Cole Irvin wound up on the seat of his pants and with a big smile on his face.

The mood was light early in tonight’s start. But would Irvin be able to handle a heavy workload and rest the bullpen?

Irvin was on the back end, as it were, of a 3-6-1 double play to conclude the top of the first inning. Aaron Judge walked with one out to extend his career-best on-base streak to 41 games, but Anthony Rizzo grounded to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who fired to shortstop Gunnar Henderson. The throw to first forced Irvin to stretch and lose his balance while keeping his left foot on the bag.

Got the out. Got a laugh out of it.

Getting deeper into his starts will make Irvin much happier. He lasted only 4 2/3 innings and threw 101 pitches in a 4-1 loss to the Yankees before an announced crowd of 30,561 at Camden Yards.

Orioles catcher James McCann is nearing a return to the active roster. Perhaps as early as Sunday.

McCann began his injury rehab assignment last night at High-A Aberdeen and singled twice as the designated hitter. He’s going to catch tonight and the Orioles want him to work around seven innings before determining his status.

“Kind of take it day-to-day, see how he feels after and see what else he needs,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

Asked if it’s possible that McCann will be with the club on Sunday, Hyde said, “We’ll see what happens.”

Adley Rutschman is behind the plate tonight and batting second against Yankees rookie right-hander Jhony Brito. Left-hander Nestor Cortes starts Sunday, and Rutschman isn’t likely to catch a day game following a night game.

The Orioles had 10 stolen bases in the first two games of the season, and manager Brandon Hyde joked about all the records they could break at such an unrealistic pace.

They swiped one in the next four games.

Somewhere in between the flurry and the freeze is probably a more reasonable expectation.

The 11 steals before yesterday’s home opener ranked first in the majors, followed by the Guardians with 10. Jorge Mateo and Cedric Mullins had four each to tie for third. Adam Frazier, Austin Hays and Ryan McKenna each had one.

Mateo singled with one out in the sixth inning yesterday and stole his fifth base despite a pitch-out. He dived into the bag and easily beat the throw, which arrived on one hop, and he scored the tying run on Adley Rutschman’s single.

Pitcher Cole Irvin was the first, followed by infielder Terrin Vavra. Players jogging down the orange carpet, a Baltimore tradition for the home opener. No one suffering the embarrassment of tripping over it.  

The Orioles hoped to have the same solid footing in their game against the Yankees.

The crowd erupted for Grayson Rodriguez, and later for closer Félix Bautista. Kyle Bradish was cleared to participate after playing catch this morning to test out his bruised right foot – a session aimed more at gauging his progress and when he might be ready to get back on a mound.

Tyler Wells caught the ceremonial first pitch from Governor Wes Moore, who bounced the throw and raised his arms in mock frustration. Moore’s son, James, wore an Adley Rutschman jersey while throwing to Rodriguez. Daughter Mia threw to Jorge Mateo.

The 2023 season already started a week ago in Boston, but it felt more real today.

The impact of home Opening Day in Baltimore and the renewed enthusiasm for the club really hit catcher Adley Rutschman as he was driving. Passengers in the car next to him wore his No. 35 jersey and began waving to him.

“Got me excited,” he said. “I’m ready to go today. I think everyone’s excited.”

Rutschman paused, turned in a circle and soaked up the atmosphere after moving behind the plate for the first time in his major league debut. What he’s feeling today is similar.

“It’s a new experience and everyone’s told me such great things about Opening Day’s here, just the atmosphere, so I’m really excited,” he said.

“I feel like everyone kind of has similar advice as far as, just enjoying it, making sure you take it in, and you’ll appreciate what you have.”

Among the first challenge of the day for the Orioles, even before they try to beat the New York Yankees, is to navigate that long run down the orange carpet. Every year O’s players joke about not tripping on that jog in. But in reality, it’s just a very special moment for each and every player.

They bask in the cheers of over 40,000 fans and soak it in on another Opening Day in Baltimore. Today Ryan Mountcastle is taking in his third opener in Baltimore.

“It’s crazy. I remember last year doing it," he said. "It’s definitely something that is a once in a lifetime type thing. It’s really cool. Gonna be happy to experience that and all these young guys too. Should be pretty exciting." 

Outfielder Austin Hays, who has run down a few orange carpets, was asked if he has any advice for the young players going through their first Opening Days in Baltimore.

