PHILADELPHIA — No one bothered to move for several heartbeats — the two runners on base, the fielders craning their necks and least of all Coby Mayo, who admired the upward trajectory of his missile to left field.

Just one day earlier, as Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino pondered how the playing time breakdown will look once first baseman Ryan Mountcastle returns from a hamstring strain, he imagined what Mayo could become with regular at-bats.

“We need Coby to be the Coby we’ve all dreamed on,” Mansolino said. “It’s going to take some time for him. We can’t expect Coby to be this massive impact guy in 2025. He might become that; I hope he does. We just gotta kind of temper our expectations in some way and, at some point, it’s going to click for the kid and he’s going to be a force when it does.”

Has it clicked?

Maybe, maybe not. Expectations in a lost season will remain tempered. But, as Mayo yammed a first-pitch changeup from left-hander Ranger Suárez 421 feet to left field for a three-run home run, it certainly seemed to be the sort of swing that will keep the Orioles dreaming of what the 23-year-old can do.

“Coaching staff’s been great with me,” Mayo said. “Constant communication, and they believe in me, the work that we’ve been putting in. They’re not putting any pressure on me whatsoever. And they know what kind of player I am and what kind of player I can be in this league, and just having confidence in me helps a lot.”

Along with another gem from left-hander Trevor Rogers, Mayo helped Baltimore escape Citizens Bank Park with a 5-1 win Wednesday. The blast joined RBI knocks from Jeremiah Jackson and Jackson Holliday (on which Alex Jackson scored to round out the Jackson 3).

Jeremiah Jackson’s double in the third, lashing a hard-hit ball down the left-field line, provided the rookie with his first extra-base hit and RBI in the majors. And for Alex Jackson, who doubled before Holliday’s single, all nine of his hits since becoming an Oriole have been for extra bases.

As Baltimore (52-63) stumbles to a disappointing ending, there are opportunities for players who otherwise would be in the minors or on the bench.

“They want to feel established; they want to get their foot under them and feel like they can contribute at the highest level,” Rogers said. “I think that’s going to be huge for these guys moving forward. I know no one wanted us to be in this situation at this point of the year. I know every single guy in there didn’t want this to be the outcome breaking camp. But this is where we’re at, so really gotta just continue to stay together, keep playing hard, because I know if we start heading in the wrong direction it’s gonna be a long two months, and I know no one in that clubhouse wants that.”

Mayo, for one, is enjoying the best stretch of his brief major league career, and he’s looking more comfortable with each game. Since July 22, Mayo is hitting .275 with an .887 on-base-plus-slugging percentage. It’s a small sample, but it validates the belief that the first baseman can do this. And, more important, it emphasizes the role he may play in 2026, when the Orioles hope to become a competitor again.

Part of his success comes from the knowledge he’ll be in the lineup just about every day. Mayo said his focus has been playing “with a clear mind and just look[ing] forward to the next at-bat.”

Still, Mansolino emphasized postgame the process Mayo is undergoing.

“We don’t expect him to become a star player right now,” Mansolino said. “We expect him to become a really good player within the next couple of years. Today’s a good day. He’s going to have some good moments. He’s going to have some bad moments. As long as he continues to build and work with our coaches, and work on the swing and be open-minded and get better as opposed to trying to be comfortable, then he will become what he can become earlier than not.”

Alex Jackson is making a case for the backup catcher role. And Jeremiah Jackson, starting his sixth straight game since his post-deadline promotion, is hitting .278.

He said there was a discussion of whether he should bunt with two runners on base ahead of him, but the Orioles let Jackson swing away — “glad we didn’t bunt right there,” Mansolino said.

So is Jackson, an infielder who is working with Anthony Sanders daily to learn right field on a fill-in basis. His double left his bat at 103.9 mph.

“Just looking for something I could hit hard,” Jackson said. “I just want to thank the Orioles for giving me the opportunity. Everybody who’s helped me get here, it’s been a really good journey, and there’s a lot of work to do ahead.”

That run support backed up a dominant effort from Rogers, who continues to showcase a career turnaround. Rogers’ six-inning, one-run performance featured plenty of jams. But he held the Phillies to a 1-for-7 mark with runners in scoring position, and the eight hits against him (his most allowed this season) didn’t cost him.

Rogers’ ERA is 1.44, and his WHIP is 0.83. All of a sudden, he appears to be a central figure in Baltimore’s rotation plans in 2026.

That, more than anything else, is what the remainder of this season is about — a combination of looking forward while stacking enough positivity in the present to give the future promise.

“It’s been a tough road stretch but we played every game hard, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do,” Rogers said. “We’re going to keep competing, keep battling, until that Game 162.”

News and notes

• Outfielder Tyler O’Neill missed Wednesday’s game with a sore right wrist. He wore a soft brace on his wrist and is due to receive further imaging Thursday, Mansolino said. O’Neill injured his wrist early in Tuesday’s game when he caught it on the outfield fence. His X-rays came back negative, O’Neill said.
• In case of need, the Orioles brought infielder Vimael Machín to Philadelphia as part of the medical taxi squad. Machín excelled in spring training for the Orioles by hitting .400, and the 31-year-old is hitting .294 for Triple-A Norfolk this season. “Been working every day, obviously, down there in Norfolk, and good things are happening to me right now,” Machín said. “I would say I’ve done everything I could to be up here.”
• Mansolino estimated that infielder Jorge Mateo and catcher Gary Sánchez will return in September from a hamstring strain and a PCL knee sprain, respectively.

This article has been updated.