey Baugher had two assists, while Carley Topper and Bella Mazan also handed out helpers.

Westminster 3, Bel Air 2: Vivian Dunn scored the game-winner in the second overtime for the Owls. Ava Piluk tallied Westminster’s first two goals with Dunn assisting on both. Bel Air got a goal from Bella Leon to open the game, and another from Paige Feick on a penalty stroke that tied the game late in the fourth quarter. In goal, Natalie Schultz made six saves for the Owls and Sydney Kennedy made eight saves for the Bobcats.

South Carroll 3, Linganore 2: Megan Maynard, Emily Maynard and Olivia Carter all had goals as the Cavaliers held off Linganore. Alayna Enoff, Dakota Clemens and Kayla Janyska all had assists. In goal, Caelin Lopes made four saves.

Franklin 4, Winters Mill 2: The Indians went on the road and neither the Falcons, nor their grass field, could stop Nora Tromble. The junior scored all four goals in Franklin’s win. Riley Dell and Cici Coco scored for Winters Mill. Addy Vanlandingham made 10 saves in goal.

John Carroll 4, Mercy 2: Four Patriots scored in the win with Sara Shorts, Cate Bianco, Annie Minoglio and Mia Castellano all recording goals.

River Hill 3, Atholton 0: Katelyn Sauritch led the way for the Hawks (1-0) in the season-opening win with a goal and an assist. Carolyn Dzubak and Gabby Bergstrom also scored while Maya Chan had an assist. For Atholton (0-1), Adara Baldini made 24 saves.

Centennial 3, Howard 0: Caroline Cudzilo led the Eagles (1-0) in a season-opening win with a pair of goals. Claire Whipkey added a goal and an assist, while Jane Baldy pitched a shutout with four saves.

Reservoir 8, Oakland Mills 0: The Gators offense exploded in the season-opening win. Freshman Sam Feher netted a hat trick and added an assist in her first varsity action. Senior Claire Kimnach added two goals, while senior Sandra Salkini had a goal and a game-high three assists. Junior Annie Riley scored the game’s first goal, while Madi Ellis also scored on a feed from Radhika Shah.

Football

Patterson Mill 25, Digital Harbor 12: In the conclusion of a game suspended Friday because of a lighting issue, the Huskies scored the final 18 points. Digital Harbor went up 12-7 before RJ Wilhelm scored a touchdown for the Huskies and the extra point put them ahead, 13-12. Mason Hemelt had a pick-six for a touchdown and Brycen Hunter closed out the scoring with a 1-yard run.

Patterson Mill boys soccer gets 2 second-half goals from Kai Gibson in 3-1 win over Manchester Valley

Boys soccer

North Harford 4, Elkton 0: Matthew Deily scored twice and assisted on a third goal in the Hawks’ shutout win. Ryder Taylor and Sebasteyan McNally also scored, while Jamail Holmes tallied two assists.

Pikesville 2, Western Tech 1: Anderson Marquez hit the back of the net with less than five minutes remaining to like Pikesville to the win. Ablante Fesseha scored for the Panthers in the first half. In goal, junior Josh Kaplan made four saves.

Towson 5, Franklin 1: Zach Shrager scored twice, while Will Heacock, Jacob Martinez and Mason Westfall also tallied goals in the win. The Generals built a 3-1 lead by halftime.

Girls soccer

Catonsville 2, Mount de Sales 1: Ella Lesniewski scored off an Elin Mellendick assist for the Comets and Kaitlyn Bachtel scored the team’s second goal off a free kick.

Bel Air 3, North East 2: The Bobcats surged ahead after a 1-1 halftime tie. Ally Mace hit the back of the net twice to lead Bel Air to the win. Eve Krout also scored. Sarah Ravadge, Aubrey Blackburn and Kaitlyn Primus had assists and Emerson Schiller made three saves in goal.

Harford Tech 8, Elkton 2: Laney Weaver and Brooke Pollack each recorded hat tricks in the Cobras’ blowout win, and Abby Downes scored twice.

John Carroll 4, Elizabeth Seton 0: Clara Madore had a hand in all four Patriots goals, scoring two and assisting on two. Bella Ottone and Cali Fridel also hit the back of the net. Lily Baumgartner had an assist.

