OAKLAND – A home run and walk in the first inning last night and a leadoff single and an error in the second threatened to detonate Albert Suárez’s start.

A runner stood on third base with one out. With his typical calm demeanor, Suárez struck out the next two batters to escape the jam and retired 12 in a row and 17 of his last 20.

Suárez allowed two runs in six-plus innings, and Orioles starters have surrendered only four in the last 23 1/3.

The Orioles began the series ranked first in the American League and second in the majors with a 3.42 ERA. Their 3.28 rotation ERA also was first and second, respectively.

They held those spots after last night’s 3-2 win at Oakland Coliseum, the staff at 3.40 and rotation still 3.28. The starters have allowed two earned runs or fewer in eight of the last nine games.

OAKLAND – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde grew up in Santa Rosa, about an hour away from the Oakland Coliseum. He attended games with his father and friends, recounting those days as some of his fondest memories. Rickey Henderson stole bases at a record pace. Dennis Eckersley closed out games. The Bash Brothers hit tape-measure home runs and slammed their suspiciously massive forearms in celebration.

“There was some really good baseball being played here for a long time,” Hyde said, “and some great, great teams that played here.”

Not anymore.

The last-place Athletics are moving to Las Vegas but will relocate to Sacramento for the next three seasons until their new home is ready. The Orioles are making their final stop here. They might get a little sentimental during batting practice, but that’s it.

They’d like to put a bow on a sweep and offer it as a going-away present.

As the Orioles play the Athletics in Oakland tonight, beginning a three-game series, they can only hope this trip there goes as well as the last one to Oakland. 

Last August, they won there by scores of 9-4. 7-2 and 12-1, outscoring the A's 28-7 in the series sweep. Their batters produced 42 hits and six homers in the series batting .350 with an OPS of 1.002. Their pitchers allowed just those seven runs with a 2.25 series ERA and .632 OPS against.

The Orioles have three straight wins at Oakland by five runs or more, and their longest streak of such games versus any opponent is four. They won four in a row by five runs or more at the White Sox (1969), Royals (2002-2003) and Red Sox (2004).

The Orioles went 6-1 against Oakland last year. But the Athletics have already topped that win total, going 2-1 in a series at Baltimore April 27-29. Oakland won the series opener 3-2 in 10 innings before a 7-0 O's win and Oakland's 7-6 victory in the series finale.

The Orioles lost 7-3 yesterday at Seattle but took two of three in that series. The Orioles are 19-6-3 in series for the season and are 8-3-2 in 13 road series. They have a road record of 26-15 and are 18-10 in series-opening games. 

Albert Suárez figured it out.

A two-start slump circled the drain tonight, with Suárez regaining the effectiveness that made him so valuable to a club with a bundle of pitching injuries.

Súarez shut out the Rangers over a season-high six innings, Colton Cowser homered for the second time in two nights and the Orioles claimed a 2-1 victory before an announced crowd of 27,666 at Camden Yards.

Craig Kimbrel recorded his 18^th save and 435^th of his career, and the Orioles won their third game in a row after five consecutive defeats. Their record improved to 52-30.

Owner David Rubenstein danced with the Oriole Bird on top of the dugout during the seventh inning stretch and tossed caps to fans. The good times rolled.

The Orioles are nearing the end of a stretch of playing 30 games in 31 days since May 31. Even with the recent five-game losing steak, the team is 16-11 (.593) in this span with three games left in this series with Texas remaining before Monday's off-day to end this grueling span.

The Orioles have won series in this difficult stretch versus the Rays (twice), Braves, Phillies and Yankees. They split a four-game set in Toronto and lost series to the Astros and Guardians.

The six teams that would qualify for the American League playoffs if the season ended today are the Orioles, Yankees, Guardians, Mariners, Twins and Royals. The Birds are 6-1 in series against those clubs, going 15-7 overall.

In the first game between the Orioles and Rangers since Texas swept three in a row last October in the AL Division Series, the O's won 11-2, hitting four homers. Right-hander Corbin Burnes got the win on the mound, allowing one run over seven innings to now be 9-3 with a 2.28 ERA. He has 11 quality starts in his past 12 games with an ERA of 2.09 over that stretch.

