The Orioles were down by a run in the bottom of the third inning Sunday when started a rally with Dylan Beavers’ leadoff double and Weston Wilson’s walk.

Blaze Alexander, the No. 9 hitter in the order, laid down a sacrifice bunt, with the Athletics getting the 3-4 out at first base. Gunnar Henderson beat out a ground ball to the right side and the game was tied.

That was it for the scoring. Taylor Ward was called out on strikes and Adley Rutschman lined out. But the Orioles manufactured a run and it felt important for a team that’s struggled at times to break out offensively and lessen the pressure on its pitching staff.

Alexander increased the Orioles sac bunt total to six this season, tying their 2024 total and two more than in 2025. The Guardians ranked fifth last year with 28 while Craig Albernaz served as assistant manager.

The were built for it. Albernaz couldn’t make any promises after the Orioles hired him as manager that his club would play the same style. The personnel has to fit.

Asked yesterday if he wants more small ball from the Orioles, Albernaz replied, “Yeah, absolutely.”

“We’ve been doing that since I got the job, having those conversations. Spring training all the way up until now,” he said. “You have to be able to do that to win ballgames, you have to be able to do that to be a successful team. And especially when guys are struggling, going through it, or if it’s a really tough matchup for that hitter on the mound, and you don’t want to tap into your bench too early, you don’t want to have a lesser defense out there, and you also want to survive that at-bat for matchups in later innings. So the ability to bunt is huge for us.

“It sets up the guys behind you, puts them in the best position to succeed. If you get a bunt down and it’s first and second, now you’re forcing the other team to either play infield in and that helps the hitter, as well. It’s just all the little things that helps us win and that bunting is just a small part of it.”

A small ball part of it.

*The timing of the question was accidentally ideal.

Albernaz was asked yesterday about the balancing act between wanting Samuel Basallo’s hot left-handed bat in the lineup but also needing to go right-handed heavy against southpaw starters.

Basallo was 6-for-22 with a home run and three walks against lefties, but expectations had him sitting against the Yankees’ Ryan Weathers last night and Max Fried on Wednesday, leaving him to face right-hander Will Warren in the middle game.

“He’s playing tonight,” Albernaz said. “Did you guys get the lineups? He’s DHing tonight, so hopefully that answers your question.”

Basallo was slashing .397/.435/.638 (23-for-58) in his past 17 games, which led Albernaz to ignore the supposed left-on-left disadvantage.

“I trust Sammy left-handed,” Albernaz said. “It’s more about just like we talk about when we pinch-hit for guys, it’s not more about you, that you’re getting pinch-hit for. It’s more about your boy on the bench and that’s an ideal matchup for that player and setting him up to succeed and giving him the best opportunity to go out and perform.

“It’s the same way how we do platoon matchups, and the way Sammy’s swinging the bat right now and the way he’s handling left-handed pitching, he’s earned the right to play tonight.”

Yes he did. Except he didn’t.

Basallo was scratched from the lineup with left knee discomfort caused by Sunday’s collision with Carlos Cortes. Albernaz said last night that Basallo is fine. He didn’t want to give away anymore information with the Yankees listening to the postgame interview.

*And speaking of ideal timing…

Coby Mayo was in the lineup at designated hitter Friday night against Athletics left-hander Jacob Lopez, but he was set to sit last night when the Yankees started Weathers.

Opportunity to play was found in Basallo’s sore knee.

Mayo became the DH and hit a three-run homer in the seventh to give the Orioles a 3-2 win.

A walk and strikeout in two plate appearances preceded Mayo’s fourth homer of the season.

Last night marked the first time that Mayo hit a go-ahead homer in the fifth inning or later, and he hadn’t delivered a go-ahead shot with the Orioles trailing.

“You’ve just got to stay ready,” Mayo said. “Struggling, not struggling, you have to turn the page, new day.”

The Orioles would like for Mayo to turn back the clock to how he was scalding the ball in spring training and in Kansas City.

“He’s a young player that’s getting adjusted to by the league and now he’s starting to work through that process of adjusting back to what the league is doing to him,” said hitting coach Dustin Lind. “For him, it’s really about focusing in on the daily work habits and just showing up and continuing to grind. It’s really tough and we’re obviously in there with him every single day, and the work has been incredible. He’s done a really good job with that. And so for him to kind of have that mental fortitude to keep pushing forward and leaning on those veteran players around him who have gone through this before, as well, yeah, we’re excited.

“He’s a really talented player and he has the capability of turning this thing around in a hurry.”