The gut check came early tonight for Orioles rookie Cade Povich.

The first three Cleveland batters reached against him – a leadoff single on an 0-2 pitch, a walk after getting ahead 1-2 and José Ramírez’s run-scoring single that had fans grumbling and a manager wondering how he’d cover the rest of the game if Povich didn’t stick around.

The inning lasted 31 pitches, far from ideal, but Povich struck out Josh Naylor on a sweeper and David Fry on a changeup after a double steal. Will Brennan flied out and the Guardians settled for one run.

They scored again in the second and the Orioles tied the game again in the third. Ramírez led off the sixth with a homer to give him the last word.

Brandon Hyde got 5 2/3 innings and 95 pitches out of Povich. Much more than the kid appeared capable of offering back in the first. But the offense has scored four runs in the last three games. Much less than what it usually does.

After losing three games over the weekend at Houston and getting swept for the second time this year by a combined 27-13 score, the Orioles are back at home tonight. They host the Cleveland Guardians in the opening game of a three-game series and seven-game homestand.

The Orioles (49-28, .636) have the third-best record in the American League and begin play tonight 1.5 games back of the division-leading New York Yankees.

When they faced the Phillies, they held the best record in the National League and the Yankees were atop the AL when the O's played them in New York. Tonight they host a Cleveland team that at 49-26 (.653) currently holds the best record in the AL and second-best in the majors behind Philadelphia.

Cleveland has won five in a row over Seattle and Toronto by a combined 33-12 score. Cleveland batters clubbed 12 homers and batted hit .273 in the win streak with a team OPS of .899 while scoring 6.6 runs per game.

Cleveland has scored at least six runs in each of those five wins. The last time the team won five consecutive games with at least six runs in each was in July 2019, last doing so in six straight in May 2018.

Heston Kjerstad marks his return to the majors by starting in left field tonight for the series opener against the Guardians.

Ryan O’Hearn is the first baseman and Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter. Ryan Mountcastle is on the bench.

Cedric Mullins is in center field and Anthony Santander is in right, which also puts Colton Cowser on the bench.

Gunnar Henderson has reached base in 30 straight games. Per STATS, the only other Orioles shortstop to do it in 30 or more consecutive games is Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. – twice at 30 in a row in 1986 and in 46 straight in 1998.

The Orioles won their last two games against Cleveland with their starters going at least seven innings with only one run allowed. The last time they got three consecutive starts like this against an opponent was in 2017 versus the Royals, per STATS. The last time against Cleveland was in 1978.

NEW YORK – The intense atmosphere didn’t get to rookie Cade Povich. He wasn’t rattled. But he didn’t know how long he could stay in it.

Four walks in the first two innings and a pitch count of 56 didn’t align for a long outing. But Povich settled down and retired nine batters in a row in his third major league start, coming within an out of qualifying for his first win.

The Orioles entered the bottom of the ninth with a chance to get one for themselves after leaving the bases loaded in the top half, but Anthony Volpe led off with a double against Craig Kimbrel and scored with one out on Giancarlo Stanton's game-tying single.

No wonder manager Brandon Hyde began his postgame media session by exhaling and shaking his head. Somehow it had worked out in their favor. The roughest terrain doesn't topple them.

Hyde doesn't always understand how they do it, but he'll just enjoy the ride as much as he can, even if it leaves him exhausted.

In Game 2 of this series between the Orioles and Yankees at Yankee Stadium tonight, a rookie making his third major league start faces the 2023 American League Cy Young Award winner.

It's lefty Cade Povich for the Orioles versus right-hander Gerrit Cole for the Yankees. Cole went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA last season with a 0.981 WHIP in winning his first Cy Young Award. He has now finished in the top five in the voting six times and second or higher three times.

He has 1,859 career innings on his resume compared to 11 1/3 for Povich. He has made 300 starts in the bigs to two for the O's southpaw.

But Cole is making his 2024 season debut after going on the 60-day injured list March 28 with right elbow inflammation. He made two starts at Double-A and one at Triple-A in rehab outings leading into tonight. In those games, he threw 45, 57 and 70 pitches for a combined 12 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and one earned run with no walks and 19 strikeouts.

Cole faced the Orioles twice last year, going 0-0 with a 3.75 ERA over 12 innings. In 12 career games and starts versus the Orioles, he is 5-3 with a 2.55 ERA and 0.940 WHIP, allowing a .203 batting average and .572 OPS. 

One pitcher tonight will be making his third MLB start while the other has made 300. One will be looking for his first major league win while the other has 145. O's rookie Cade Povich pitched 11 1/3 innings his first two starts while the Yankees' Gerrit Cole has 1,859 innings under his belt.

Povich can't even think about winning Cy Young Awards. He just wants to establish his MLB career. Not only has Cole finished in the top five for the Cy Young Award six times, he's been in the top two three times and was the AL Cy Young Winner just last year when he went 15-4 with a 2.63 ERA. Tonight, it's Povich against Cole in Game 2 of this series.

