The Orioles aren’t gaining sufficient ground in the standings but their roster is healthier.

Infielder Jordan Westburg and outfielder Cedric Mullins were reinstated from the 10-day injured list earlier today. But it cost Heston Kjerstad a roster spot. He was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. And it cost Emmanuel Rivera a place in the organization after he was designated again for assignment.

Westburg hasn’t played in the majors since straining his left hamstring in Game 2 of an April 26 doubleheader in Detroit.

Westburg was 9-for-29 in his last seven games. He’s batting .217/.265/.391 with two doubles, a triple, four home runs and six RBIs in 23 games.

Westburg appeared in eight games with Norfolk on his injury rehab assignment and went 11-for-28 with four doubles and two homers.

The next homestand has arrived, with three games against the Tigers and three against the Angels before the Orioles fly to Tampa and reenact spring training at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

The Yankees are one of the road opponents, but they still play in the Bronx. The Rays relocated from hurricane-ravaged Tropicana Field to Tampa. Don’t let it confuse you.

The Orioles are 26-38 and 8 ½ games out of the last Wild Card. The Tigers have the best record in baseball at 43-24, and a plus-92 run differential that’s second-highest in the American League and third in the majors.

It should be noted that Detroit is 23-9 at home and 20-15 away from Comerica Park. But the Orioles are under .500 home and away.

If hoping and praying for a prolonged winning streak that gets the Orioles into a playoff race isn’t enough to hold your interest, here are a few other options:

The Orioles will happily take a day off at any point in the season, whether it interrupts an impressive run or follows a losing series to the lowly Athletics. Can never have too many resets. But they obviously wish that the latter didn’t apply.

The flight home yesterday had to feel much longer.

Facing the Tigers in a three-game set that begins Tuesday at Camden Yards could seem to many like it’s make-or-break, since every loss inflates the odds against them, and winning two of three or manufacturing a sweep against a team with the best record in baseball would hint again that the Orioles have plenty of life in them. But man, that series in Sacramento was a kick in the crotch, and with sharpened spikes.

The A’s deserve an F grade this season but they won 5-4 and 5-1 over the weekend. Tomoyuki Sugano was starting yesterday against Jacob Lopez, which on the surface seemed like a lock before it reversed. Sugano allowed four runs (three earned) and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. Lopez allowed an unearned run in four innings and Sean Newcomb followed with three scoreless.

Lopez and Newcomb are left-handers. There’s the reverse. The Orioles are 4-13 against southpaw starters, including openers. They’ll see two right-handers against the Tigers, but also Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, who’s registered a 2.16 ERA, walked seven batters and struck out 105 in his 13 outings covering 83 1/3 innings.

The Orioles have a chance today to win three series in a row for the first time since June 26-July 7, 2024.

Coby Mayo is the designated hitter and Emmanuel Rivera is playing first base. Ryan O’Hearn goes to the bench.

Ramón Laureano is the right fielder and cleanup hitter. Dylan Carlson remains in left field, with Colton Cowser in center.

Cowser hit a 455-foot home run last night, the longest of his career and longest by an Oriole since Ryan Mountcastle’s 472-foot shot in 2023.

Ten of Laureano’s last 12 home runs have been off right-handed pitchers, with another one last night. He’s batting .375 (18-for-48) in the past 14 games.

The West Coast trip winds to a finish this afternoon, with the Orioles unable to run their sweep streak to three series. The mighty Athletics ruined those plans on Friday night. 

The season is 63 games old and the Orioles entered last night 12 below .500, 14 out of first place in the division and 8 ½ from the last Wild Card. Only the A’s and White Sox had worse records.

The most basic math tells us that elimination isn’t imminent. The second week in June leaves a lot of season to be played. But each loss feels like another shovelful of dirt is dumped on them.

That’s the way it is when a team digs such a deep hole for itself.

Let’s visit or review a few more questions that hover around the Orioles, who are off Monday before hosting the Tigers, owners of the best record in baseball.

