Leftovers for breakfast

Jordan Westburg raised hopes with his reinstatement Tuesday from the injured list, and expectations soared when he hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth and came back last night with a double, walk and three-run homer.

Look who's back. Back again.

Westburg punished a fastball from Tigers right-hander Will Vest in the first game of the series and a sinker last night from right-hander Beau Brieske, but the Orioles need more production against lefties. The loss dropped their record to 4-14 against southpaw starters, including openers like the Tigers’ Brant Hurter.

Overall, the Orioles entered last night slashing .202/.277/.279 against left-handers. Westburg will be in the lineup most nights, and every time the Orioles are matched up against them.

“I think whenever a guy comes off the IL, you don’t expect him to carry us, so the expectation for Jordan after missing a month, he’s not going to carry us,” warned interim manager Tony Mansolino. “If he does, we’ll take it. But I think over time as he gets back to himself, yeah.

“We needed him last year when we were kind of living the nightmare (in) the second half and he was out with the (fractured) hand. So I think in due time he’ll get back to being himself and he’ll be a major impact in those scenarios for us.”

“It’s huge for Jordan to come up and just kind of relax,” said Cedric Mullins, who joined Westburg Tuesday on the active roster. “Obviously, he got off to kind of a slow start, as a lot of guys did. It happens. But for him to come back to an environment where getting some wins under our belt, the morale’s there, the team chemistry’s still there, it’s gonna be good for him.”

Westburg was stuck in an offensive rut, like so many others, before injuring his hamstring. He went into last night’s game batting .221 with a .275 on-base percentage in 102 plate appearances. But he was 11-for-28 with four doubles and two home runs in eight rehab games with Triple-A Norfolk, and last night concluded with Westburg hitting .232 with a .755 OPS. He’s on the upswing.

“It was no secret I was underperforming before I got injured and kind of searching for things offensively,” he said Tuesday. “I certainly didn’t figure it out, but I feel better than where I left off. The rehab, I tried to be honest with myself, gauge where I was at, how I felt, what I was looking for. Felt better toward the end of the rehab stint, so hopefully I can do something good here.

“I kind of went back to what I think makes me good and it’s just kind of being gritty in the box and making sure above all else that I have a plan and just try to execute that plan. I know that I’m not gonna have my swing every single day, so I think I just got back to going up there with a plan, trying to execute it, not being too hard on yourself.”

Addressing the media at his locker last night, Westburg said, “I'm just happy to be back here and be back competing with this group of guys and finding some success early is always nice. I'm not going to expect it out of myself. I kind of learned that early on in the season that I'm no good and it does no good for me to look up at the numbers and focus on results. So I just need to keep focusing on my process, focusing on helping these guys any way I can and just being a competitor with these guys.”

Westburg was banged up early in the season, dealing with multiple issues that former manager Brandon Hyde referenced many times without getting into specifics. Westburg said this week that he wants to be able to use all of his “tools,” which can only happen with good health.

“I think I learned more about how to handle my body,” he said of his stint on the injured list. “I’ve been dealing with some things all year and this gave me some time to kind of sit back and hopefully get all of those things right and come back feeling more like myself physically.”

The shuffling of players on the roster didn’t impact where Jackson Holliday hit. He’s in the leadoff spot despite Colton Cowser’s return and with Gunnar Henderson getting hot.

Holliday was atop the order again last night for the 26^th time this season.

“Jackson, we’re gonna play. Jackson’s playing every day,” Mansolino said.

“This kid’s got a chance to be a heck of a player, so Jackson’s gonna play against the vast majority of left-handed pitching, if not all of it.”

No one is impacted as much by Westburg’s return as Ramón Urías. The path to third base isn’t as clear anymore and second base opportunities are limited because of Holliday.

“Urí’s a heck of a player, and as you see Westburg show up, it probably affects him a little bit,” Mansolino said.

“Urí’s very capable at three positions, and really, he played a fourth, shortstop, in 2021 for about a month straight and played all right. He’s not gonna play there for us because we have other options, but you’ll see Urí at DH, you’ll see Urí come off the bench – third, second, possibly first base. Urí will get plenty of time and at-bats and it will be a really good role for him going forward, too.”

Urías showed his appreciation last night with a two-run homer and a single.

“Just trying to survive, you know?” he said. “Gotta do it one way or another. And just stay focused and stay ready for whenever they need me.”

* The Orioles get another left-handed starter tonight and it’s Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal, who has a 2.16 ERA and 0.816 WHIP in 13 starts, with seven walks and 105 strikeouts in 83 1/3 innings.

“Skubal’s one of the best in the game right now, and over the years here we’ve beat some of the best in the game,” Mansolino said. “If you’re asking if our players are in there scared that they’ve got to face Skubal tomorrow, I wouldn’t say that’s what it is. Do we know that it’s a challenge? Yeah, we know it’s a challenge.”

A left-on-left matchup worked in the Orioles’ favor last night with Henderson’s RBI single off Tyler Holton in the seventh.

* The Orioles optioned Heston Kjerstad on Tuesday with the idea of having him work on his approach at the plate and on his defense in the outfield. They didn’t consider stashing the glove and having him concentrate solely on his hitting.

“You don’t want to develop DHs,” Mansolino said. “If you develop a DH in the minor leagues, we are failing in every which way. So you need guys that can play a position. That’s absolute non-negotiable.

“If they get here and they can’t play a position because of the demands of playing defense in the big leagues, then you react. But organizationally nobody’s gonna be proud if we develop a DH.”