The first road trip of the second half produced a 3-3 record for the Orioles, who fumbled a three-run lead in the ninth yesterday and won 7-6 in the 10th. They lead the Yankees by two games in the American League East during a stretch when they could have plummeted down the standings.

Maybe it isn’t the best division in baseball anymore.

Corbin Burnes remains one of the best pitchers and a very smart trade acquisition despite costing DL Hall and Joey Ortiz and likely being a rental. He was the stopper again yesterday before Craig Kimbrel’s blown save, holding the Marlins to three runs – the last scoring after he exited - in a season-high 7 1/3 innings for his 17^th quality start. He’s so good, his ERA actually went up from 2.38 to 2.45.

Burnes made his major league debut in Miami on July 10, 2018 and he recorded a six-out save.  He won a Cy Young Award three years later and could make it two this season.

That’s your Game 1 starter. That’s what they look like.

These things have a way of working themselves out. It’s more than just a catchy phrase suitable for stitching on a pillow.

Connor Norby was blocked at second base until he wasn’t. Injuries open doors and Norby is walking through one of them.

Jorge Mateo’s elbow injury is going to keep him off the active roster for an extended period. It’s called a “subluxation,” which is a partial dislocation. It corrected itself somewhere between Gunnar Henderson’s leg and the ground last night as they pursued a ball headed toward center field.

The Orioles haven’t determined whether Mateo needs surgery, but at least it isn’t a full dislocation. I’m not a doctor, but partial doesn’t seem quite as serious. However, it's a lot more than a mere 10-day absence.

In the meantime, here’s Norby, the No. 5 prospect in the organization who hit .297 with 21 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs, 57 RBIs and a .908 OPS in 80 games with Triple-A Norfolk but couldn’t get an extended stay in Baltimore. In pre-Mike Elias years, he would have been playing every day after probably receiving the organization’s Minor League Player of the Year Award. But it’s 2024 and the system is much deeper, making it harder for players like Norby to climb out of it.

The Orioles close out their road trip this afternoon in Miami, trying to avoid being swept by a team with the worst record in the National League, and get ready for another reunion with Manny Machado, whose only previous return to Camden Yards happened in 2019.

Their roster was adjusted again yesterday but didn’t involve a trade. Chayce McDermott had his contract selected from Triple-A Norfolk, reliever Bryan Baker was optioned and pitcher Jonathan Heasley was designated for assignment to create room on the 40-man roster. The move with Baker was made late Tuesday night.

Right shoulder inflammation prevented Heasley from pitching since June 11, when he started against Memphis and allowed two runs in 5 1/3 innings. He surrendered six runs and nine hits in 2 1/3 in his previous start at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but he was really good in May with 16 scoreless innings with the Tides.

Heasley also made one appearance with the Orioles that month and allowed four runs in one inning against the White Sox in Chicago. He was transferred to the 60-day injured list on Monday.

The injury should make it easier for Heasley to clear waivers and be outrighted if the Orioles want to hold onto him.

Let’s begin the day by trying to figure out what the Orioles are doing with their rotation. And why.

Chayce McDermott was on the 24-hour taxi squad yesterday in Miami and the Orioles withheld an announcement on tonight’s starter. Albert Suárez started last night, and he limped off the mound with assistant athletic trainer Patrick Wesley in the third inning after a 102 mph ground ball slammed off his lower right leg. Corbin Burnes is listed for Thursday afternoon and that’s set in stone, but tonight remained TBA prior to first pitch.

Oh, the drama.

(Burnes has gone at least six innings while allowing no more than four earned runs in his last 15 appearances, the longest streak by an Oriole since Dennis Martinez in 1978, per STATS).

The choices seemed to come down to McDermott tonight or maybe Cole Irvin returning to the rotation and McDermott having his contract selected and going into the bullpen. The 40-man roster is full, so space would need to be cleared.

The Orioles are moving Chayce McDermott from the taxi squad to Wednesday night starter in Miami, and they also are summoning infielder Connor Norby as a possible recall from Triple-A Norfolk.

