HOUSTON – The homer hose is curled up like a snake on the Orioles’ bench, retaining its name and purpose. Only water is poured into it unless the celebration is tied to a clinching. And it can strike at any moment.

Ryan O’Hearn chugged from it in the first inning tonight, and Austin Hays took his turn in the third. Hays guzzled again in the seventh, as did rookie Heston Kjerstad. Hydrating in Houston and hoisting the Orioles closer to a division title.

O’Hearn and Hays accounted for five early runs, twice providing leads, and the Orioles kept mashing in a 9-5 victory over the Astros before an announced crowd of 35,050 at Minute Maid Park.

The magic number is eight to claim the first American League East title since 2014. The Rays also won and remain 2 ½ games behind the Orioles.

The bullpen covered 4 1/3 innings, including two by Jack Flaherty, and the Orioles won their 95^th game and 31^st series. They’ll attempt to record their 10^th sweep before flying to Cleveland.

Now 6-1 at Houston since the start of the 2021 season, the Orioles can win the series tonight if they take Game 2 of this three-game set at Minute Maid Park.

The Orioles (94-56) lead the American League East by 2 1/2 games over Tampa Bay (92-59) and the Birds have a magic number of nine to clinch the division championship.

On Sunday the Orioles trailed heading to the last of the eighth, ninth and 10th innings and won. Last night they trailed at the end of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, yet won. They beat two different playoff teams in those games, going 2-0 when trailing after eight innings. Through Saturday, they were 1-46 when behind at the end of eight.

The Orioles now lead the major leagues with 48 comeback wins, with Cincinnati second (46) and Philadelphia (41) third.

In winning three in a row, Baltimore has outscored the Rays and Astros by 21-11.

One day ahead of the start of a showdown series with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Orioles are wrapping up their three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Orioles (91-53, .632) lead the American League East by 2.5 games right now over the Rays, which won 5-4 this afternoon against the Twins. The Orioles beat the Cardinals 11-5 Monday night but were held to nine hits in a 5-2 loss last night where they went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Before their offense was held down last night, the Orioles had scored 48 runs in the previous five games, 74 in the last nine and 155 in the previous 22 games.

The Orioles, who have 18 regular-season games left, lost for just the second time in the last 10 games. Overall they have won 14 of 19, 17 of 23 and 20 of 28 games. They are 28-12 in the last 40 games.

The Orioles are 43-27 at home, 37-18 since the All-Star game, 8-3 in September and 24-19 versus National League clubs. They have a .558 win percentage versus the NL and .663 (67-34) against the AL.

Jordan Westburg stays in the Orioles lineup tonight and is batting fifth against left-hander Drew Rom.

James McCann is catching again, with Adley Rutschman serving as designated hitter. Gunnar Henderson is playing third base and Jorge Mateo is the shortstop.

Aaron Hicks is in center field, with Cedric Mullins on the bench.

For the Orioles
Adley Rutschman DH
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Anthony Santander RF
Austin Hays LF
Jordan Westburg 2B
Gunnar Henderson 3B
Aaron Hicks CF
James McCann C
Jorge Mateo SS

Kyle Gibson RHP

Nineteen games remain for the Orioles, but it feels like the first time for John Means.

The left-hander gets back on the mound tonight, finally past his Tommy John surgery and pulled muscle in his upper back and the litany of questions about his recoveries and status. He doesn’t need to say that he’s fine starting or relieving or attempt a guess at his return date.

Means wants to start. He’s a team player and will go along with the program, but yes, he definitely wants to be in the rotation. And the return date is Sept 12, 2023.

The ovation for Means could bring down the center field roof deck bar. Windows could shatter in the warehouse. Jack Flaherty could smile.

(I kid. He’s a serious guy. It’s OK.)

West Coast, East Coast. Home or road. American League East or outside of the division. Doesn't seem to matter much. The Orioles' relentless pursuit of winning carried on Friday night at Fenway Park.

The Orioles' 11-2 blowout of the Red Sox improved their record to 89-51 (.636). An 11-11 finish would net them 100 wins, but for now, they are on a 103-win pace.

Two O's teams ever won that many:

* 109 wins in 1969
* 108 wins in 1970

Remember those March over/unders that listed the Orioles at 76.5 wins for this year?

BOSTON - Kyle Bradish must want to keep his ERA at 3.03. Must like the whiff of a palindrome.

Bradish allowed two runs in six innings last night for the third start in a row and fourth out of five. He registered his 16^th quality start of the season and raised the Orioles’ total to 61. They lead the majors with 44 since June 1.

Are they getting close to the club’s single-season record?

Not at all.