Reverse lock anyone?

The Orioles have gone 21 straight AL East series without losing one. But if they are to keep that streak going, they need to win the next two nights in the Bronx against the defending Cy Young winner in the American League one night and the next beat the pitcher in right-hander Luis Gil, who leads the AL currently in ERA.

Hey, the Orioles won their series at home with Philadelphia after losing the series opener on Friday night.

NEW YORK – If Cade Povich made a previous trip to New York, the memory isn’t sharp enough to cut through the fog.

“Maybe one time for like a night,” he said, “but other than that, no.”

Povich isn’t a tourist this week. His third major league start is coming tonight and he’s facing the team that’s blocking the Orioles from first place.

“It’s definitely going to be cool,” he said, certain that he hadn’t stepped inside Yankee Stadium before yesterday. “Knowing from watching games and growing up around baseball, it’s probably going to be a rowdy atmosphere, but at the same time probably pretty fun.

“We played in Regionals at Arkansas and it was pretty rowdy there, and I had a blast pitching there. Honestly, just real excited for it.”

The Orioles’ bats hadn’t even cooled Sunday afternoon and manager Brandon Hyde already was asked about the upcoming series against the Yankees. Fans hadn’t cleared the parking lots. Players hadn’t finished their showers and meals. Kids still ran the bases with music playing from “Frozen” and “The Little Mermaid.”

(If you have young children or grandkids, you know.)

Under the sea is fun. Being under the Yankees is not. But the gap has closed to 1 ½ games with the Orioles going 4-2 on their homestand.

The Orioles are 22-12 against teams currently above .500. The Yankees hold the best record in baseball at 50-24 despite losing back-to-back games in Boston. The matchup in the Bronx comes on the heels of a series against a Phillies team that has the best record in the National League.

"We get a day off first, which is well deserved and needed for a lot of our guys," said manager Brandon Hyde, his immediate response to a question about going to New York.

Orioles bench coach Fredi González took maybe one step away from the umpires gathered at home plate for the exchange of lineup cards and left-hander Cade Povich already had climbed the dugout steps and began his walk to the mound for his warmup tosses.

Teammates paused to let the rookie lead them.

He did a fine job of it after the game began.

Making his second major league start and first at home, Povich shut out the Braves over six innings before manager Brandon Hyde turned to a bullpen that wasn’t at full strength. Matt Olson turned on a Keegan Akin four-seam fastball and sent it 423 feet to right field for a game-tying two-run homer.

Akin put his hands on his hips in disgust. Povich wouldn’t get his first win. Colton Cowser wouldn’t waste his only at-bat of the night.

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.

Austin Hays is in left field again tonight after collecting three hits in the series opener against the Braves.

Hays is slashing .347/.377/.592 (17-for-49) since returning from the injured list on May 13. He has 10 hits in his last 21 at-bats.

Jorge Mateo is batting .353 when ahead in the count this season. He’s at second base again and Ramón Urías is at third. Jordan Westburg goes to the bench.

Cedric Mullins is in center field, putting Colton Cowser on the bench. Ryan O’Hearn is in right field and batting cleanup.

Anthony Santander is serving as the designated hitter.

When O’s rookie lefty Cade Povich makes his second big league start tonight facing Atlanta, his mound opponent will be a friend and former college teammate.

Right-hander Spencer Schwellenbach was a two-way player at the University of Nebraska. He and Povich were on the team together there in 2020 and 2021. Schwellenbach was both a starting shortstop playing behind Povich and also closed out some of his wins too as a late-inning reliever.

During the 2021 season, when Povich was 6-1 with a 3.11 ERA for the Cornhuskers, Schwellenbach hit .284 with a .862 OPS in 48 games at short. On the mound he went 3-1 with an ERA of 0.57 and recorded 10 saves.

In the 2021 MLB Draft, Atlanta selected Schwellenbach in round two, No. 59 overall. Minnesota selected Povich in round three, No. 98 overall.

Tonight, the two former Cornhuskers face each other on the mound at Camden Yards.

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 – For an Orioles team that hit seven homers and scored 17 runs in the first two games of the Toronto series, it was disappointing when the team then went a stretch of 12 innings without a run until the sixth inning yesterday.

Four late runs – two in the eighth and ninth innings – turned a 6-1 loss into one where the score was 6-5, Toronto. So the Birds lost a pair of one-run games to split the four-game series.

After the game they flew back to the United States, destination Tampa-St. Pete, for four games with the Rays beginning tonight.

The Orioles are now 39-22 overall. They are 13-6 versus AL East opponents and they are now 6-4 during a 14-game stretch against division opponents that ends with the series in Tampa.

