If the Orioles go on a run that lands them in the playoffs, they might reference last night’s game at Comerica Park as the turning point.

They’re never going to look at black squirrels the same again. The rodent should be honored before Game 1. There’s got to be a way to incorporate it into the ceremonial first pitch.

“The whole squirrel thing was nuts,” manager Craig Albernaz said in his post-game media scrum.

“He was fast,” Coby Mayo said. “Got his exercise in.”

It’s not every day that a squirrel races around the field while pitches are thrown and players run the bases. But the Orioles made their own move by getting within two games of the last Wild Card. Baseball is full of superstitions. Don’t change a thing.

Perhaps the Orioles caught the Tigers at the right time. They kept dropping hints that they weren’t going to lose.

Kyle Bradish allowed five runs and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings and it didn’t matter. The rotation experienced a rare stumble and the Orioles didn’t have a mark on them.

The bullpen came through again with 4 1/3 scoreless innings in an 8-5 win in the series opener. Yennier Cano entered in the fifth and retired the three batters he faced. Grant Wolfram retired all four of his batters.

The offense wouldn’t let the Tigers have a shutdown inning. They scored once in the second to cut the lead to 3-1 and the Orioles responded with a run in the top of the third. The Tigers scored twice in the bottom of the fourth and the Orioles answered with Leody Taveras’ solo homer and Coby Mayo’s two-run shot.

Tyler O’Neill hit his second pinch-hit homer this season when he batted for Dylan Beavers in the sixth.

Manager Craig Albernaz was pushing the right buttons, beginning with his lineup.

Jackson Holliday at shortstop? What was Albernaz thinking?

Well, Holliday went 4-for-5 and raised his average to .243 with a .746 OPS. Holliday’s fourth hit, before he struck out in his final at-bat, left him with a .340 average, .492 on-base percentage and .896 OPS this month. He was hitting .421 with a 1.031 OPS since July 8.

He’s probably returning to second base tonight. That’s fine. Henderson was the designated hitter and had a single and walk.

Mayo starting instead of Christian Encarnacion-Strand, and against right-hander Keider Montero? Well, Mayo went 2-for-4 with three RBIs, including his homer off right-hander Brenan Hanifee. He had a run-scoring single off Montero.

Cowser entered the game in the bottom of the sixth inning and raced into right-center field in the eighth to make a sensational diving catch of Zach McKinstry’s fly ball after Spencer Torkelson’s leadoff single against Andrew Kittredge. Kittredge threw a wild pitch, which would have been a much bigger deal if McKinstry reached base.

Even when Cowser isn’t hitting, he’s able to contribute with the glove. He has value.

Rico Garcia closing? The same Rico Garcia who allowed home runs in three straight appearances, including game-tying shots in the eighth inning on back-to-back nights against the Braves? Well, Garcia retired the side in order for his fifth save.

What might have seemed squirrely to some people worked out quite nicely last night.

Bullpen coach Hank Conger was asked Sunday whether reliever Garcia could be experiencing fatigue, which might explain some recent struggles.

Garcia increased his innings total to 46 last night. He threw a combined 34 1/3 with three major league teams last summer, but also 30 1/3 in Triple-A.

“I just think like with any reliever, obviously you’re gonna have to monitor that,” Conger said. “It’s tough when you are in the thick of it. So that’s always kind of a good balance. But with our relievers, not only am I really proud of how they’ve done on the field, but just the way they carry themselves off the field. The prep, their strength and conditioning, the recovery process.

“So giving them every opportunity to try to get some rest or find ways to have themselves recover is huge, especially with a couple of guys that have just come up to the big leagues. You learn that over the course of the year, over your own career. It’s just things along the way in the process of just becoming a major baseball league baseball player.”

*Heading into last night, the Orioles’ bullpen led the majors with a 1.45 ERA since the All-Star break. And then, they tacked on the 4 1/3 scoreless.

How much of an improvement are we talking about here? Orioles relievers had a 4.21 ERA in the first half that ranked 18th.

*The Orioles made tough plays in the field last night but also the routine ones, and they didn’t commit an error. It’s worth mentioning.

Another defensive miscue Sunday led to another unearned run, which raised the season total to 34 games.

A second unearned run broke a tie in the 11th inning with the automatic runner. Blame it on the rules.

The 65 unearned runs lead the majors. Next were the Pirates with 58 last night and Mets with 55.

The 31 errors since June 14 were second most in the majors after the Mets’ 35.

Shane Baz ended Sunday as one of four pitchers in the majors with 10 or more unearned runs allowed this season, joining the Yankees’ Will Warren (12), the Mets’ Nolan McLean (11), and the Twins’ Joe Ryan (11).

*This just in: I still don’t care about playoff odds, which change daily.

They carry the same worth as my fake Bitcoin.

*The Orioles return home for a weekend series against the Phillies. They’ve hit a home run in eight straight games at Camden Yards.

The streak is the second longest of the season after the 11 in a row from March 29-April 24.

*Here’s a leftover from the weekend:

Pete Alonso played in his 520th consecutive game, while the Braves’ Matt Olson played in his 885th.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it marked the first time that two players with active 500-plus streaks appeared in the same game since April 23, 2006 with the Orioles’ Miguel Tejada (938) and the Yankees’ Hideki Matsui (504).

The more you know …