The Orioles have expanded their roster and also subtracted a couple of players.

The unpredictable is part of their charm.

Heston Kjerstad was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to join another outfielder, Luis Robert Jr., a waiver claim yesterday who hadn’t reported.

That’s one too many, but the club placed Christian Franklin on the 10-day injured list with left hand inflammation to make room.

Left-hander Cade Povich was optioned after the Orioles recalled and started him last night, and Albert Suárez had his contract selected from Norfolk after signing another minor league deal. He’s been designated for assignment four times.

The bullpen will hold nine players with the Orioles selecting young left-hander Luis De León’s contract from Norfolk. The organization’s No. 5 prospect per Baseball America and No. 7 per MLB Pipeline was converted from starter to reliever for this purpose.

Kjerstad hasn’t played in the majors since June 6, 2025 before the Orioles optioned him and shut him down with an undisclosed illness. He began the 2026 season on the injured list with a hamstring strain but is batting .289 with 17 doubles, 11 home runs and a .799 OPS in 79 games with Norfolk.

Kjerstad went 3-for-4 Saturday in Durham but wasn’t in Sunday’s lineup. His absence wasn’t related to a pending call-up, per a source.

It also wasn’t decided at that point, but the Orioles circled back to Kjerstad and put Franklin on the IL.

Another hot bat is coming to them. Kjerstad hit .291/.333/.519 in 22 games in July and .311/.400/.527 in 21 games in August. He also slashed .290/.335/.506 this season against right-handers and .341/.438/.512 with two outs and runners in scoring position.

The Orioles chose Kjerstad with the second-overall pick in the 2020 draft out of Arkansas. He’s hit .218/.284/.365 in 106 major league games over parts of the last three seasons.

Kjerstad gives the Orioles another left-handed hitter to go with Colton Cowser, Dylan Beavers and switch-hitting Leody Taveras.

Robert’s right-handed bat and defense in center field replace Franklin, who went 5-for-34 after being acquired from the Nationals at the trade deadline.

A six-man rotation supposedly was on the table yesterday, along with everything else, but Povich’s brief appearance was done to push back other starters.

De León, 23, posted a 4.33 ERA in 19 starts with Double-A Chesapeake and a 6.50 ERA in seven games (three starts) with Norfolk. He’s walked 53 and struck out 121 in 99 combined innings. He allowed three runs in two-thirds of an inning in his most recent appearance.

De León received a $30,000 bonus in 2021 out of the Dominican Republic during the international signing period. He’s wearing No. 81. Roberts was assigned No. 88.

Two spots needed to be opened on the 40-man roster and the Orioles designated pitchers Cameron Weston and Nick Raquet for assignment. Raquet suffered an elbow injury in his last appearance. Weston made his major league debut with a scoreless relief inning on May 28.

The Orioles finally made it back to .500 and aren’t showing any signs of going in reverse.

They’ve won eight of their last 10 games and can climb above .500 tonight for the first time since April 14, when they were 9-8. They’re a half-game behind the Guardians for the last Wild Card.

The Rockies appeared to have a rain-delayed walk-off win last night, except Colton Cowser made a remarkable leaping catch at the wall to rob Jake McCarthy of a two-run homer.

“It’s the best play I’ve ever seen in person,” manager Craig Albernaz said in his postgame media scrum.

Add it to a bunch of other clutch defensive gems lately that again make you wonder if it’s just meant to be with this club. The Tyler O’Neill diving catch in right field, Jackson Holliday’s diving stop of a ground ball, Beavers outfield assist at home plate. They just keep coming, and it doesn’t matter whether the Orioles are playing bad teams. These are losses spun into victories.

The Orioles have gone 10 games in a row without committing an error. They hadn’t built a streak that long since May 2023.

There’s steady and then there’s spectacular.

“Happy for the team. Happy for me,” reliever Andrew Kittredge told the media after Cowser’s game-saver. “That’s probably the coolest play I’ve ever seen in person. In that scenario, to win the game like that, I’m speechless. I don’t know what to say. That’s incredible.”

The Orioles can grab the third Wild Card spot with a win tonight and Guardians loss at home against the Blue Jays, who trail by 1 ½.

“Vibes are definitely high,” Cowser said. “Feels like we’ve been playing some pretty good baseball but, honestly, I think a lot of guys in this room would tell you I think the best baseball is ahead of us. Feel like we can continue to clean up some of the at-bats. Our pitching has been great, so I think a lot of guys in here would tell you that we’re still not playing our best baseball. So we’ve been able to scrap by and win some games, but I’m looking forward to the stretch here.”

Kyle Bradish is making his first career start at Coors Field. He allowed two runs in six innings in his only career appearance against the Rockies in 2023 at Camden Yards.

Bradish has increased his strikeout-to-walk rate against right-handed hitters from 7.7 percent over his first 14 starts to 16.3 percent over his last 12.

The Orioles are 17-9 on the road since the All-Star break, the most wins in the majors.

The bullpen has allowed one earned run or fewer in the last 11 games for a 0.98 ERA in the span, surrendering only four earned in 36 2/3 innings.

The Orioles are facing another starter with poor numbers. Right-hander Gabriel Hughes is 0-6 with a 6.61 ERA and 1.448 WHIP in his first 10 major league games, including nine starts. The Rockies drafted him 10th overall in 2022 out of Gonzaga University.

Hughes was called up to the majors on July 3. His ERA blew up after he allowed seven runs in four innings in back-to-back August appearances in Arizona and San Francisco.

Hughes has posted a 4.18 ERA and 1.183 WHIP in five home games and a 9.00 ERA and 1.708 WHIP in five road games.

Colorado’s pitching ranks last in the majors in ERA (5.47), WHIP (1.52), opponent average (.288) and slugging percentage (.486) this season, but it held the Orioles to two runs last night.

The Rockies have lost 13 of 16.

*Scoring change: Jackson Holliday led off in an Aug. 25 game in St. Louis and reached on what was scored a throwing error by pitcher Matthew Liberatore. The call has been overturned and Holliday is now credited with a single.