Severn 5, Glenelg Country 2: The Admirals jumped out to a 3-0 halftime lead. Five players scored in the win: Tessa Patel, Layla Epps, Sophia English, Madison Watson and Irelyn Beaulieu. Patel, Eliza Grace Beard, Carys McKenzie and Nina Ambro all had assists.

Westminster 2, Dulaney 0: Clara Kemp (6 saves) and Andi Zaslow (4) split time in goal to combine for the shutout over the Lions. For the offense, Emmerson Hill and Jenny Vasquez scored goals with Riley Taylor and Mikayla Britz handing out assists.

Golf

Dulaney 161, Western Tech 216: The Lions topped the Wolverines led by Quinn Collins with a 37 and Eli Mace with a 39.

Boys volleyball

Patterson Mill 3, Edgewood 0: The Huskies cruised, 25-8, 25-13, 25-10. Cullen Young led the win with eight kills and five aces. Jake Rakaczky also served fived aces for the Huskies. Aidan Mackowiak chipped in four kills.

North Harford 3, C. Milton Wright: The Hawks swept the Mustangs, 25-11, 25-12, 25-16. Mike DeJesus picked up 21 digs in the win and Jackson Armiger tossed up 23 assists. Chance Kobus and Jordan Bogarty shared the team lead with eight kills each.

Girls volleyball

Annapolis 3, Frederick Douglass 0: Christen Brisbane put down 12 kills to lead the Panthers in their sweep. McHale Hughes tossed up 15 assists while getting three kills of her own. Lindsay Lyman had four kills and six blocks, and Carolin Heyder chipped in four aces and three kills.

Century 3, Francis Scott Key 1: The Knights won, 25-21, 23-25, 27-25, 25-16. Stephanie Villanueva had nine aces and served the match’s final nine points with the set tied at 16. Corinne Zepp added six aces. Gabby Zajaczkowski and Hannah Heffernan each put down 11 kills. Heffernan added 15 digs for a double-double. Zepp led the defense with 28 digs. Julia Boone set up a balanced Eagles offense with 20 assists. Samantha Miller led with six kills. Ripleigh Maring and Kiersten Johannes each added five kills and Maring adding six blocks and Johannes five.

Perry Hall 3, Oakland Mills 1: Abbie Znamirowski had 10 aces and Addison Dunlap was close behind her with eight as the Gators won, 25-14, 23-25, 25-12, 25-17. Dunlap also tossed up 13 assists. Milana Scaccio had six kills and three aces.

To submit scores and stats, email mdscores@baltsun.com with a full box score, including first and last names of the players.

McCann, 34, was the Orioles’ choice as the player who “best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.” In addition to being a clubhouse leader, he and his wife Jessica are involved in several charity initiatives across the Baltimore area.

“It’s very special,” McCann said of the nomination. “The Clemente Award, it’s a different award, obviously. It’s what you do in the community, what you do off the field. What Roberto Clemente stands for, who he was, obviously, as a player and then just who he was to his community, words don’t really describe what it is to be viewed in that same light. Being nominated for that, it’s a very special award. I’m proud of it, and I feel very strongly that using my platform to be able to impact the community in a positive way is very important.”

Over the past year, the McCann family has worked to support students in Harlem Park as part of the Orioles’ larger initiative in the community and taken on the personal mission of working with the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to help families of children born prematurely. He’s also partnered with Dream On 3 to help a pair of adopted brothers, DJ and Marshall, with life-altering conditions fulfill their dream of getting a VIP experience at an Orioles game. The Orioles credit McCann for his participation in the club’s Military Suites Program and his work with the Church of the City’s Wrap Around Closet in Nashville as well.

“He’s done a lot of great things with the community and congratulations to him,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “This is a big award. This is something that’s really, really special. It means a lot to players, so for him to get this nomination, and have a chance to win this, a credit to him and his wife for what they do off the field in helping so many people.”

McCann would be the fifth player in Orioles history to win the honor, joining Brooks Robinson (1972), Ken Singleton (1982), Cal Ripken Jr. (1992) and Eric Davis (1997). New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge is the reigning winner. Originally created in 1971 as the Commissioner’s Award, the annual honor was named for Clemente after he died in a plane crash while on his way to deliver supplies to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. He was 38 years old.

Lauded for his toughness — especially after he played through a broken nose after being hit in the face by a pitch in July — McCann has served as the Orioles’ backup catcher each of the last two years. He entered this week’s series against the Boston Red Sox hitting .220 with five home runs in 58 games this season.

