SAN FRANCISCO – In the first two games of this series at Oracle Park – where they had gone 1-1 – the Orioles scored just three runs on nine hits versus the San Francisco Giants. They scored in just two of their 18 innings at bat in those games and were scoreless going into the third inning today.

But suddenly the runs came in a bunch. The Orioles scored six times on four hits, three walks and an error in the top of the third as they beat the Giants 8-3 to record another series victory and get their two-city road trip off to a winning start.

Now 37-22 overall and 20-10 on the road, the Orioles improved to 6-4 in rubber-match games. They also improved to 13-5-1 in 19 series. They didn’t secure their 13^th series win last year until their 28^th series, on July 13.

The O’s big third inning began with catcher James McCann drawing a six-pitch walk off the Giants' starter, right-hander Anthony DeSclafani, who had walked nine over 67 1/3 innings coming into this outing. McCann advanced to third on Jorge Mateo’s double, just his second extra-base hit (both doubles) his last 24 games. Adam Frazier’s sac fly to center made it a 1-0 lead.

Adley Rutschman kept the rally going with an infield hit, his 11th infield hit of the year. Anthony Santander popped out, but Austin Hays flared a single into right field for a 2-0 lead. An Aaron Hicks walk loaded the bases and when Ryan Mountcastle walked on four pitches, the O’s lead was 3-0.

SAN FRANCISCO – Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson exited last night’s game in the third inning with lower back discomfort, but the club is confident he will not need to go on the injured list. He is not starting today, but manager Brandon Hyde did not rule out the chance he could play in the game.

“He is feeling better today,” Hyde said pregame. “So, getting treatment right now. Little bit unsure if he’s available off the bench or not. Off-day will do him good tomorrow and we should see him back in there against Milwaukee.

“We are confident (it’s not an IL situation). He is definitely trending better from last night. Waiting to see if he can even go today.”

With Henderson not starting, Josh Lester will make his O’s debut today against the Giants, batting seventh and playing at third base. He hit .282/.339/.549 with nine doubles, two triples, 14 home runs and 50 RBIs in 52 games with Triple-A Norfolk. His second and last major league game was Sept. 6, 2022 with the Tigers in Anaheim. He is 0-for-5 as a big leaguer.

“Gunnar would have been in there today if he could go. But it does give Josh an opportunity to start here, and (Anthony) DeSclafani’s splits against righties and lefties are pretty significant. So Josh will start, and let’s see if he can deliver a couple of hits for us," Hyde said.

SAN FRANCISCO - After a 4-0 loss last night in which right-hander Alex Cobb shut down the O's bats for 7 2/3 innings, the Orioles try to get back in the win column today in the series finale at San Francisco.

Baltimore (36-22) won here 3-2 Friday night and is now 19-10 in road games and 10-10 all time against the Giants.

Second baseman Adam Frazier will lead off again today. He is batting .217 in six games this season when leading off. Austin Hays will bat cleanup again and Josh Lester, called up on Saturday, will make his O's debut batting seventh and playing third base.

Gunnar Henderson, who left last night's game with lower back discomfort is not in the lineup, and after the game last night manager Brandon Hyde said he was day-to-day.

For the Orioles

As the Orioles braced for the extended loss of center fielder Cedric Mullins to a strained groin muscle, knowing that further tests would confirm his placement on the injured list but relieved that the news wasn’t worse, they pondered their options for replacing him on the active roster.

They couldn’t consider Triple-A outfielders Colton Cowser and Kyle Stowers, who were on the injured list. They could recall an infielder to provide depth while others offered support in the outfield corners, leaving center to Austin Hays and Ryan McKenna, but shortstop Joey Ortiz wasn’t available due to some sort of illness that’s kept him from playing since his last demotion.

Aaron Hicks was a free agent after the Yankees designated him for assignment and released him, and executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias expressed interest prior to Mullins’ injury. And the price certainly was right, with the Orioles paying on the prorated major league minimum.

But beware of accepting the role of center fielder with the Orioles. Mullins strained his groin. Hays was out of Wednesday’s lineup because of an illness, which showed in his face later as he shuffled to his locker with one of the athletic trainers. Hicks made his debut with the club, reached base three times and exited with left calf cramps.