The Orioles had their winning streak snapped at six games late last night with a 5-4 loss to the Athletics in Sacramento. They went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and stranded 10.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino used four relievers to cover 2 2/3 scoreless innings, but the bullpen is unchanged again after the Orioles acquired Scott Blewett from the Braves yesterday for cash considerations. Blewett hadn’t reported yesterday and the club didn’t announce a roster move today.

Maverick Handley is catching tonight and Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter. Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base and Ramón Urías is at third, which puts Coby Mayo on the bench after he doubled and walked last night.

Dylan Carlson is the left fielder again and Ramón Laureano is in right. Heston Kjerstad isn’t in the lineup.

Carlson homered as a right-handed hitter last night for the second time in his last 93 games since June 21, 2023.

The mere mention of it caused Bryan Baker to tilt back his head and laugh.

A selection to the All-Star Game? Baker will hold runners if they can actually reach base against him, but he won’t hold his breath.

“I don’t know about all that,” he said. “That’s a tough road.”

Baker has traveled a few in his professional lifetime. He’s learned how to fold the map.

There were times that he lost his job in the Orioles bullpen and fought to earn their trust again. Needing results to break camp with the team this spring, which coincided with an uptick in fastball velocity and renewed confidence in his changeup after a minute grip adjustment on the seams.

Gunnar Henderson is out of the Orioles lineup tonight in Sacramento, with Jorge Mateo starting at shortstop against Athletics left-hander JP Sears.

Ramón Laureano, reinstated today from the 10-day injured list, is batting third as the designated hitter. Colton Cowser returns to the lineup and is in center field. Coby Mayo is playing first base. Ramón Urías starts at third base.

Ryan O’Hearn is in right field.

O’Hearn ranks among American League leaders in on-base percentage (second at .411), average (fourth at .326), OPS (fifth at .930) and slugging percentage (seventh at .519). He's reached safely in 33 of his last 35 games since April 24.

Adley Rutschman is batting .278/.350/.472 (20-for-72) in 20 games since May 11, with seven extra-base hits, eight RBIs and 10 runs scored. In the previous 22 games, he hit .149/.259/.216 (11-for-74) with three extra-base hits.

The Orioles have reinstated outfielder Ramón Laureano from the 10-day injured list and designated outfielder Jordyn Adams for assignment.

Laureano sprained his left ankle in Milwaukee. He homered yesterday for Triple-A Norfolk in Louisville in his second rehab game. He’s batting .266/.320/.532 with seven doubles and six homers with the Orioles.

Adams was used as a defensive replacement, his only at-bat coming yesterday.

Jordan Westburg and Gary Sánchez also homered yesterday for Norfolk and should be nearing returns. 

The bullpen will undergo another change. The Orioles acquired Scott Blewett from the Braves today for cash considerations.

SEATTLE – The Orioles flew to California after yesterday’s game against the Mariners, invigorated by the sweet smell of success on an undefeated road trip and after winning nine of their last 11 games, finally able to enjoy playing baseball again.

The music was cranked after Wednesday night’s thrilling 3-2 victory over the Mariners and a few players groaned when the media needed the volume level turned down to conduct its interviews. Nothing against us, of course, but don’t crash a party and mute the vibe.

“Vibe” is becoming a popular word around this team, perhaps more so than “process.” Heston Kjerstad produced a two-run, go-ahead triple on the field and a different description of the mood at his locker.

"Definitely won a lot more the past two seasons,” he said, “and I think we’re kind of getting back our mojo here the past week winning more games and just playing better baseball.”

Kjerstad always is cooperative but he’s smiling a lot more lately after collecting his fourth hit in three games – three for extra bases. Adley Rutschman kept the smile on his face throughout his four-minute interview, whether the subject was his home run, the team’s hot stretch, playing in front of family and friends from Oregon, or the toe-tap that is or isn’t part of his timing mechanism at the plate.