Manager Brandon Hyde told the assembled media that McDermott would make his major league debut Wednesday as the new fifth starter. That seemed to be the plan all along. The spot was listed as TBA and there was no other reason to fly McDermott to South Florida.

What happened to Jorge Mateo was unexpected and led to Norby’s trip to Miami.

According to an industry source, Norby is joining the Orioles in case Mateo goes on the injured list after his collision tonight with shortstop Gunnar Henderson a ground ball up the middle in the third inning.

Mateo’s left arm bend backward at the elbow, a gruesome image captured on MASN. He was in obvious pain as he laid on the ground and eventually came out of a game that the Orioles lost 6-3.

The 2025 schedule is much kinder to the Orioles, in case you hadn’t perused it. Four days off in April, four in May, three in June, three in July along with the All-Star break, three in August and four in September.

They began the second half by winning two of three games in Texas and were off yesterday. Seems early after the break, but they won’t complain.

The offense remains hot and cold. The Orioles staggered into the break, scored a combined 17 runs in the first two games against the Rangers and were shut out Sunday for seven innings before Anthony Santander’s two-run shot.

Asked about the two-night outburst after the season was paused, co-hitting coach Matt Borgschulte said, “I think it’s a chance for guys to take a little bit of breath, like realize how much success we’ve had in the first half. And the recent struggles that we had are a thing of the past and we can come back from that.”

The past tends to bleed into the present. The Orioles went 3-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 15 Saturday and were 0-for-6 Sunday with seven left on base.

ARLINGTON, Texas - The grind of the first half finally caught up to the mailbag. It lacked energy. It stranded questions.

The break came at the ideal time.

Let's get to the latest edition of the beloved 2008 original while the Orioles are enjoying an off-day - after playing only three games to begin the second half.

There are worse places to be than Miami. I had my fun during those South Florida spring trainings. Let someone else have a turn.

The post-break doesn’t bring serious changes to the mailbag. Same rules as the first. I don’t need to improve the clarity, shorten the length or adjust the style.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles won’t begin the second half with a sweep.

Former Orioles minor league catcher Jonah Heim hit a three-run homer off Dean Kremer today in the fourth inning and the Rangers avoided an early crash to post a 3-2 victory before an announced crowd of 31,808 at Globe Life Field.

The Yankees lost again today to remain two games behind the Orioles in the American League East.

An offense that built 4-0 leads in the first and second innings the past two nights couldn’t hurt left-hander Andrew Heaney, who entered with 10 losses but also a 3.79 ERA. They went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranded five during his five scoreless innings.

Anthony Santander hit a two-run homer off David Robertson in the eighth after Adley Rutschman walked to reduce the lead to 3-2. Santander’s 27^th left him one behind team-leader Gunnar Henderson, and he totaled eight RBIs in the series.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Ryan O’Hearn has his left knee wrapped after being hit last night by a 95.1 mph fastball from Rangers reliever Daniel Robert. He’s out of the lineup but would have been on the bench with the Orioles facing left-hander Andrew Heaney.

O’Hearn stayed down as head athletic trainer Brian Ebel and manager Brandon Hyde rushed onto the field in the seventh inning. O’Hearn finally rose to his feet, walked to first base and refused to come out.

“Got a lot of family here, I don’t get to play here very often,” said O’Hearn, a Florida native who grew up in Texas and attended Sam Houston State. “Had probably 15 people in the stands, so I wanted to stay in the game, and glad I did.”

The other reason was the home run that O’Hearn hit off José Leclerc in the ninth inning. He lifted a slider 387 feet to left-center field and made it around the bases.

“Felt good,” he said. “I’ve been driving the ball to left field pretty well lately. I know in Camden that’s probably an out, but to be able to get it out opposite field here, it feels good.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles go for the sweep of the Rangers this afternoon with Adley Rutschman leading off, Austin Hays in left field and Ryan Mountcastle at first base.

Gunnar Henderson is on the bench.