The postgame comments yesterday showed the Orioles heaping plenty of praise on lefty Cade Povich after his MLB debut. The box score showed he gave up six runs over 5 1/3 innings. But the club knows that a three-run homer just made it out, a couple of bloops led to another run and two runs scored charged to his record after he left the game.

TORONTO – Lefty Cade Povich’s big league debut began in fine fashion on a sunny afternoon in downtown Toronto. He retired the first three batters he faced on just nine pitches. He fanned his first batter, left fielder Davis Schneider, swinging at an elevated 92 mph fastball.

Facing a Toronto Blue Jays lineup not as feared as it once was, Povich - ranked as the Orioles No. 8 prospect by Baseball America (and No. 99 in a new top 100) and No. 9 by MLBPipeline.com - put up a zero in the Blue Jays’ second as well.

But a pitcher who improved his walk rate this year with Triple-A Norfolk issued two free passes in the third inning. And then one pitch featuring some good hitting cost him in a game that ended in a 6-5 Toronto win.

First baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. got a 1-0 backdoor cutter on the outside corner and hit that ball where it was pitched. His three-run homer to right started the scoring today in front of 39,215 at Rogers Centre.

After the game Povich got props from his manager and the clubhouse for showing poise. They realized that four runs came via a 350-foot homer and a bloop, and that two more scored after he left the game.

TORONTO – Reporters' daily interest about the upcoming Orioles rotation naturally led to questions about what that rotation could look like for the upcoming Tampa Bay series. Manager Brandon Hyde today said that, as of now, the Orioles are yet to be determined for that entire series, which begins Friday night in St. Petersburg.

But he also, when asked, made an important clarification today on right-hander Kyle Bradish, whose next start is being pushed back. We don’t know when it will be. But Hyde was asked whether that move is simply more about extra rest or about physical concerns.

“Just extra rest,” said Hyde.

When asked if Bradish will skip a start, Hyde said, “We’re TBA. Any more questions on that?” he said with a laugh. But who could blame him for tiring of the constant media inquiries about who is pitching next?

Hyde also said yesterday that there may be several instances during this stretch of 30 games in 31 days when the club's upcoming rotation is to be announced at some future time.

Cade Povich makes his major league debut this afternoon in Toronto to close out the four-game series. His contract was selected from Triple-A Norfolk, and the Orioles optioned reliever Nick Vespi to make room on the active roster.

The 40-man roster is full.

Povich is wearing No. 37.

Jordan Westburg is leading off, with Gunnar Henderson sliding down to fourth. Connor Norby starts at second base for the third time in four games.

Austin Hays is in left field and Colton Cowser is in center.

TORONTO - For the Orioles, it has been a while since they scored so few runs and awhile since they suffered a walk-off loss.

But they dropped to 3.5 games out behind the surging Yankees in the AL East with a 3-2 defeat in the last of the ninth at Toronto. They previously had two walk-off losses on back-to-back days, April 6-7 at Pittsburgh.

They came into this game going 10-2 and scoring 75 runs the previous 12 games. Then they scored twice in the second inning and nothing after that in their lowest scoring game since producing one run in the second game of the series at St. Louis.

Toronto (29-32) produced its second walk-off win and 11th comeback win.

Even with a loss the Orioles are 6-3 in a 14-game stretch against AL East teams. Overall they have won five of seven and 10 of their past 13. Last night was just their second loss in their last 11 games at Rogers Centre.

TORONTO – Moments after confirming that O’s pitching prospect Cade Povich is in fact in Toronto and on the taxi squad for the Orioles, manager Brandon Hyde was unable (or perhaps unwilling) to provide the next date for a Kyle Bradish (1-0, 3.18 ERA) start.

“I don’t know yet, no,” Hyde said when asked if he has a day for Bradish’s next outing.

Bradish last pitched on Saturday at home versus the Rays. He presumably will not be on the mound tomorrow, which would have marked his spot in the rotation.

On May 26 versus the White Sox in Chicago, Bradish pitched seven no-hit innings on 103 pitches and lowered his ERA to 1.75. But pitching with an extra day of rest in that game with Tampa Bay he allowed five runs over 2 2/3 on 76 pitches.

Bradish’s season got a late start after he had a platelet-rich plasma injection in January to promote the healing of a right elbow UCL sprain.

The Orioles haven’t confirmed their starter for Thursday afternoon’s series finale against the Blue Jays. However, one of their top prospects is in the running.

He won’t be far from them.

Left-hander Cade Povich is headed to Toronto and will be placed on the taxi squad later today, according to a source, perhaps setting up his major league debut.

Povich was scheduled to start for Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Now he’s an option for the Orioles, who are undecided about Kyle Bradish’s status.

Bradish would be working on his normal turn Thursday, but manager Brandon Hyde told the assembled media yesterday that the club might push him back. If so, Bradish would open the four-game series against the Rays on Friday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. or pitch the following day.