One scenario that the Orioles didn’t consider, of course, was promoting Heston Kjerstad from Double-A Bowie. Many fans wanted it. I’m guessing that a few thought it could happen.

SAN FRANCISCO – After an uplifting opening game of this series and a Baltimore win by 3-2 Friday night, by mid-game tonight the Orioles were down three runs and one player. It didn’t go as well as last night.

Right-hander Alex Cobb got rolling against his former team while his current one scored three runs in the last of third and beat the Orioles 4-0 in front of 32,416 at Oracle Park. The series, now tied 1-1, will be decided here tomorrow afternoon.

Orioles rookie infielder Gunnar Henderson left tonight’s game when he was replaced by Ramón Urías, who went to third base for the last of the third. The team announced that Henderson exited due to lower back discomfort.

Henderson, who hit a go-ahead home run in the seventh inning last night, batted once tonight and struck out on a Cobb splitter in the top of the second. He entered tonight hitting .203/.330/.386/.716 with six homers and 15 RBIs.

The injury might have occurred when Henderson, from third base, threw out Mitch Haniger on a grounder in the last of the second. The MASN cameras showed Henderson grimacing after the play.

SAN FRANCISCO – The Orioles added infielder/outfielder Josh Lester to their roster today as bullpen lefty Danny Coulombe went on the bereavement list. O’s manager Brandon Hyde expects Coulombe, who has 2.08 ERA in 26 games, to miss only the final two games of this series with the San Francisco Giants. He should return for the Orioles' series at Milwaukee, which begins Tuesday.

As for adding Lester, Hyde said the schedule of upcoming starters the O’s will be facing helped lead them in his direction to fill that roster spot.

“I'm excited for Josh,” Hyde said today in the visitors' dugout at Oracle Park. “He swung the bat so well in spring training for us, off to a good start in Triple-A. We're running into a string of right-handed starters these next handful of games. With the off-day here in a couple of days, we feel like we're in good shape, bullpen-wise, to be able to add another left-handed bat, and the guy is really swinging the bat well in Triple-A, and we're excited to have him.

“We had a lot of options going into the game yesterday knowing we were going to lose Danny. We had three of four scenarios and we had to see how the game played out last night,” he said of his roster, which for now carries 14 position players and 12 pitchers. 

The team moved bullpen right-hander Dillon Tate to the 60-day injured list with a right elbow flexor strain to create room for Lester on the 40-man roster.

SAN FRANCISCO - With a 3-2 win in the series opener on Friday night, the Orioles can win their series against the San Francisco Giants with a victory tonight at Oracle Park.

The Orioles (36-21) will again bat Adan Frazier leadoff with Austin Hays hitting cleanup and playing left field. Ryan O'Hearn is in the lineup again too, but this time in right field batting eighth. Ryan Mountcastle, who is 7-for-38 his past 10 games, was off Friday but returns to the lineup tonight at first base and batting sixth.

The Orioles would be 13-5-1 with a series win this weekend. 

For the Orioles

Adam Frazier 2B
Adley Rutschman C
Anthony Santander DH
Austin Hays LF
Gunnar Henderson 3B
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Aaron Hicks CF
Ryan O'Hearn RF
Jorge Mateo SS

The Orioles placed left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe on the bereavement list today and selected infielder Josh Lester’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk.

Reliever Dillon Tate was moved to the 60-day injured list with a right elbow flexor strain to create room for Lester on the 40-man roster.

Coulombe struck out the side last night in the seventh inning to lower his ERA to 2.08.

An off-day on Monday could limit Coulombe’s absence from the Orioles to two games. They’re carrying 12 pitchers tonight and 14 position players.

Lester, signed to a minor league deal on Dec. 6, was batting .282/.339/.549 with nine doubles, two triples, 14 home runs and 50 RBIs in 52 games with Norfolk. His second and last major league game was Sept. 6, 2022 with the Tigers in Anaheim.

Mike Devereaux spent 12 years in the majors and played everywhere in the outfield, with center his most dominant position. He climbed fences and crashed the late-night highlights after arriving in Baltimore in 1989, when the Orioles shocked the industry by going from historically worst to contending until the final weekend.