SEATTLE – Dylan Carlson drifted back for a fly ball today in the first inning and bumped against the fence as he reached over his head for it. The earlier version of the Orioles would have watched it deflect off Carlson and roll away for an extra-base hit as the runner scored from second base. The Orioles who suddenly can’t lose a game secured the final out, with Carlson making the catch despite the jarring contact.

The first run today was produced by the Orioles in the third inning on a leadoff walk to the No. 9 hitter and two wild pitches.

Everything seems to be going right these days, with breaks also caught. No one knows where this turnaround will lead, but it’s gotten a whole lot more interesting.

Adley Rutschman hit a game-tying two-run homer off Bryan Woo in the sixth inning and Gunnar Henderson followed with a go-ahead shot to give the Orioles a 4-3 victory over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

The Orioles (25-36) have won six in a row and nine of 11 and have swept back-to-back series for the first time since July 7-16, 2023 against the Twins and Marlins. They were 16-34 on May 24 but have moved 11 games below .500 for the first time since May 14.

SEATTLE – The Orioles will go for back-to-back series sweeps today and run their winning streak to six straight games with Colton Cowser getting a rest day and Jorge Mateo playing center field.

Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter. Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base, with Coby Mayo on the bench.

Heston Kjerstad gets another start in right field. Emmanuel Rivera is at third base.

Zach Eflin has a 4.46 ERA and 1.091 WHIP in 40 1/3 innings. He shut out the White Sox over seven innings in his last outing after surrendering seven home runs in the previous two.

Eflin has never pitched in Seattle.

SEATTLE – Major League Baseball launched its annual All-Star Game voting yesterday and the Orioles pretty much had the expected representation on the ballot.

Pretty much.

Preseason predictions likely would have put Jordan Westburg at third base, but he’s appeared in 23 games due to a hamstring injury and is batting .217/.265/.391 in 98 plate appearances. The Orioles could reinstate him today.

Ramón Urías is on the American League ballot at third. He played in his 40^th game last night and is hitting .269 with a .680 OPS.

The bigger surprise is that Colton Cowser went from outfield lock to exclusion after fracturing his left thumb on March 30 and staying on the 60-day injured list until Monday. Ramón Laureano broke camp as a reserve and is the third Orioles outfielder on the ballot with Cedric Mullins and Tyler O’Neill.

SEATTLE – The seismic shift in the Orioles’ season has taken them from last call to bars raised.

A rotation that ranked statistically among the worst in baseball is pushing its starters to keep performing at a much higher level. The group has registered a 2.11 ERA in the past 10 games, with two runs or fewer allowed in eight. The next man up must stand tall.

The offense is delivering more often in the clutch, whether with powerful strokes or well-placed pokes. Runs aren’t scoring in bunches, but the amount is sufficient.

Heston Kjerstad tripled for the second time in three games, driving in two runs with two outs in the seventh inning to key the Orioles’ 3-2 victory over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. He has four hits this month, three for extra bases.

The Orioles are 24-36 overall and 9-8 under interim manager Tony Mansolino. They’ve claimed back-to-back series for the first time and built their first five-game winning streak since June 7-12, 2024. They won a fourth straight road game in a single season for the first time since June 7-10, 2024.

SEATTLE – Outfielder Ramón Laureano and catcher Gary Sánchez begin their injury rehab assignments tonight with Triple-A Norfolk, which is playing in Nashville. Laureano is leading off and playing right field and Sánchez is batting third and serving as designated hitter.

Laureano and Sánchez joined infielder Jordan Westburg, who is reaching the finish line in his assignment. Westburg is batting second and playing third base.

Coby Mayo is playing first base tonight as the Orioles try to stay on their recent roll.

Colton Cowser stays in center field, Heston Kjerstad in right and Dylan Carlson in left. Ryan O’Hearn goes from first baseman to designated hitter.

Left-hander Cade Povich will try to give the Orioles five straight quality starts for the first time since July 5-9, 2023 with Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, Cole Irvin, Tyler Wells and Kyle Gibson.