Hays is 5-for-12 with two doubles and two home runs against Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney. Mountcastle is 4-for-8 with two doubles and two homers.

Jordan Westburg is batting second and playing second base. Jorge Mateo is the shortstop. Colton Cowser is in center field and James McCann is catching.

Dean Kremer is the No. 3 starter in the rotation coming out of the break. He’s gone four and 4 2/3 innings in his last two outings.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Reliever Vinny Nittoli has become a collector of baseball memorabilia.

He didn’t set out to make it a hobby. His professional career led him to it.

“In my man cave I have probably every hat from every team,” he said yesterday afternoon from the visiting clubhouse at Globe Life Field. “It’s been like 30 with minor leagues and major leagues.”

The Orioles reached agreement with Nittoli, 33, on a minor league contract on July 2 after the Cubs signed the veteran reliever and designated him for assignment the following day. Nittoli refused an outright assignment to Triple-A Iowa and became a free agent.

Nittoli appeared in seven games with the Athletics this season and allowed two runs in eight innings. He appeared in one game with the Mariners in 2021, two with the Phillies in 2022 and three with the Mets last summer.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles were a little more patient tonight before pouncing on a Rangers veteran starting pitcher. They actually waited until the second inning.

For the post-break Orioles, that’s considered slow out of the gate.

Nine batters came to the plate against three-time Cy Young winner Max Scherzer and four runs scored to match last night’s total in the first against Nathan Eovaldi.

Scherzer was removed before the third, Texas native Grayson Rodriguez celebrated his homecoming with a quality start and the Orioles continued to thrive at Globe Life Field with an 8-4 victory before an announced crowd of 38,410.

Cedric Mullins hit his 10^th home run, Jordan Westburg his 16th and Ryan O'Hearn his 12th, and the Orioles posted their 60^th win, a total they reached last season on July 22. Their lead in the division increased to two games.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Kyle Stowers walked through the outfield early this afternoon, pausing to chat with a few teammates. He returned to the clubhouse, put on his street clothes, grabbed his backpack and headed out the door again.

Stowers was optioned for the second time this season, the predictable counter move to Heston Kjerstad’s reinstatement from the seven-day concussion injured list.

The Orioles recalled Stowers on May 13, optioned him June 19 and brought him back July 13 after Yankees closer Clay Holmes drilled Kjerstad on the ear flap and emptied both dugouts and bullpens.

The movement and roster construction have limited Stowers to 37 plate appearances with the Orioles. He’s 11-for-36, including a pinch-hit single off Holmes Sunday that fueled a three-run rally and walk-off win.

That’s the only at-bat for Stowers during his return to the majors. He was a defensive replacement last night.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles reinstated outfielder Heston Kjerstad from the seven-day concussion list today and optioned outfielder Kyle Stowers to Triple-A Norfolk.

Kjerstad had a full workout yesterday and was cleared to play. He’s in right field tonight.

Stowers is 11-for-36 with four doubles and a home run in 19 games with the Orioles. He had one at-bat after replacing Kjerstad on the roster, and his single off Clay Holmes ignited Sunday’s ninth-inning rally against the Yankees that produced a walk-off win.

Anthony Santander is the designated hitter tonight. Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base and Ryan Mountcastle is on the bench.

Colton Cowser is in left field and Cedric Mullins is in center. Ramón Urías is playing third base, with Jordan Westburg at second.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Ryan O’Hearn dealt with the disappointment of losing the All-Star vote at designated hitter and failing to make the American League team as a reserve. He enjoyed the time home instead, got some rest and arrived at Globe Life Field ready for the second-half grind.

O’Hearn joined the viewership for the Home Run Derby and the game. He hung on every swing.

“Fun to watch all the way around,” he said yesterday. “Obviously, I would have loved to have been a part of it, but fun for me to watch our guys and pull for our guys, cheer for them on that big stage.”

Gunnar Henderson was the top seed in the Derby with 28 homers but hit only 11, the lowest total in the eight-player field.