Jordan Westburg's two-run double in the first gave the Orioles a 3-0 lead. Heston Kjerstad hit a two-run homer in the third and Cedric Mullins hit a two-run shot an inning later. The O's got solo homers from Adley Rutschman in the seventh and Colton Cowser in the eighth.

The Orioles placed Corbin Burnes on the paternity list today and recalled left-hander Matt Krook from Triple-A Norfolk. The bullpen has an extra reliever tonight.

Burnes can be away from the team for three days. Reliever Jacob Webb went on the paternity list on Opening Day.

The news comes after Burnes registered his 13th quality start last night by allowing one run over seven innings in an 11-2 win over the Rangers.

Krook was acquired in spring training from the Yankees for cash considerations. He debuted last summer and made four appearances, allowing 11 runs in four innings.

He’s appeared in 26 games with Norfolk and posted a 3.71 ERA and 1.350 WHIP in 26 2/3 innings, walking 17 batters and striking out 31. He’s surrendered only two home runs.

HOUSTON – A recent run of strong starts during an overall good season for right-hander Albert Suárez hit a speed bump in New York a few days ago. Today in Houston, it was quite a bumpy ride again for the hurler who took an ERA of 1.61 into that start at Yankee Stadium.

He allowed three runs and walked five in 3 2/3 innings in the Bronx. He was much more around the plate today, maybe in the zone too much early on as the Astros came out swinging against him.

Houston scored four runs on six hits in the last of the first this afternoon and rode that big inning to a 8-1 win behind 15 hits and a solid outing by left-hander Framber Valdez as they sweep this three-game series.

The O’s hit town riding high, coming off Thursday’s 17-5 victory and series win at Yankee Stadium. They had gone 14-6 the previous 20 games with series wins over the Rays, Braves, Phillies and Yankees but didn’t win once this weekend at Minute Maid Park.

At 49-28, they are swept for the second time this year (also May 20-22 at St. Louis) and head home to host Cleveland on Monday night.

HOUSTON – When Orioles right-hander Albert Suárez took the mound to face the New York Yankees on Tuesday night, he was a pitcher on a real roll.

He was 3-0 with a 1.61 ERA and had an ERA of 1.08 over his previous nine games. He had been big for the Orioles, both out of the bullpen and in the rotation.

But that night in the Bronx was not his normal day.

He walked five Yankees and gave up three runs over 3 2/3 innings as the Orioles lost the series opener. It was his shortest start of the season and a season high in walks.

As he got ready to make his next start, which comes today at Houston, Suárez felt what went wrong in that game in New York can be a quick fix.

NEW YORK – Albert Suárez walked into the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium this afternoon, turned left and stopped. His eyes did a quick scan of the lockers. His name was nowhere to be found.

Suárez casually spun in the other direction and smiled. He was in a row straight ahead with a bunch of the other pitchers.

He had worked through his first jam.

More would come later, and controlling the Yankees was much harder than locating his uniform.

Suárez didn’t make it out of the fourth inning, Jordan Westburg injured his left hip and the Orioles lost to the Yankees 4-0 before an announced sellout crowd of 47,429. Exactly how they did not want to begin an important series.

From April 29 to May 2, the Orioles took three of four from the Yankees in Baltimore, allowing two runs or less in each of the four games, six runs total. New York batters hit just .177 with a .556 OPS and had seven extra-base hits in that series.

The Orioles were 20-11 when that series ended, leading the Yankees by one game atop the American League East.

But since May 3, the Yankees have gone 30-11, which is the best record in the majors in that time and opened a 1 1/2-game lead on the Orioles, who gained two games on Saturday and Sunday.

But even in playing so well, they have not been able to shake the Orioles, who have gone 27-13 over that same span to tie for the second best record in the major leagues in that stretch.

Tonight the clubs open a three-game series at Yankee Stadium with New York at 50-24 and Baltimore at 47-24.

From May 23-27, the Orioles won five games in a row, taking four straight at Chicago against the White Sox and the next game in the next series. Now they have matched their season-long win streak by winning five in a row again. They swept four at Tampa Bay and took the homestand opener last night against Atlanta.

Tonight, they look for a season-high six straight wins in the second of a three-game series with the Braves.