Starters don’t work as deep into games and must complete at least six innings with three runs or fewer allowed to meet the criteria.

BOSTON – Orioles closer Félix Bautista played catch again today, increasing the distance on flat ground during his second session after a brief pause.

The club is downplaying the significance of it.

Bautista also threw in Anaheim while on the injured list with discomfort in his right elbow, described only as a “right UCL injury.”

“We’re going to see how he feels,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “We’re just kind of monitoring it day-to-day. It was just kind of a see how he feels, play a little catch today.”

Asked if Bautista throwing is a good sign, Hyde said, “I wouldn’t put any emphasis positive or negative about it. He was playing a little bit of catch, kind of seeing how he feels today.

BOSTON – The Orioles are a season-high 37 games above .500 and four games ahead of the Rays in the American League East as they reach the final stage of their road trip at Fenway Park.

They’ve won five in a row, seven of nine, 11 of 14, 14 of 18 and 25 of 35. On the line this weekend is a streak of 84 consecutive multi-game series without being swept.

Gunnar Henderson is the shortstop tonight against the Red Sox. Ryan O’Hearn is batting cleanup as the designated hitter, followed by first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

Austin Hays is in left field. In 18 games since Aug. 15, Hays is batting .338/.413/.646/1.059 with eight doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs.

Adam Frazier is playing second base and Ramón Urías is at third.

ANAHEIM - On the night the Orioles blew out the Los Angeles Angels 10-3 to complete a three-game sweep and win their fifth straight, two players that had strong first halves had big nights.

Both right-hander Kyle Gibson and outfielder Austin Hays have been looking to get it going and last night showed signs that both could be doing just that.

Hays has been swinging it well recently and had a 4-for-4 night with a double, two singles, a homer, three runs and four RBIs. He is now batting .288 with a .799 OPS.

At the All-Star break, Hays, a 2023 All-Star, was batting .314 but that dropped to .279 in mid August. In July he hit .162 with an OPS of .446.

Now in 18 games since Aug. 15. he is batting .338/.413/.646/1.059 with eight doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs. The Orioles are 13-5 in those 18 games.

ANAHEIM – For the second night in a row the second-place Tampa Bay Rays posted a win earlier in the night that the Orioles would later match. Tonight, the Orioles’ 10-3 romp over the Los Angeles Angels in front of 29,021 meaning they not only swept this series but maintained their season-high 3.5 game lead over the Rays atop the AL East.

The Orioles scored five early runs tonight and then added some late-game longballs to enjoy a much more comfortable win than last night when they were behind after eight innings and had to pull it out in the tenth.

Now 88-51, the Orioles are 37 games over the .500 mark for the first time since 1997. They have won five in a row on this road trip after losing the trip opener Friday in Arizona. Overall, the Orioles have won seven of nine, 11 of 14, 14 of 18 and 25 of the last 35 games.

They improved the American League’s best road record to 46-25 and are 34-16 in the second half.

Tonight they recorded their ninth series sweep and eighth of three games. 

ANAHEIM - Most of the time this year, but not all, when the Orioles won the first two games of a three-game series, they won the third game to complete the sweep.

While the Orioles have gone 84 straight series without being swept, they have nine sweeps of their own. They have seven three-game sweeps and one of two games in the 2023 season. 

They can add to their list of sweeps tonight at Anaheim against the Angels after posting wins by 6-3 and 5-4 in 10 innings at Angel Stadium.

On their recent homestand, the Orioles twice won the first two games of a series, but they lost the third both to Colorado and the Chicago White Sox.

For the year the Orioles are 7-4 in the third game of a series where they won the first two and had a chance for a sweep.

The Orioles will try for their ninth sweep of the season tonight with Adley Rutschman serving as the designated hitter, Ramón Urías playing second base, and Jordan Westburg moving back to the bench.

Aaron Hicks is in center field, putting Cedric Mullins in a reserve role.

Gunnar Henderson is slugging .727 against Angels' fastballs this season and .362 against other opponents’ fastballs, per STATS. He’s the third baseman tonight.

The Orioles registered their 44^th comeback win last night, tied with the Reds for most in the majors. They’ve won four games in a row and 10 of 13 to improve their record to 87-51, and they maintain a 3 ½ game lead over the Rays.

Kyle Gibson makes his 29^th start. He’s 13-8 with a 5.15 ERA and 1.340 WHIP in 162 2/3 innings. His 172 hits lead the American League.

Because my mailbag hates dry heat and cross-country flights, I’m answering more questions today from home and waiting to join the Orioles in Boston.

I go where it goes.

