Rich Dubroff

Rutschman leads off for Orioles for 1st time this season; O’s-Cubs lineups

Feb 28, 2026; Sarasota, Florida, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman (35) hits a home run during the fourth inning against the Atlanta Braves at Ed Smith Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

BALTIMORE— Adley Rutschman is leading off as the designated hitter for Thursday’s rescheduled game against the Chicago Cubs. After Wednesday night’s game, the Orioles announced that because of an unfavorable weather forecast, they were moving the game time from 6:35 p.m. to 1:35.

Rutschman is hitting first for the first time since April 18^th, 2025.

“He’s DHing today, so he’s just hitting,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Doesn’t have to scramble to take his gear off. We’ve been thinking about it against lefties, and it’s the perfect storm of his DH day and to see what it looks like.”

CONTINUE READING BELOW

Alexander anchors bottom of lineup

Blaze Alexander, who’s hitting .308, is batting eighth for the 15^th time this season. Alexander, who usually bats ninth, has also hit sixth and seventh twice.

Albernaz defends placing Alexander lower in the order.

“Him hitting in the bottom of the order lengthens the lineup, to kind of get it turned around to the top,” Albernaz said. “He seems pretty comfortable where he’s hitting.”

CONTINUE READING BELOW

Albernaz didn’t dismiss moving Alexander up in the second half of the season.

“Possibly, it all depends on how everything shakes up,” he said.

Notes: Brandon Young, Kyle Bradish and Shane Baz will end the first half for the Orioles against the Kansas City Royals, who’ll start Luinder Avila, Noah Cameron and Seth Lugo in the three-game series before the All-Star break. … The Orioles have drawn a walk in 84 straight games, the longest streak in the majors.

Orioles-Cubs lineups

Orioles

CONTINUE READING BELOW

Adley Rutschman-DH

Taylor Ward-LF

Gunnar Henderson-SS

Pete Alonso-1B

Tyler O’Neill-RF

Coby Mayo-3B

Samuel Basallo-C

Blaze Alexander-2B

Leody Taveras-CF

Trevor Rogers-LHP

Cubs

Pete Crow-Armstrong-CF

Alex Bregman-3B

Seiya Suzuki-RF

Carson Kelly-DH

Michael Busch-1B

Nico Hoerner-2B

Ian Happ-LF

Dansby Swanson-SS

Miguel Amaya-C

David Peterson-LHP

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com

Scroll Down to LEAVE A COMMENT

Rich Dubroff

Rich Dubroff grew up in Brooklyn as a fan of New York teams, but after he moved to Baltimore, quickly adopted the Orioles and Colts. After nearly two decades as a freelancer assisting on Orioles coverage for several outlets, principally The Capital in Annapolis and The Carroll County Times, Dubroff began covering the team fulltime in 2011. He spent five years at Comcast SportsNet’s website and for the last two seasons, wrote for PressBoxonline.com, Dubroff lives in Baltimore with his wife of more than 30 years, Susan.