The Orioles (44-22) have the second-best record in the American League, playing .667 ball. They trail first-place New York (48-21) in the American League East by 2 1/2 games. The Yankees beat the Royals 10-1 last night, have won 11 of their past 13 and are 22-6 since May 11. The O's are 19-10 since that same date. 

The Orioles keep mostly winning to keep pace with the Yankees, with the teams having a three-game series looming beginning next Tuesday in New York. 

Right-hander Albert Suárez and four relievers teamed on the four-hit shutout Tuesday night, the Birds' sixth shutout of the year and second in their past four games. Their 33 shutouts since the start of the 2022 season rank as second-most in the AL in that span and are tied for fourth-most in the majors behind the Dodgers (36), Padres (35) and Mariners (34). In five seasons from 2017-2021, the O's tossed 28 shutouts, fourth-fewest in the big leagues.

Albert Suárez turned, watched and wondered. Breath held and heart rate accelerated.

The ballpark was challenged to hold Sean Murphy’s fly ball in the second inning. It had the sound and look of a three-run homer – the expected outcome everywhere except Camden Yards, per Statcast tracking. Instead, Austin Hays retreated to the wall, reached up and made the catch. Couldn’t fit a sheet of paper between him and the padding.

This is where a start and a game can spin.

The Orioles came within inches of falling behind against former All-Star and Cy Young runner-up Max Fried, but 392 feet and 103.9 mph weren’t sufficient. They batted in the bottom half of the inning, the first two Orioles reached and Jorge Mateo marked his return to the active roster by launching a two-strike curveball into the bullpen.

Confirmation that 402 feet and 101.3 mph can get the job done.

After an eight-game road trip – ending with a four-game sweep in St. Petersburg against Tampa Bay and a 6-2 record – the Orioles' next homestand begins tonight. 

It will be a challenging one as they face Atlanta (35-28) and Philadelphia (45-20)- the clubs with the fourth-best and best records in the National League.

This year the Orioles are 8-9 versus National League teams, going 2-3-1 in those series. In order, they went 1-2 at Pittsburgh and then 2-1 at home against Milwaukee. They were 3-0 at Cincinnati and 1-1 at Washington. They were 2-1 in Baltimore against Arizona and 0-3 at St. Louis.

The Orioles improved to 6-1 this season against Tampa Bay with their four-game sweep, their first-ever four-game road sweep of the Rays. Baltimore won those games by a combined 25-7 score. The O's produced 42 hits, including eight doubles, four triples and nine home runs. In their past 10 games they have hit 25 homers, including hitting two or more eight times. They are 30-4 in 2024 when hitting two or more home runs.

With their earlier four-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox, the Orioles have two four-game sweeps in one season for the first time since 1987. The Tampa Bay sweep was their fifth this season of three games or more.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde didn’t wait to field the first question in yesterday’s pregame media session in the visiting dugout at Tropicana Field. He beat reporters to the punch, sharing Kyle Bradish’s status and the rest of his starters for the Rays series in one quick quote.

Bradish threw a bullpen session earlier in the day, which seemed to eliminate him from consideration for this afternoon. But that was incorrect.

It was light work, he felt good and he’s pitching later today.

Everyone exhale in unison.

Get rid of the injury theories and paranoia. The Orioles just wanted to give Bradish extra rest after last Saturday’s outing. They’re protecting the elbow and also trying to provide breathers for everyone in the rotation.

TORONTO – The O's came into Wednesday night looking for their third straight win in Toronto, and a series-clinching win. The script was set just for that, as they took an early 2-0 lead, but the offense fell flat after the second inning and the Blue Jays walked off the O's to win 3-2 in front of 27,929 at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles fall to 39-21 with their third walkoff defeat of the year after two very early on April 6 and 7 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tonight's walk-off was aided by a miscue in the field.

Justin Turner led off the ninth against O's closer Craig Kimbrel with his third hit of the night, a single on an 0-2 pitch and was replaced by pinch-runner Cavan Biggio.  

The miscue followed shortly after. Kimbrel tried to pick off Biggio, but his throw went off his body and into right field, allowing Biggio to get into scoring position. Then he moved to third, advancing on an Alejandro Kirk fly-out. 

