The Orioles’ charter landed in Dallas last night. They’ve got three games to play against the Rangers, who hold the last Wild Card spot. Texas is one ahead of the team that they’re hosting over the weekend.

There’s a lot to unpack besides gear.

Let’s toss out a few observations before first pitch.

Who’s on fourth? Lots of Orioles

Christian Encarnacion-Strand batted in the cleanup spot yesterday and went 0-for-3, including a double play, strikeout and hit-by-pitch. Tyler O’Neill hit fourth the previous night against a left-hander. Encarnacion-Strand also filled the role in the first game of the series.

Tyler Ward batted fourth in his final game with the Orioles before the trade deadline.

The Orioles haven’t used the same player at cleanup in back-to-back games since Ward on July 24-28.

Eleven different players have batted fourth, led by Pete Alonso in 67 games. Samuel Basallo is next with 13, and he’s on hold while recovering from right shoulder inflammation.

Ward, Adley Rutschman and O’Neill did it in seven, Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo and Johnathan Rodríguez in three, Dylan Beavers and Encarnacion-Strand in two, and Ryan Mountcastle in one.

The club record for most cleanup hitters was set last year at 13. This year’s team is tied with the 2023 Orioles. They used 10 in 2022.

The Rutschman and Ward trades and Basallo’s trip to the injured list will cause more lineup shuffling.

Newsflash: Orioles still don’t have an everyday closer

The media wondered if Rico Garcia was that guy after Ryan Helsley went on the injured list for the first time. Garcia recorded saves in back-to-back appearances in May and another on June 2.

Not necessarily.

The media wondered if Tyler Wells was that guy with Helsley on the IL again. Wells recorded saves on June 3, 4, 17 and 31. Must be him, right? But he also failed to get the call every time.

Wells was traded to the Rays on Monday. And guess what? Manager Craig Albernaz still isn’t designating one specific reliever as the full-time ninth-inning specialist.

Only Helsley earns that honor, just like Félix Bautista before him.

Helsley still leads the club with eight saves, followed by Garcia and Andrew Kittredge with five, Wells with four, Anthony Nunez with three, Yennier Cano with two, and Cam Sanders, Albert Suárez and Grant Wolfram with one. Nunez and Sanders are in Triple-A.

Cano was the closer Tuesday and entered in the eighth inning the following night, with Kittredge retiring the side in order on six pitches for the save. Before the game, Albernaz was asked whether Cano was the default choice for the ninth.

As if to prove a point, Albernaz used Kittredge in a 5-2 win over the Angels.

“I know Wells kind of closed games for us. That was just a matter of how everything lined up, and Wells being kind of platoon neutral and also really good against left-handed pitching,” Albernaz said.

“I think right now it’s gonna be kind of a similar path of how the game goes and how it lands. Yesterday, it just landed with Yenni and we’re extremely confident with Yenni closing the ninth. And we’re confident with other guys closing in the ninth. But for right now it’s tough to say he’s gonna take the ball every time there’s a save. I think it just depends on how the game goes.”

So to recap, on any given day or night, the reliever assigned to protect the lead can be the guy who matches up, is rested and maybe goes along with the manager’s hunch. The logic and the answer aren’t going to change.

Let’s accept it and move on to something else that also isn’t worth doubling back to over these last few months.

Colton Cowser remains the best center fielder on the team

Cowser passes every test – analytic and eye.

Before yesterday, Cowser led the Orioles with eight Outs Above Average and tied for first with five Defensive Runs Saved.

Moving past team boundaries, Cowser’s eight OAA tied for third among American League outfielders with the Rangers’ Evan Carter and the Rays’ Cedric Mullins, a human highlight reel with the Orioles but not always a favorite of the analytics crowd. The Red Sox’s Ceddanne Rafaela was first with 13, followed by the White Sox’s Tristan Peters with nine.

Cowser accrued zero OAA last season after posting a career-high 11 in 2024.

“He’s been awesome,” said first base coach and outfielder instructor Jason Bourgeois. “Since Day 1, he’s bought into the process of becoming the best center fielder out there. That was a goal of his during the offseason. The way he gets off the ball, the communication, the spatial awareness now, I feel like compared to years prior is top notch.”

Cowser also can play the corners, of course. He’s made 18 starts in right field and five in left this season. But Albernaz went with his preferred arrangement again yesterday with Cowser in center and Leody Taveras in right, a flip-flop that benefits the players and the team.

Bench production has improved

Boy, has it!

O’Neill batted for Taveras yesterday in the eighth inning and singled with two outs to keep a rally alive. It died after Gunnar Henderson was thrown out at the plate while trying to score on ball that got past catcher Moisés Ballesteros.

O’Neill is 7-for-21 as a pinch-hitter this season. The Orioles have 26 pinch-hits, according to Baseball-Reference.com. The Nationals began yesterday leading the majors with 29.

Which team has the most pinch-hit RBIs? The Orioles ranked first yesterday with 28.

The Orioles went from going homerless off the bench through July 7 to hitting five in 23 games. O’Neill has three to tie the single-season club record shared by Whitey Herzog in 1962, Sam Bowens in 1967, Pat Kelly in 1979, Jim Dwyer in 1986 and Sam Horn in 1991.

“Pinch hitting is really hard,” Albernaz said. “Our guys have really stepped up and really owned that side of the game and being ready, getting in the cage, being prepped for that. Obviously, it’s not as easy as plug-and-play, and it’s a homer. There’s a lot that goes into it. Our guys have been outstanding with being ready, being diligent with the prep.”