Around the horn

• MLB named Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson the American League Player of the Week on Monday after he went 10-for-24 (.417) with three home runs, five RBIs and six runs scored for Baltimore. It’s the first time this season and second in Henderson’s career that he has garnered the honor. He’s the third Oriole to receive it in 2024 with Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg going back-to-back in April.

• Hyde expressed tepid optimism that first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) would be able to return from the injured list by the end of the regular season but hedged his comments saying, “I just don’t know when.” Mountcastle has been sidelined since Aug. 22 when he jammed his wrist into second base on a headfirst slide.

• Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez is hoping to throw a live bullpen session “sometime this road trip,” Hyde said before Monday’s game. Rodriguez threw off a mound for the first time Wednesday and facing hitters in a simulated game setting is the next step in his progression toward a potential return before season’s end.

That’s because of the highly detailed and accurate data teams get from tracking chips in each player’s shoulder pads called radio-frequency identification tags, or RFID.

“We have the tracking data from that game,” Harbaugh said, referencing Baltimore’s 27-20 loss to the Chiefs. “We know exactly where the Chiefs tackles were lined up and exactly where ours were lined up.”

The veteran coach was terse about specific findings. But the discourse is unambiguous, he said, because of the data available. So they’ll have a sense of whether officiating crews call it consistently as the season progresses.

Three of the Ravens’ five illegal formation penalties, including two on the opening drive, came against left tackle Ronnie Stanley. Stanley said after the game that he felt targeted by the officials and that his presnap alignment followed what he was told by offseason referees.

An illegal formation is called when a player’s helmet isn’t aligned with the waist of the center. It’s advantageous for a lineman in pass protection to be lined up further back behind the line of scrimmage. Stanley said Thursday night that he was confident his head was “breaking the center’s butt.”

“I thought Ronnie was in reasonable position almost all the time,” Harbaugh said. “I do think the adjustment that needs to be made, is during the course of the drive, if it’s something that you didn’t expect and it’s totally different than they’re calling the games, you gotta make the drastic adjustment right away and then we’ll talk about it later. Ronnie actually thought he was doing that. When you watch the tape, I think what he says bears out.”

Illegal formation penalties aside, Harbaugh said the offensive line  — which has been a hot topic through the preseason as they replaced three starters from last year — set a “pretty darn good baseline,” particularly in the deafening conditions of Arrowhead Stadium against a formidable Chiefs defensive front.

Similar to the slew of early penalties, Harbaugh isn’t worried about his offensive line.

“I know how hard they work and I know how talented they are and I watch all the other offensive lines in the National Football League,” he said. “I think if you applied some of the same standards to the other offensive lines out there, you’d be like, ‘Oh, boy.'”

Against Kansas City, the Ravens ran for 185 yards on 32 carries. Half of those were by quarterback Lamar Jackson, who finished with 122 rushing yards; Derrick Henry added 46 on 13 carries. The Chiefs combined for one sack and one quarterback hit. For reference, Kansas City totaled four sacks and seven quarterback hits in the AFC championship game in Baltimore in January.

“Our offensive line is going to be really good this year,” Harbaugh said. “I believe that. And we’re working hard toward that.”

“We had a number of guys who weren’t out there,” Harbaugh said following a 90-minute practice in Owings Mills. “Some personal, some more physical. Injury report comes out Wednesday afternoon, so you’ll be better advised on that day regarding all those guys.”

No absence was more notable than Jackson’s, however.

In the Ravens’ 27-20 loss to Kansas City, the two-time and reigning NFL Most Valuable Player completed 26 of 41 passes for 273 yards and a touchdown and led the team in rushing with 122 yards on 16 carries. He was also strip-sacked and took several hits, though he did not appear to be injured while speaking to reporters following the game.

“This guy wants to win, he wants to make plays, he wants to lead his team; that’s what I saw on Thursday night,” Harbaugh said Monday. “And all the football stuff, we just keep coaching, and he’s the leader in that. But I’m proud of him. I have nothing but admiration for Lamar Jackson.”

Jackson’s absence marks the first time he has not been at practice since the start of training camp, when he missed the first week with an undisclosed illness.

It was also his first missed practice during the regular season since early December when he was out for one day, also because of an illness. He was, however, present at Baltimore’s team picture day earlier Thursday, according to a social media post from the team.