You understand how this works after 15 years. How it’s a sequel to the beloved 2008 original.

You want heavy editing? Go to a movie. I don’t tamper here. We’re crazy with clarity, sinful with style, bold with brevity, loony with length, ga-ga over grammar.

Also, my mailbag expands like a September roster and yours splits like the back of Ye’s jacket.

The Orioles have two three-game sweeps in their past eight series. On the homestand that ended Wednesday afternoon, it was close to being four of the last eight.

They won the first two games against Colorado but did not sweep and won the first two by a combined 18-3 score against the Chicago White Sox but did not sweep. 

But they won all three series and went 6-3 on the homestand. As they headed for a flight to Phoenix after yesterday's game, their lead was two games over the Rays pending Tampa Bay's result last night. 

Their lead was two games when the homestand started. The Rays are playing good baseball right now, but so are the Orioles.

"I think you look at a 6-3 homestand, we won all three series, so never going to complain about that, you feel good about that," said Orioles' manager Brandon Hyde.

A third fly ball landed on the other side of the fence today and an angry fan sitting near the Camden Yards press box couldn’t contain his emotions. Didn’t want to try.

“It’s the White Sox!” he yelled, the exit velocity of his words immeasurable.

A team that didn’t bring much energy to the series, lost the first two games by a combined 18-3 score and fired two senior members of the front office last week.

A team that fell behind by four runs this afternoon in the bottom of the first inning.

Kyle Gibson surrendered four in the top of the second and three more in the third, and the Orioles lost 10-5 before an announced crowd of 17,723 to deny them the sweep.

With victories by 9-0 and 9-3 in this series, the Orioles can record a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox with a win this afternoon at Camden Yards.

The Orioles (83-49), who matched last year's win total with last night's win, lead the American League East by 2 1/2 games over Tampa Bay.

Baltimore has won all three series on this homestand and would finish 7-2 with a win today. They are seeking their ninth series sweep and their eighth in a three-game series. 

This season, the Orioles have three-game series sweeps versus Detroit, at Toronto, versus Kansas City, at Minnesota, at home against Miami, versus the New York Mets and at Oakland. A sweep today would give the Orioles their third sweep in the last eight series.

The Orioles are now 27-13-3 in series play for the year and 14-7-1 in home series.

Kyle Bradish is named the starter for tonight’s game against the Rockies, the line moving again while the Orioles wait on Jack Flaherty.

No one who is new to the rotation is anticipated at this point. The same crew, one of the distinct differences from the past.

The Orioles have used only eight starting pitchers this season, the third-lowest total in the majors. And that includes Keegan Akin, who worked one inning as an opener on May 31 against the Guardians. He’s on the 60-day injured list.

The other starters are more memorable: Bradish, Flaherty, Kyle Gibson, Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer, Grayson Rodriguez and Cole Irvin.

The Blue Jays and Nationals were tied for fewest with seven heading into the weekend. The Twins, Brewers, White Sox, Cubs and Angels were ahead of the Orioles with nine.

Anthony Santander broke into the majors as a Rule 5 pick in 2017, playing in only 13 games. He appeared in 33 the following season, again making him a brief teammate of Adam Jones. Crossing paths more than settling into a deeper relationship.

Jones was gone by 2019, when Santander hit 20 doubles and 20 home runs to begin his ascension to impact player, but an impression already was made.

It didn't take long. Jones never needed a lot of time to leave an imprint.

The memories come back to Santander with today’s news that the five-time All-Star is returning on Sept. 15, presumably on a one-day contract, to retire as an Oriole.

“As a teammate, great, and his personality, awesome,” Santander said. “Thank God I got an opportunity to get to the big leagues and have him here, learn from him. How he prepared for the game to be able to compete every night. I think he brought a lot here to the Orioles and I was so happy having him as a teammate. I call him ‘The Jefe.’ He was really good with us.”

The Orioles are looking for another series win tonight as they host the Toronto Blue Jays to wrap up a three-game series. Toronto won in 10 innings 6-3 Tuesday night while the O’s won 7-0 last night on a four-pitcher, five-hitter.

It started with the starter.

Right-hander Dean Kremer pitched six scoreless on five hits with five strikeouts. He improved to 12-5 with an ERA of 4.31. He has an ERA of 3.06 over his past nine starts. Jacob Webb, Yennier Cano and Shintaro Fujinami finished the outing retiring nine in a row. Webb has thrown 8 2/3 scoreless on two hits with 12 strikeouts in nine games as an Oriole.

AL wins leaders:

13 - Zach Eflin, TB
12 - Dean Kremer & Kyle Gibson, O's, Chris Bassitt, Toronto