Adley Rutschman is having a full workout day, including batting practice on the field, and is “trending in the right direction,” according to manager Craig Albernaz.

Rutschman is eligible to return today from the seven-day concussion injured list. The Orioles could wait until Saturday to check on his response to this afternoon’s activity.

“We want to make sure that he’s checking all the boxes and kind of go from there,” Albernaz said.

Second baseman Jackson Holliday is in the lineup for the first time since Saturday, when groin tightness forced him to the bench.

Albernaz didn’t suggest that Holliday was totally over the discomfort, but he pinch-hit Wednesday and is cleared to play tonight.

“He’s trending in the right direction, too,” Albernaz said.

The same can’t be said of his team, which went 4-5 on the West Coast.

“It’s a mixed bag on the road trip, for sure,” Albernaz said. “I think we’ve shown the ability to play really good baseball, which we have all year, but we also showed that we’ve kind of given away some wins. And sometimes it’s our guys it felt like kind of scared to lose, as to just going out and taking the win. And I think that’s where our guys are, I wouldn’t say ‘pressing,’ but they know where we’re at, they care, they try to do the right thing. But also, sometimes that comes with some tightened play.

“For us, we’re at our best is, we’re playing just competitive, loose baseball, and we showed that the two games in L.A., the first game in (Anaheim). But the inconsistency is what’s keeping me up at night. Hopefully here with the second half coming up, we can start playing some real consistent baseball.”

The Orioles squandered a 3-0 lead in the ninth inning in the first game of the series at Dodger Stadium and had a meltdown with two outs in the 10th  inning in the final game against the Angels after failing to hold onto a 5-2 lead in the eighth. A winning trip slipped through their fingers.

“When we have the win at hand and all we have to do is make the plays to secure the win, we just have to just play baseball and not think too much and not overly try to do the right thing sometimes. It’s just, you’ve got to take the out when they give it to you,” Albernaz said.

“It is a tough needle to thread. For us and our coaching staff, we just always go back to the work and the preparation these guys have and trusting that. These guys have been in these spots in the games this year or years past, so it’s leaning on your experience, leaning on your prep, and pretty much trusting one another. And that’s the biggest thing. Our guys do trust each other, but I think sometimes where every guy wants to be the one to make the play, sometimes you just have to let the play develop.”

First baseman Pete Alonso noted how losing five of nine games on the trip didn’t present a full illustration of how the Orioles performed.

“I think we easily could have gone 7-2,” Alonso said. “We played nine games and there was only three innings where it’s like, man, if we had those innings it would have been a completely different story coming back on the way home. Obviously tough, but we’re really excited to turn the page today.”

The Orioles have 15 games to play before the All-Star break and 12 are at home. If they’re going to make a run, this is the place to start it.

“This is a really important time,” Alonso said. “I would consider now the second half. We’re already past the halfway point technically. I think again for us, in order to accomplish what we want to this year, it’s not a matter about wanting, it’s having to do it. If we figure out a way to play clean baseball late in games, then we’re gonna be able to go where we want to go. We’ll be able to go to the postseason and be able to go a lot of special things after that.

“I think the biggest thing, there’s a lot of tough lessons that had to be learned with … it’s been kind of all facets of the game, whether it be pitching defense, baserunning. There’s been a little bit of everything that we need to improve on, not just during the road trip, but over the course of the year so far. But it’s not about an issue of can or can’t. It’s just a matter about, we just need to execute when the time comes.”