He was active on X as well, responding to a post about 30 minutes after practice had concluded.

As for Jackson’s activity against the Chiefs, he was all over the field, accounting for 395 of Baltimore’s 452 total yards. That included a dozen scrambles — or on 19.5% of his dropbacks for his third-highest rate in the past four seasons, according to Next Gen Stats.

He also drove the Ravens 77 yards in the final 1:50 and on the game’s final play hit Isaiah Likely in the back of the end zone from 10 yards out for what was initially ruled a touchdown before the call was overturned following a replay that showed the tight end’s toe coming down out of bounds on the catch.

“Our offense has a lot of new additions, and we’re just getting adjusted,” Jackson said following the game. “I don’t want to say [not playing in] preseason was the reason because it wasn’t; we battled. You can see it; we put points on the board. We just have to do what we have to do to win those games. [It’s] simple.

“I believe everyone in our locker room hates losing, point-blank, period — coaches, trainers, equipment guys, cafeteria women and men, and definitely the players — because we’re out there putting it on the line, blood, sweat and tears. And for us to lose to those guys, and the way we lost, even though I don’t want to lose, but I can’t be mad at my guys because we battled.”

Meanwhile, cornerback Nate Wiggins, wide receiver-returner Deonte Harty, outside linebacker Adisa Isaac (hamstring) and outside linebacker Kyle Van Noy, who suffered a fractured orbital bone in the loss, according to NFL Network, were also absent from practice. Harbaugh declined to confirm Van Noy’s injury and instead deferred to the injury report that will come out on Wednesday.

Baltimore will play its home opener Sunday afternoon against the Las Vegas Raiders.

In addition to the money from coach Mike Locksley’s desk, the suspect is also accused of stealing $1,000 more in cash and a pair of Oakley sunglasses from the office of the football program’s chief of staff, Brian Griffin, according to an indictment handed down in late August.

The suspect, a 48-year-old from Reisterstown, had also been accused four years ago of stealing from offices at different schools’ athletic departments over the course of several months. In multiple theft cases, including the one in College Park, investigators noted that he dressed up to blend in on campus, sometimes carrying props to solidify the act.

It was not clear in court records if the suspect had been served with the Aug. 20 indictment, and a spokesperson for the Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office was not able to immediately answer when asked about his status on Monday afternoon. A call to a phone number associated with the suspect was not returned.

The indictment, which charges the 48-year-old with four burglary and theft offenses, replaces a shorter set of charges issued in early July in connection with the June 16 thefts, though authorities never served him with an arrest warrant issued for those offenses, according to court records.

Surveillance footage from June showed the suspect following a couple into the Jones-Hill House, the football program’s training complex and administrative headquarters, at around noon, a campus police detective wrote in charging documents.

An employee opened the front door for the couple, and the suspect followed from behind while pretending to be on his phone, according to the charging documents. He was clad in a button-down shirt and dress pants, and also wore a camera with an extended lens around his neck “as if he was there to take photographs,” the officer wrote.

The suspect lingered around a staircase while the couple and the employee proceeded into the building. Then, he stopped using his phone “as soon as they left his view,” darting up the stairs to the football program’s administrative offices, which were unoccupied, the investigator wrote.

He “quickly went into multiple offices,” eventually entering Locksley’s through an open door and then proceeding to Griffin’s, where he exited with a gray pair of sunglasses, according to charging papers. The suspect left the building and waited for an Uber, which police said took him to a nearby parking lot, where he got into a BMW.

Baltimore Police stopped the BMW the next week, leading to campus investigators identifying the suspect and getting the warrant for his arrest.

Police noted that the same suspect was seen on surveillance footage “sneaking” into the university’s Samuel Riggs IV Alumni Center earlier in June, though he was “spooked by an employee” who passed him in the office area.

The campus police investigators’ description of how the suspect carried out the June burglary appears strikingly similar to what Baltimore County Police wrote in a 2020 application for theft charges against the same man. The Reisterstown resident was charged that year in connection with a series of thefts from athletic offices at Stevenson University and the nearby Jemicy School.

County police investigators wrote that a set of keys belonging to the private institution’s head baseball coach were stolen from an unlocked office during a 2019 open house event. They pointed to footage of a “well-dressed male, carrying a folder” seen wandering the halls of the school’s sports complex “as if he belonged there” before entering the coach’s office and leaving with a set of keys.

