The request isn’t a small one. Manager Craig Albernaz knows it. But the advice is sound and his players try to follow along.

Focus on each game and don’t become distracted by the standings. Don’t get bogged down by the math.

Ignore the chatter about it, not matter how loud it becomes.

To do so is to overlook that the Orioles fell 3 ½ games back in the Wild Card chase with last night’s 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Braves. They’re now tied with the Tigers, and the Astros passed them.

“Yeah, I challenge our guys to block out the noise all the time,” Albernaz said yesterday afternoon. “I’ve said this a bunch over the past few days, but the baseball season is constantly trying to trick all of us into overreacting, right? And it’s so long, it’s a grind of a season, and our guys have done a great job of staying with that day-to-day mindset and not getting too caught up in the future or the past or what everyone else is saying about where we’re at. But also, everyone in that clubhouse knows what we have to do to ultimately get where we want to go, and that’s the only goal and that’s the only focus.”

The Orioles led 3-2 in the eighth, but a game-tying home run by Drake Baldwin, and Matt Olson’s three-run shot in the 10th spun the game.

The Orioles seem more likely to buy than straight-up sell based on their proximity to the Wild Card and a weaker American League, but let’s see where they are next week. They went 4-2 on the last road trip to Houston and Boston, a stretch that could have crippled their optimism. Losing two of three to the Red Sox had to disappoint, but the overall record shouldn’t be taken lightly.

The current series against the Braves and three games in Detroit will keep testing the Orioles. They have three at home against the Phillies next weekend, which leads to the Aug. 3 deadline. President of baseball operations Mike Elias should already know what he wants to do by that point. Trade talks don’t begin on Aug. 2.

A lot is being written, and I agree, about the possibility of the Orioles ordering the trade deadline combo platter – my wording. Add to the roster but also look past 2026 by seeking controllable players in exchange for expiring contracts. But there’s an obvious complication.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers and left fielder Taylor Ward are two of the biggest chips as they approach free agency. Better to get players back than to just let them walk, though there’s always the qualifying offer and draft pick compensation. But how serious can the Orioles be about pursing a playoff berth when subtracting two important players from the roster?

Rogers is back to pitching like he did in 2025. He allowed two runs in seven innings last night and has surrendered two or fewer in seven consecutive starts.

Perhaps no one is tuning out the noise as much as Rogers, something he learned to do during the bad times after the Orioles traded for him.

“It really just goes back to controlling what I can control,” he said. “I love this group. We’re right there. It was a tough one today, but I trust us to come back tomorrow and get the job done. And hopefully when the deadline comes and goes, I’m still here. But at the end of the day, I can’t control that. I just go out there, try to be consistent with my job and help the boys win.”

Ward singled and scored twice last night, though he had to lament the bases-loaded grounder with two outs in the ninth after getting ahead 3-0. That one hurt.

More scouts were in the stands last night to watch him, including one from the National League East. Teams needed a right-handed hitting outfielder are filing reports.

Rogers and Ward were tied yesterday for fifth-highest fWAR on the team at 1.8. Ward’s 2.4 bWAR ranks first. Using them in trades while refusing to concede a postseason berth could just spin the team’s wheels, or worse, move it backward, depending on the return.

I’m familiar with multi-tasking, but this is an extreme example. Make deals that can get you into the playoffs but also build part of the roster for 2027, which requires parting with key contributors in the present.

And before you use Austin Hays as an example in 2024, he was batting .255/.316/.395 with 13 doubles, three homers and 14 RBIs in 63 games when the Orioles traded him to the Phillies for reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache. Hays’ playing time was reduced and his injury history – he missed nearly a month with a calf strain – was an issue. He heated up after returning from the IL, but he was working in a platoon role.

Ward is the everyday left fielder with a knack for getting on base. The home runs are obviously down, but his .385 on-base percentage leads the club and his 80 walks are 26 more than runner-up Pete Alonso.

The Orioles apparently would like to land a starter, at least one reliever – ideally from the left side – and another hitter. The question is, at what cost? Is it more than prospects?

*The Orioles played a video tribute to Kyle Bradish after the top of the second inning and congratulated him on the five-year contract extension. Bradish raised his cap.

“When the news first broke, our clubhouse was pumped up for him,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “It’s really cool for K.B. and it’s great for our organization and it’s great for the city to lock up someone like K.B.

“Obviously, he’s such an elite talent on the mound, but the person, the competitor, the teammate he is, is what makes this really special.”

Not everyone in baseball was sold on Bradish remaining a starter after the Angels drafted him. He heard the talk. He knew the lowered expectations.

“I was looked at as probably a bullpen guy, couldn’t throw a lot of strikes,” Bradish said. “Now being able to look back at the work that I put in with our staff and everybody, to be here at this moment, it just makes it a lot easier. And you just think about how it’s paid off.”

Elias referred to Bradish as an “atypical prospect.”

“He used to have this kind of pinwheel, over-the-top delivery, and he kind of sprayed the ball around, but he had really nasty stuff,” Elias said. “There was some disagreement about how to project his future because of that. I think a lot of scouts through maybe he was going to the bullpen ultimately.”

The Orioles dug into Bradish while seeking trade partners for Dylan Bundy and found that he could attack both sides of the plate, had success against left-handed hitters, had multiple breaking balls and could be developed into a long-term starter.

“And,” Elias said, “that’s proven to be the case.”

*Christian Encarnacion-Strand stayed hot since joining the Orioles, stroking a two-run double in the second inning and a two-run homer in the 10th.

Encarnacion-Strand is 8-for-20 with a double, three homers and eight RBIs with his new team, and there’s more.

He’s the first player in Orioles history with at least three multi-RBI efforts in his first five games with the team.

This is the second time in his career that he’s totaled eight RBIs in a four-game span.

*Cade Povich started Game 1 of Triple-A Norfolk’s doubleheader yesterday and allowed one run and three hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out five.

Double-A Chesapeake’s Joseph Dzierwa allowed one run and three hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked none and struck out three.

The Florida Complex League team clinched a spot in the playoffs.