O’Hearn has his own Derby experience going back to 2015 in the South Atlantic League while playing for the Lexington Legends in the Royals system.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles already confronted the team that swept them in the Division Series, winning three of four games in Baltimore. However, tonight’s matchup brought them back to the scene of the final crime.

The visiting clubhouse at Globe Life Field was a bit livelier this afternoon than on Oct. 10, when a 7-1 loss to the Rangers put the finishing torch to their championship aspirations.

“You had to bring that up?” manager Brandon Hyde joked earlier today.

“That was not a fun series in any way. We played good here besides that, though. So regular season, good memories, postseason, bad memory.”

Nathan Eovaldi won the decisive Game 3, but the Orioles jumped him early tonight. Adley Rutschman and Colton Cowser hit two-run homers in the first inning, Anthony Santander homered twice and Corbin Burnes registered his 16^th quality start in a 9-1 victory before an announced crowd of 36,336.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Danny Coulombe and John Means are visiting teammates at Globe Life Field this weekend, another reminder of how much they are missed.

Means is recovering from his second Tommy John surgery and has his left elbow in a brace. Coulombe underwent a procedure to remove bone chips from his left elbow.

Coulombe said his recovery is “going along really well.”

“I feel like it’s right on track. We’re pretty optimistic about it,” he said.

“We’re still just working on a little bit of range-of-motion stuff. But it’s coming along really well. And, hopefully, soon we can start some catch and then just get it rolling.”

ARLINGTON, Texas – Corbin Burnes follows his scoreless first inning in Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Globe Life Field with tonight’s start against the Rangers that begins the second half.

Burnes made his first career start against the Rangers on June 27 at Camden Yards and held them to one run with nine hits over seven innings. Adolis García homered off Burnes.

According to STATS, Burnes is the only pitcher in the modern era with a career WHIP under 1.00 on the road in a minimum 50 starts. His WHIP is 0.99.

Colton Cowser is in left field tonight and Cedric Mullins is in center. Jorge Mateo is the second baseman and Jordan Westburg is at third.

Adley Rutschman (59) and Anthony Santander (58) had at least 55 RBIs at the break, just the third pair of switch-hitting teammates to do it after Cleveland’s José Ramírez and Francisco Lindor in 2019 and Carlos Baerga and Eddie Murray in 1994, according to STATS.

ARLINGTON, Texas – They sat next to each other in their new Orioles uniforms, with freshly signed contracts to remain teammates beyond college.

Infielder Griff O’Ferrall and catcher Ethan Anderson were shoulder-to-shoulder during this morning’s video call with media and quick to smile at the opportunity to go from the University of Virginia to first-day picks in the 2024 draft.

“It’s pretty crazy,” O’Ferrall said. “Especially, we were roommates for the past two years, so definitely are very close. We were definitely in shock when we found out we were going to the same team. But we went from living together and now we’re going to be spending more time together, so it doesn’t change much for us. But it’s definitely exciting.”

“Griff has been one of the closest teammates for me the last three years,” Anderson said. “I don’t know if it’s like I haven’t left UVA or this is just like the next chapter and we’re still together.”

The Orioles chose O’Ferrall with the 32^nd-overall selection, a prospect performance incentive compensation reward after Gunnar Henderson was named American League Rookie of the Year. Anderson arrived in the second round, the 61^st-overall selection and the first of four catchers grabbed by the organization.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Time to get back to work.

The All-Star break was more restful to some players than others, but it offered a needed reset for a team that’s 9-13 since leaving the Bronx on a high note.

The Orioles worked out last night at Globe Life Field, where Corbin Burnes, Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Anthony Santander and Jordan Westburg played in the All-Star Game. Burnes is rejoining the club after flying back to his Arizona home that night.

Whether the Orioles repeat as American League East champions is probably the top question hanging in the air. They’d need to experience a monumental collapse to finish outside the playoff field, but yes, it’s a mathematical possibility.

We’ll lump those two together. Do they make the playoffs, and if so, are they atop the division?