A month later, the same person was seen taking $200 of student government money from the desk of a Jemicy School coach, charging papers say. In February 2020, he was again seen entering a different Stevenson coach’s office — $120 was taken from her purse that night.

He was identified as the suspect in that string of thefts after a Stevenson employee confronted him in a player locker room. The charges against him — four misdemeanor theft counts — were ultimately shelved, or placed on the inactive docket, in a 2022 agreement with county prosecutors, according to court records.

The final month of MLB’s regular season is here, and the Orioles are in striking distance of clinching a playoff berth. They enter Monday with an 82-62 record and half a game behind the New York Yankees (82-61) for first place in the American League East.

If Baltimore makes the postseason, it will be the club’s first time doing so in consecutive years since 1996-97. If the Orioles win the AL East, it will be their first time claiming the division crown in back-to-back seasons since 1973-74.

Here’s where the Orioles stand in their playoff chase:

What is the Orioles’ magic number to secure a playoff spot?

Entering Monday, it’s 10. That number will fall by one with each Orioles win and can also drop with losses by the best team not in a wild-card spot.

Magic numbers can be confusing (stick around for more on that) but the easiest way to think of them is by what win total guarantees the Orioles a playoff spot. That can be done by adding the Orioles’ magic number (10) to their win total (82). Effectively, there is no scenario in which Baltimore finishes with 92 wins and misses the playoffs.

When is the earliest the Orioles could clinch a playoff spot?

Saturday, though that’s unlikely. That scenario includes the Orioles winning their next five games, which would be the club’s longest streak since mid-June, as well as the Detroit Tigers, Seattle Mariners and Boston Red Sox losing all of their games through Saturday. Fittingly, Baltimore travels to Boston for a three-game series beginning Monday and finishes the week with a three-game set versus the Tigers.

It’s more likely the Orioles clinch a playoff spot — and perhaps celebrate like they did last year — sometime during their next homestand Sept. 17-22 against the San Francisco Giants and Tigers.

How is Baltimore’s magic number calculated?

In its simplest form, the magic number is used to show how close a team is to clinching a playoff spot or a division title.

In most scenarios, it is determined by adding the number of wins of the team in a playoff spot to the number of losses of the first team out, then subtracting that sum from 163, or the number of games in a season plus one. In the division race, it’s easy: Add the first-place Yankees’ wins (82) and the second-place Orioles’ losses (62), subtract that sum by 163 and voila: New York’s magic number is 19.

It can be more convoluted to figure out the Orioles’ magic number for a playoff spot, especially with three wild-card teams in each league. That’s because of complicated tiebreakers — potentially including three or more teams — and several clubs in the hunt for the final wild-card spot. Entering Monday, the Kansas City Royals (79-65) and Minnesota Twins (76-67) are likely to be the second and third wild-card teams, respectively, with the first expected to go to the AL East’s runner-up. But the Red Sox, Tigers, Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays — a quartet of clubs all within 1 1/2 games of each other — could still theoretically make a run at usurping the Royals or Twins.

To figure out Baltimore’s magic number for a playoff spot, Detroit, Seattle and Boston are the teams involved in the calculation since they each have 71 losses and are on the outside looking in of a wild-card spot. Taking the Orioles’ 82 wins and the Tigers/Mariners/Red Sox’s 71 losses results in a magic number of 10. To view it another way, if any of those teams win the rest of their games, they would end the regular season with 91 victories. That means the Orioles must end the year with 92 wins — 10 more than now — to ensure they finish ahead.

Baltimore has already won the season series over Boston and Seattle to earn the head-to-head tiebreakers over those teams. The Orioles have yet to play Detroit with six games against the Tigers later this month. As of now, the tiebreaker advantage does not lower Baltimore’s magic number to nine because of potentially messy three-way ties that include other teams currently in playoff positions, specifically the Houston Astros and Cleveland Guardians, two clubs that have won their season series over the Orioles.

It’s important to remember that it’s highly unlikely a 91-win Orioles team misses out on the postseason. In fact, FanGraphs already considers it virtually a guarantee, giving Baltimore a 99.8% chance of playing in October. But the scenario does technically exist, which is why the Orioles’ magic number to make the playoffs is 10.

What is the state of the AL East race?

Simply making the postseason is an accomplishment, especially for a franchise that suffered a 14-year playoff drought from 1998 to 2012. But winning the AL East is the real prize — one that comes with the significant reward of skipping the AL Wild Card Series and advancing straight to the Division Series.