SEATTLE – Ballots were revealed earlier today for the All-Star Game that’s set for the July 15 at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Votes can be cast at www.mlb.com/all-star/ballot.

Phase 1 runs from today-June 26, and Phase 2 from June 30-July 2. One player may be chosen from each position during the initial round except for outfield (three). Starters are selected beginning June 30.

The top vote recipient in each league automatically makes the starting lineup, and the remaining spots are determined by the fans.  

Starters will be announced on July 2 at 7 p.m. on ESPN, and pitchers and reserves will be revealed July 6 at 5 p.m. on ESPN.

SEATTLE – The starts keep coming to Orioles outfielder Heston Kjerstad, with injuries presenting more opportunities than otherwise would be available to a struggling hitter.

Kjerstad appeared in his 51^st game last night, making his 18th start in right. He’s made 25 in left and served as designated hitter in one game.

Opportunities aren’t the issue here. It’s the results, which lowered his average to .185 with a .231 on-base percentage and .308 slugging percentage heading into last night.

Kjerstad tripled on Sunday, the first of his career, but was picked off third base. He broke an 0-for-20 streak and was 3-for-38 in his past 10 games.

Batting eighth last night against Mariners right-hander George Kirby, Kjerstad lined a 96.5 mph fastball up the middle for a one-out single in the second inning and lined out to left field to end the fourth. He lined to center on Sunday, and to third and left field on Saturday.

SEATTLE – The Orioles kept jabbing at Mariners starter George Kirby tonight, with all eight of their hits against him singles. Ramón Urías clipped the right side of Kirby’s jaw with a 102.7 mph line drive that resulted in the final out of the fifth inning – the ball rolling to first baseman Rowdy Tellez - and left a thin stream of blood running past his mouth.

Kirby was coming out anyway after 95 pitches, but it still resembled a knockout blow.

Tomoyuki Sugano and Colton Cowser wouldn’t let the Mariners get up. Sugano held them to one run in seven innings and Cowser marked his return with an opposite-field homer off former teammate Eduardo Bazardo in a 5-1 victory over the Mariners at T-Mobile Park.

Heston Kjerstad drove in Coby Mayo with a double in the ninth, pinch-runner Jordyn Adams scored on Jackson Holliday’s single, and the Orioles improved to 23-36 with their first four-game winning streak since June 26-29, 2024. They’ve won seven of their last nine games and are 8-8 under interim manager Tony Mansolino.

Sugano delivered the rotation’s fourth quality start in a row and lowered his ERA to 3.04. He allowed five hits, walked one batter and struck out five.

SEATTLE – The Orioles are making their latest attempt to get healthy. This time, it involves Colton Cowser.

Cowser is in center field tonight for the first game against the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. He was reinstated from the injured list yesterday, leaving the Orioles with 11 players on the shelf.

Cowser hasn’t played for the Orioles since fracturing his left thumb on March 30 in Toronto. He completed a rehab assignment that consisted of three games with High-A Aberdeen and three with Triple-A Norfolk.

“Feeling good,” he said. “It was one of those things where, had to get some ABs and was able to do so. Was fighting the weather a little bit a couple of those days, but feeling good.”

Cowser went 6-for-11 with four doubles at Norfolk, but he wasn’t using statistics to measure his readiness.

SEATTLE – Colton Cowser was reinstated from the injured list yesterday and he’s playing center field tonight and batting sixth for the series opener in Seattle.

Jackson Holliday remains the leadoff hitter.

Coby Mayo is the designated hitter, Heston Kjerstad is in right field and Dylan Carlson is in left.

Ryan O’Hearn, the cleanup hitter and first baseman, is batting .329 against right-handers and the Mariners are starting three in the series. O’Hearn’s average is tied for fourth-highest among left-handed hitters versus right-handers in a minimum 100 plate appearances.

Tomoyuki Sugano has posted a 3.23 ERA and 1.063 WHIP in 11 starts. He’s got a 3.67 ERA and 1.223 WHIP in six home games and a 2.73 ERA and 0.876 WHIP in five road games.