Devereaux worked as a guest instructor at spring training in February and was struck by some similarities with this year’s club, which began its series in San Francisco last night with the third-best record in baseball and serious intent to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

“I got to meet these guys and I can see the confidence within them, and I can obviously see the talent,” he said this week. “They’re a young team, kind of like in ’89, and you see the drive. I had a feeling, and I told them, when Mike (Elias) said this is not a rebuilding year anymore, it changed everything. It’s like, ‘we’re ready to start winning.’”

The Orioles must keep it going while Cedric Mullins is on the injured list with a strained right groin muscle.

An impressive collection of players have skillfully patrolled center for the Orioles, most notably Hall of Famer Paul Blair, and Devereaux ranks Mullins highly on the all-time list.

SAN FRANCISCO – With right-handers Dean Kremer of Baltimore and Logan Webb of San Francisco settling into a real pitcher’s duel after both had early trouble, runs were suddenly hard to come by tonight.

But not on one big swing for the Orioles off the bat of rookie Gunnar Henderson in the top of the seventh.

Webb entered the inning having retired 12 of the last 13 batters and the only runner to reach in that span got on not via a hit, but catcher’s interference.

Henderson’s bat has slowly but surely started to come to life and there was more evidence of that tonight. On Tuesday he had driven in a season-high three runs and in May, when his OPS was .740, nine of his 17 hits had gone for extra bases.

Tonight Henderson smoked a 2-1 changeup from Webb over the right-field wall for a 3-2 lead to start the Baltimore seventh. That blast lifted the Orioles to a thrilling 3-2 win in the series opener in front of 27,873 at Oracle Park. The O's bullpen held on late for the win.

SAN FRANCISCO – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde believes that right-handed reliever Mychal Givens, who went on the 15-day injured list today, retroactive to yesterday, could be back pitching for the Orioles when his IL time is up on June 16.

“I think so, yeah,” Hyde said when asked if Givens could return then. “I never want to put a number on it or days on it, but I think it’s going to just be a couple of weeks hopefully.”

Givens has allowed six runs (five earned) in four innings over six games since the Orioles activated him on May 21 after left knee inflammation. This IL stint is for right shoulder inflammation. Givens has walked six batters and his fastball velocity was down to 91.5 mph on average, two miles per hour off his average from last year.

Givens pitched Wednesday versus Cleveland, faced three batters and got no one out. Hyde said there was no MRI needed for Givens.

“I think he just felt it a little bit after his last outing,” said Hyde. “I don’t know if it’s been a recurring thing. But hopefully he can get some rest and some time to heal that up and help us out when he gets off the IL.”

The Orioles made a change to their bullpen before tonight’s series opener against the Giants, and it isn’t just about length and a fresh arm.

They needed a healthy one, too.

Mychal Givens was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to yesterday, with right shoulder inflammation. Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.

Givens faced three Cleveland batters Wednesday and didn’t retire anyone. He’s made six appearances and allowed five earned runs (six total) and four hits with six walks and two strikeouts in four innings.

The reunion hasn’t gone as planned for Givens or the Orioles.

Triple-A rotations rarely seem to duplicate after one or two turns. Can be injury related. Can be tied to major league promotions or demotions. Can be due to the built-in Monday breaks.

The Norfolk Tides have used 10 starters in 54 games, and their probables in the Gwinnett series are changing.

Left-hander DL Hall started Tuesday night and worked three innings in his de-load phase. Lefties Cole Irvin and Drew Rom started the following day’s doubleheader.

Lefty Bruce Zimmermann was scheduled for yesterday, with Ryan Watson listed for Friday while crashing the southpaw party.

Can’t be left out.

Cedric Mullins goes down with an injury and the outfield dominos fall.

Austin Hays started in center field Tuesday night and would have switched to left yesterday except for an illness that kept him out of the lineup. Aaron Hicks roamed the middle for a while, with Ryan McKenna in left.

McKenna subbed in left and center in the ninth inning Tuesday, and he switched from left to center yesterday after Hicks exited with muscle cramps in his left calf. Ryan O’Hearn played right field yesterday, with Anthony Santander used as the designated hitter.

Where they stop, nobody knows.

Mullins had missed only one game, for personal reasons, before straining his right groin. He was the constant. Lowered in the order against certain left-handed starters, but the fleet rock in center.