After the Orioles and Yankees both lost Sunday, Baltimore entered Monday half a game back of New York for first place in the AL East. The Orioles and Yankees have been tied or within two games of each other since July 10 — 60 straight days.

Both teams have been playing about .500 baseball over the past few months, and neither has been able to pull away from the other. That makes it quite likely this race will go down to the wire. New York and Baltimore face off in the regular season’s penultimate series — a three-game set that could very well decide who claims the division crown.

With how close this race has been, who owns the tiebreaker is pivotal. The Orioles will catch the train to the Big Apple later this month with a 6-4 record against the Yankees. That means one Orioles win that series would clinch them the tiebreaker — essentially providing a one-game advantage over the Yankees.

If the regular season ended Sunday, who would the Orioles face in the playoffs?

As the top wild-card team, the No. 4-seeded Orioles would host No. 5 Kansas City in the best-of-three Wild Card Series Oct. 1-3.

If Baltimore wins that series, it would face the top-seeded Yankees in the ALDS Oct. 5-12. The winner would advance to the AL Championship Series Oct. 13-22 against one of the following teams: No. 2 Cleveland, No. 3 Houston or No. 6 Minnesota.

The World Series is scheduled to begin Oct. 25 with an if-necessary Game 7 on Nov. 2, although the Fall Classic could begin Oct. 22 if both Championship Series go five games or fewer.

This article will be updated daily.

After Rutschman swung through strike three, he trudged back to the dugout. It’s become a common sight this season. Nobody has an answer to the question: Why is the All-Star struggling?

The catcher entered Sunday hitting .178 with a .544 OPS over his last 53 contests. His issues coincide with his team’s, which has a losing record since the start of July and is similarly desperate for solutions. When Rutschman was steady, so were the Orioles. With him searching for himself, so is his team.

Nobody can identify exactly what’s wrong with Rutschman. Time is running out to find the answer.

“He’s playing really frustrated,” manager Brandon Hyde said after Sunday’s 2-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays in which Rutschman went 0-for-3 with a walk. “He’s trying to find it. He’s working hard every single day, doing everything he can to try to get the feeling and find his rhythm and timing at the plate. Just having a tough time right now.”

Rutschman’s problems are a continuation of what’s gone from a slump to an underwhelming third season. On June 30, he was hitting .294 with 15 home runs, and the rest of his totals were in line with what he posted as a rookie and sophomore. His average has since dropped to .253. He’s been worth negative wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs, since the start of July and has two home runs in his past 192 plate appearances.

Rutschman’s average launch angle of 19.1 degrees is the highest of his career, according to Baseball Savant. So is his 31.9% flyball rate. He’s pulling the ball more, working the opposite field less, and has the worst barrel rate of his career.

When asked about his slump after Sunday’s loss, the two-time All-Star chose to look forward to the road ahead for Baltimore rather than discuss his difficulties at the plate.

“I think focusing on this playoff run and what we’re trying to do here is the most important thing right now,” he said. “I think right now we’re focused on the team and focused on our playoff push.”

Rutschman plays a demanding position, a reality the Orioles recognize and offer frequent days off accordingly. Rutschman surely has nagging ailments — every catcher does this time of year. But he said he feels good. Physical limitations aren’t to blame for his struggles.

“I feel good,” he said. “Excited for these last couple games before playoffs.”

Rutschman has hit second in the lineup 113 times this season. Anthony Santander has the second-most games logged there at 19. Rutschman has hit fifth or lower only nine times as Hyde has stuck with his catcher in one of the batting order’s most important spots.

The Orioles’ lineup has featured Rutschman in the No. 2 spot in 13 of their past 15 contests. He’s 9-for-50 over that stretch, and Baltimore is 8-7 in those games.

With only four runs scored across his team’s past four games, Hyde was asked if he thought shuffling his lineup or altering playing time would give his team a spark.

“I think I’ve done all those things,” the manager said.

The Orioles have 18 games remaining in the regular season. They’re on the verge of cementing a playoff spot, but they aren’t gaining ground in the race for the American League East crown.

Rutschman finding his swing would go a long way in achieving that goal.

“Baseball is a tough game,” Rutschman said. “You’re going to have ups and downs. Our guys are going to be ready to go for tomorrow.”