Brandon Young’s body language spoke volumes Tuesday night.

Young sat facing his locker, back turned to the room, as the media entered. He’s wasn’t shooting pool, as he often does after games, even the ones he starts. He wasn’t smiling and talking.

Perhaps deep in thought, or maybe his feelings, Young didn’t budge until he caught the movement of reporters from the corner of his eye. He stood, turned and faced the music inside a deathly quiet clubhouse.

Young is unfailing nice, and he needed every ounce to make it through his 1 minute and 12 second scrum.

“I felt good,” he said. “Pretty pissed off. Didn’t do my job, and there’s no excuse for it.”

What comes next?

“You’ve got to flush it,” he said in the same somber tone. “Go on to the next one.”

Boy, did they ever.

The Orioles sent 14 batters to the plate last night in the third inning, scored eight times and made Shane Baz think he wandered into the wrong dugout. They claimed the series against the Guardians, the team that’s holding the final Wild Card, with a 9-5 victory.

Let the music play.

Lights flashed and smoke and laughter filled the air. A couple of players sang and danced to a Latin tune. Six more surrounded the pool table while others sat in chairs and watched. One teammate threw a couple of rubber darts past Dylan Beavers head, sticking them to his locker while he conducted an interview. Beavers grinned but kept talking without interruption.

The Orioles aren’t keen on fake enthusiasm. They won’t quit on this season. It isn’t in their DNA, and the job and paychecks require full effort every night. Rolling over isn’t an option unless breaking up a double play. But a season filled with tests is coming hard after them this month.

They trade for outfielder Christian Franklin at the deadline and lose him to a hand injury. They claim outfielder Luis Robert Jr. on waivers from the Mets, a guaranteed $5 million investment that they hailed as a virtual steal, and lose him after only three games to a hamstring strain.

Tyler O’Neill isn’t making any progress from his rotator cuff strain, which likely finishes him for the season after an injury-filled 2025. Samuel Basallo missed a month with right shoulder discomfort and is trying to play through it, wincing on some swings and experiencing the added misery of a backswing nailing him Tuesday night.

I should visit my mom as much as the athletic training staff is checking on Basallo.

Is there a better illustration of everything gone wrong than the late innings of Tuesday’s game?

Gunnar Henderson fouls a ball off his left knee in the eighth inning, which isn’t clear on replays. Some members of the media core post on X that it’s his right foot (guilty), others his shin. Manager Craig Albernaz tells us afterward that it’s the left knee.

Well, the ball must have ricocheted and hit his foot. I know what I saw.

“No,” Henderson said, “just left knee.”

Henderson was as glum as I’ve seen him during his time with the Orioles. No slump or fielding error could bring him down as hard as Tuesday’s loss and injury. He limped to his locker, walking as if in bare feet on a bed of nails, grabbed something out of it and exiting again. He deserves credit for coming back, knowing reporters would wander over to him. Henderson put on a shirt and spoke for about the same amount of time as Young and in the same low tone. He looked defeated.

More confusing than Henderson’ exit – the pinch-runner made total sense given the foul ball and he’s day-to-day – was backup catcher Carlos Narváez playing second base in the top of the ninth. He hadn’t done it as a professional. Only first base (27 starts) and third (three innings) in the minors. The Orioles didn’t have a backup middle infielder for a stretch, but Blaze Alexander was reinstated from the injured list. Just move him to shortstop and plug Christian Encarnacion-Strand into third.

Hold on. Alexander also was out of the game, for reasons that remained a mystery until Albernaz explained the back spasms that came from fielding a bunt in the seventh. (Alexander, not Albernaz, though this entire season has been one big pain in the lower body.)

Alexander already missed about six weeks with a non-displaced fracture in his left hand, which felt like a crushing blow considering he was the team’s hottest hitter. He went on the 10-day IL yesterday with lower-back discomfort.

The baseball gods bully the Orioles into another loss, which drops them four games out of the Wild Card, and pants them on the way out the door.

Dignity was restored last night.  

“I think when we play our best,” said outfielder Dylan Beavers, “we can beat anybody.”

The team has reached its first off-day since Aug. 24, right before the trip to St. Louis. Sixteen days in a row with baseball. They were five games below .500 before arriving at Busch Stadium. They’re three below this morning.

Félix Bautista retired all three batters faced Tuesday at Triple-A Norfolk in his sixth injury rehab appearance and should be nearing a return. Ryan Helsley threw live batting practice for the first time earlier in the day and should be nearing a rehab assignment. But two closers might not save the season. And in the meantime, the Orioles are finding that September roster expansion still leaves them shorthanded.

Colton Cowser brought back a home run ball in Colorado but couldn’t pull the Orioles out of their funk. They end a six-game losing streak on Monday, fall behind 6-0 by the third inning Tuesday and surrender three unearned runs in the seventh after creeping within 6-5. Pete Alonso homers for the 34th time and then commits a costly throwing error. Albernaz shares positive news pregame on Helsley and comes out of the dugout multiple times to check on injuries.

He reappeared last night to take the ball from Baz and Yennier Cano, and he joined the celebratory handshake line after the final out.

“It’s been like that all year,” he said of the response to more adversity. “We’re still in it. Obviously, our record is not where we want it, but we’re still in the fight.”