Under the most ideal circumstances, the Orioles were hoping to squeeze two innings out of opener Keegan Akin this afternoon, hand over the game to bulk reliever Austin Voth and try to avoid using the bullpen again until late in the game.

That’s how they drew it up.

That’s how it rarely seems to work when the Orioles try it.

The Guardians started former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber in a game that only a reverse lock could love. The baton would get a lot more use than the homer hose.

Cionel Pérez, the third of seven pitchers used today, surrendered back-to-back home runs to Josh Naylor and Josh Bell in the fourth inning, but the Orioles reclaimed the lead in the bottom half on Anthony Santander’s two-run shot into the bullpen. Mychal Givens loaded the bases in the fifth without retiring a batter, Mike Baumann stepped into the fray, Naylor delivered a three-run double and Gabriel Arias homered into the visiting bullpen.

Austin Hays is out of today’s Orioles lineup against the Guardians because of an illness.

Ryan McKenna is in left field. Aaron Hicks is making his Orioles debut in center.

“Haysy’s a little bit under the weather today,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Hopefully, he’s available to get some big hits for us late in the game. But going to start Mac in left today with the big park out there.

“Aaron’s a little bit more comfortable in center field as of right now and took balls off the bat in center yesterday, so that’s why we decided to go that way.”

The Orioles signed Hicks to a major league deal yesterday to replace center fielder Cedric Mullins, who’s on the 10-day injured list with a groin strain.

The last time outfielder Aaron Hicks was an above-average hitter (going by OPS+, where 100 is league average), was the 2020 season. He had an OPS of .793 for the New York Yankees that year, which was 22 percent above league average. But his OPS since the 2021 season is .625, and that is 22 percent below the league norm.

He comes to Baltimore to try and help offset the loss of center fielder Cedric Mullins, on the injured list with a right groin strain.

Speaking to O’s media for the first time today, Hicks discussed his fall off at-bat since the 2021 season.

“It’s been rough, you know what I mean? Felt like I’ve had some good games here and then some bad games. Just about getting into a rhythm for me. Hopefully I get the opportunity to play every single day while Mullins is out and kind of get going to be able to solidify a spot,” he said.

“I’m excited to be here. It’s an exciting young team and excited to help them win. They are definitely young and they’re exciting. They come to play every single day.  

Aaron Hicks is starting in center field this afternoon, as the Orioles try to clinch the series win over the Guardians.

Hicks is batting sixth.

Keegan Akin is the opener, with Austin Voth working in bulk relief. Twenty-three of Akin’s 24 career starts came in 2020-21.

Adam Frazier is leading off again today. He’s reached base in 20 of 23 games since May 6 and in 24 of 26 starts since April 26.

Ryan McKenna is in left field and batting ninth.

The Aaron Hicks’ era in Baltimore, however long it lasts, began yesterday with reports that the Orioles were close to reaching an agreement on a major league contract. An obvious counterpunch to losing Cedric Mullins to a groin injury. One that statistically doesn’t seem to pack much of a wallop.

Hicks was seen at Camden Yards, walking with executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias on the service level. Not long after that, the team announced the roster move.

The immediate reaction, a reflex assumption, was that Mullins would be lost for a considerable amount of time. Otherwise, just stick with Austin Hays and Ryan McKenna in center field, with a few infielders capable of handling the corners. Jorge Mateo can play center, too.

Bring up Joey Ortiz for infield depth. Select Daz Cameron’s contract and add a true center fielder.

Or, Aaron Hicks, who’s also a center fielder with 619 starts in the majors, along with 104 in left and 69 in right.

Adam Frazier lined an 0-2 changeup from Cal Quantrill into center field tonight, and the Orioles had their new leadoff hitter.

For one game, at least.

Frazier could stay atop the order or move down. Austin Hays might bat first Wednesday or in the next series. The lineup will be fluid with Cedric Mullins idle.

It takes a village to replace Mullins, and the Orioles carried that attitude to an 8-5 victory over the Guardians before an announced crowd of 11,709 at Camden Yards.

A five-run second was highlighted by Anthony Santander’s bases-loaded triple, and the Orioles improved to 35-20.