Kyle Bradish has stopped by the Camden Yards clubhouse in between rehab starts, but yesterday was different.

Teammates looked across the room and saw their starting pitcher.

They waited a long time for it.

Bradish made his return from elbow reconstructive surgery and struck out 10 batters in six innings. He allowed a pair of solo home runs among his four hits, and he didn’t issue a walk. The sinker was on point.

Having Bradish on the roster again is exactly what this club needs, no matter the outcome.

“Obviously, when he has been healthy, he’s been unbelievable on the mound,” said shortstop Gunnar Henderson. “Just being able to get him back and get back to his form is going to be really huge for us down the road.”

Alex Jackson has faced Bradish in the past and struck out in both at-bats. He prefers to set the target.

“The stuff he has is unbelievable,” Jackson said. “He showed tonight that for his first start coming back, that’s really impressive what he was able to do. 

“He was definitely excited to get back out there on the mound again. You know, we talked beforehand and he was definitely really happy to be able to get back out there and kind of that adrenaline rush that you get, but he threw the ball really well. Obviously, a couple of unlucky pitches that they were able to put barrels on, but overall he threw the ball extremely well.” 

Tyler Wells isn’t far behind Bradish, with one more rehab game before he’s reinstated.

“Them just being able to get game reps and just getting that confidence back after missing pretty much a calendar year at this point, just want to get back out there and I guess prove to yourself that everything’s still healthy,” Henderson said.

“I feel like that’s the biggest thing because, speaking for myself, whenever you have, not their specific injury, but an injury in general, you just want to get back out there and get the game reps under your belt. I feel like that’s gonna be huge for them. Just getting those reps and taking it into the offseason confident and really taking off next year.”

* Henderson has blown past his slow start to the season.

Before going 0-for-4 last night, Henderson was slashing .306/.383/.502 with 19 doubles, three triples, nine home runs, 44 RBIs, 45 runs scored, 31 walks and 13 steals in 74 games since June 1. He had reached base in 17 games in a row.

Henderson leads the team in doubles (30), triples (five) and hits (132) and can become the first Oriole to rank first in all three categories in consecutive seasons since Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson from 1960-62.

He needs one more double to match his career high of 31 set last year, and is one stolen base away from consecutive 30-plus double, 20-plus stolen base seasons, joining Cedric Mullins (2021-22), Brian Roberts (2004-09) and Brady Anderson (1995-96) as the only Orioles to do it in consecutive years.

And to think, the season began with Henderson failing to break camp due to an intercostal strain. He hit .228/.268/.413 in 23 games in April.

“If you ask Gunn, he still probably thinks he’s not having a good year, which is crazy,” said interim manager Tony Mansolino. “I just looked him up on FanGraphs, I think he was like the 21^st-highest WAR (4.3). I know that’s baserunning and defense, too, but there’s a lot of hitting involved in that, as well. I think he’s been going through adjustments all year, trying to get back to his A swing, so to speak. Probably still hasn’t found it, but I think the great hitters in the game are able to produce without their A swing.

“I think, and I said it early on, I think realistically 600 plate appearances, if you have your A swing for 100 of them, it’s gonna be a really good year.”

* Of the many Orioles getting rookie attention this season, Jeremiah Jackson takes a spot near the back of the line.

Jackson isn’t a former top prospect who’s had an entire fanbase eager for his promotion. He put up good numbers in Triple-A, but they don’t guarantee a bump or regular at-bats.

Injuries and trades are creating opportunities, and Jackson is seizing the one in front of him. He has a hit in 11 consecutive starts and 13 of 14. He also delivered an RBI triple on Aug. 13 after entering in the seventh inning.

Jackson was batting .333 going into Monday’s series opener, when he went 1-for-4. Only a handful of Orioles rookies have posted that average over a full month in the last decade, per STATS.

Ryan Mountcastle, August 2021, .357
Ryan Mountcastle, September 2020, .333
Trey Mancini, June 2017, .340
Trey Mancini, May 2017, .342
Hyun Soo Kim, June 2016, .333

“The bat’s the big thing right now,” Mansolino said. “They’re really good at-bats. He hits the ball good. I love the flight of the ball. It’s a guy that’s driving the ball in BP.

“It’s line drive high-type doubles in BP. The swing is compact. It’s efficient. He uses the middle part of the field. Just really excited about him right now.”

Jackson hit his first major league home run Saturday, after Mansolino talked about the power in batting practice that hadn’t appeared in games.

Asked why he’s having success, Jackson replied, “It’s everybody that’s around me. Just coming through this org and being with a lot of good hitters and hitting coaches and just like a good team, it’s been good to feed off of people and see where I fit in and play.

“It’s been a long journey to be able to be up here, and to have some success in the short time I’ve been here, it’s been awesome. It’s been fun.”

It could lead to a spot on the Opening Day roster in 2026. Jackson should compete for the Ramón Urías role, except with more experience in the outfield.

“There’s positivity there,” Mansolino said. “He’s in the mix, there’s no doubt. Swinging the bat good. It’s a really long way to go. Usually, utility players are really good at multiple positions. The offense is good and we like that, but he’s also gonna have to play really good defense at a couple different spots.

“He’s shown some aptitude in the outfield right now, which is a big deal considering we just kind of threw him out there. … The next piece would be being able to show he can play some third base for us, and we’ve given him one shot over there. He made his plays. But we’re gonna have to play him at third here at some point, too.”

* Dylan Beavers has pushed Colton Cowser to center field since the Orioles promoted him, and after Mansolino expressed his preference for having Cowser in left.

Cowser has become Cedric Mullins’ replacement and is showing impressive range. Fangraphs calculated his defensive runs saved at 2, compared to -3 in 2023 and minus-1 last year.

Then again, his DSR in left is 7 this season.

“I’ll tell you, I was probably low man on him in center field two weeks ago and I told him that,” Mansolino said. “I’ve been very pleasantly surprised with what he’s done in center field. He’s playing a much more aggressive style of defense for me right now. It kind of started in left field in Chicago. Some of those plays up against the wall against the ivy, and he’s carried that over, even in spite of banging his head against the wall in Philly and getting a concussion.

“Really proud of how he’s playing. It’s a longer, lankier body that, when you see a longer, lankier body, they don’t look like they’re moving as good as the shorter, smaller guy. But he’s covering ground, and the metrics like him. I know we don’t always agree with those things. We talked about that a lot. But I feel like he’s kind of proving me wrong right now, and I really, really like that.”

* The Orioles started 21-year-old Samuel Basallo at first base last night and 21-year-old Jackson Holliday at second.

Per MLB.com, it was the first time that they played two infielders younger than 22 in the same game since April 9, 1959 with Brooks Robinson (21) at third base and Ron Hansen (21) at shortstop.