Runner on third, one out, and now the winning run was 90 feet away as the infield came in. Kimbrel then faced the contact-oriented Isiah Kiner-Falefa. 

TORONTO – After two good nights for Orioles’ bats at Rogers Centre, producing 7-2 and 10-1 wins, the Birds look for three in a row against the Blue Jays tonight as this series continues.

Last night’s win improved the Orioles to 13-4 (.765) in American League East games and they are 3-1 versus the Blue Jays. The O’s also hold a 13-4 mark against the Blue Jays since the start of last season. And the Orioles are 9-1 in their past 10 games at Rogers Centre with a plus-39 run differential, outscoring the Blue Jays 66-27 in those games.

The Orioles are 6-2 in the first eight of 14 straight games within the division, playing in order, the Red Sox, Rays, Jays and Rays again.

The Orioles' plus-88 run differential for the year ranks third-best in the majors and second in the AL. The New York Yankees are first at plus-111. And New York (43-19) continues to lead the division by 2.5 games over the Orioles. The red-hot Yankees have won six in a row, 10 of 12 and 17 of their past 21 games.

Toronto had won five of its last six and nine of the past 14 heading into this series. But with Tuesday’s loss the Blue Jays are 28-32 and fall to 7-10 in division games. They have scored two runs or less 23 times this season including twice in this series.

Jordan Westburg is starting at second base tonight and Connor Norby is out of the lineup after homering last night for his first major league hit.

Norby is the 12^th player in club history whose first hit is a home run.

Ramón Urías is playing third base. Kyle Stowers is in left field, Cedric Mullins is in center and Ryan O’Hearn is in right.

Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

Ryan Mountcastle homered twice last night and is 29-for-91 (.319) with seven doubles, eight home runs, 26 RBIs and a 1.044 OPS in 24 career games at Rogers Centre.

TORONTO – For a team that has sent five starting pitchers to the injured list already this year and just recently lost both John Means and Tyler Wells for the season, seeing TBA listed as the Orioles' starters Wednesday and Thursday in this series presented some intrigue.

But today, O’s manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that right-hander Albert Suárez (2-0, 1.57 ERA) will start tomorrow against the Blue Jays and righty Kyle Bradish (1-0, 3.18 ERA) could go on Thursday.

“We are still TBA for Thursday. Probably announce that sometime tomorrow. But Suárez for tomorrow,” said Hyde.

Hyde was asked if there are any health concerns with Bradish.

“No, we’re considering giving him an extra day (of rest) or two," he said. "Just kind of from how he is feeling. But we are just monitoring it daily. So we are keeping that TBA right now."

Albert Suárez made another start with the Orioles last night. Cole Irvin closes out the Rays series on Sunday and is unlikely to do more bouncing between rotation and bullpen.

A minimum of five starters are needed on a major league staff. The Orioles want to expand it to six but injuries have created an unsettled situation.

Dean Kremer’s right triceps injury is improving but he might go on a brief rehab assignment. John Means and Tyler Wells are undergoing elbow surgeries within the next few days and won’t pitch again in 2024, crushing blows for them and the team.

A six-man rotation? The Orioles have fingers crossed that they can keep their quintet from crumbling.

A knee-jerk response to torn elbow ligaments is to burn up the phone lines and make a trade. The Orioles don’t have immediate plans to do it, though executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said he’s “in contact” with other teams.

The season shifted past the one-third mark for the Orioles tonight. It also dumped them into a treacherous stretch of 29 games in 30 days, the only breather coming on June 17, wedged between series against the Phillies and Yankees. The two teams with the best records in baseball.

How they responded tonight again illustrated why they also belong among the finest.

They pitched, they made plays in the field and they eventually hit in the clutch. Another division opponent was on the wrong side of it.

Austin Hays came off the bench to deliver a game-tying single in the sixth inning, Jorge Mateo doubled to score two more runs, and the Orioles defeated the Rays 3-1 before an announced crowd of 27,364 at Camden Yards.

Craig Kimbrel recorded his 13^th save and 430^th of his career to take sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list, and the Orioles improved to 36-19 after winning for the seventh time in eight tries.