“Just enjoy every second of it,” he said. “Watch your step on that carpet, you can get caught up on it, it has happened in the past. So, watch your step and enjoy every second of it. It really is something special here in Baltimore. Been able to open up a couple of parks now and there is nothing like Camden Yards and the orange carpet is really cool.”

The threat of severe thunderstorms can’t ruin the Orioles’ home opener this afternoon.

Aaron Judge, maybe, but not thunderstorms.

The temperature in Baltimore reached 85 degrees yesterday but is likely to stay in the 50s today. No rain or hail or high winds, though. Cloudy and playable.

Gates open at noon. Severna Park native Parijita Bastola will perform the national anthem prior to the game. She was a contestant on season 22 of NBC’s “The Voice,” and also performed at Governor Wes Moore’s inauguration earlier this year.

Moore and children Mia and James will throw out the ceremonial first pitches.

A series that began with Kyle Bradish limping to the training room in the second inning, his right foot introduced to a 104 mph line drive from the Rangers’ Jonah Heim, concluded with some promising developments.

Also a loss, but the Orioles won the series.

These are some reminders that strong reactions less than a week into a season often tend to become overreactions.

* Tyler Wells got the deserved glory in Monday's opener by throwing five scoreless and hitless innings in emergency relief, pitching when he was supposed to be readying for his start the following night.

Manager Brandon Hyde could have pushed Wells into the ninth with the right-hander dominating and at 47 pitches, including 33 for strikes. Seemed like the safest move with the bullpen still trying to recover from excessive use in Boston. But Hyde called upon Félix Bautista, who allowed runs in the first two games of the Red Sox series, including Adam Duvall’s walk-off homer.

ARLINGTON, Texas – With a large rooting section from his hometown of Nacogdoches, Texas, in the stands today, Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez made a strong big league debut in his home state. But it didn’t start out great for him. 

After allowing two runs and giving up some loud contact in the Rangers' first inning, he settled in nicely and at times looked very much like what he is: one of baseball’s best pitching prospects. And the pitcher who has gone 25-9 with a 2.49 ERA in 70 games on the Baltimore farm. The pitcher ranked No. 6 in the Baseball America top 100 and No. 7 by MLBPipeline.com.

He struggled as games got deeper in spring training, but not today.

Texas went 2-for-5 against him in its two-run first inning, then just 2-for-14 from the second through the fifth inning.

Right-hander Austin Voth replaced him to start the sixth in a 2-2 tie. But Texas third baseman Josh Jung took him to the opposite field for a two-run shot to right. That blast was enough for the Rangers to go on to win this one 5-2 as the Orioles failed to sweep the series.

ARLINGTON, Tex. – Before we get to today's game, the Orioles annouced before game time today that their scheduled home opener tomorrow with the New York Yankees has been postponed until Friday at 3:05 p.m.

An Orioles tweet said: "After consultation with MLB, tomorrow's home opener at Oriole Park at Camden Yards has been postponed due to the forecast of severe inclement weather."

Meanwhile, there is, no doubt, a buzz around the Orioles today on the occasion of Grayson Rodriguez’s major league debut. As some of the gates opened earlier at Globe Life Field, some friends from his high school days in Nagodoches, Texas were already in the stands. Several O’s players discussed how excited they are to see one of baseball’s top prospects take the mound.

Manager Brandon Hyde said today he is confident that Kyle Bradish will be back when his stint on the injured list is up. So is this a potential one-off for Rodriguez today, or does he stay in the rotation?

“That’s the one thing we are excited about, is that we have depth and we have talent,” said Hyde. “The one thing that wins in this league is depth. We’re going to see how it goes. You’re not going to break with five starters and have those five starters pitch all year. Things happen. We didn’t expect Kyle Bradish to get hit on the foot. He had great stuff the other night. We’re just going to kind of watch a little bit. See how the next week and a half, two weeks go and go from there.

Grayson Rodriguez was the next man up.

The Orioles optioned Rodriguez while making their final rounds of cuts in spring training, viewing him as the sixth pitcher for a five-man rotation. A spot opened with Kyle Bradish going on the 15-day injured list this morning with a right foot contusion, and Rodriguez flew into Texas last night.

How Rodriguez fared in Friday’s start with Triple-A Norfolk wasn’t a factor in the club’s decision. The organization’s top pitching prospect allowed three runs (two earned) and walked four Durham batters in four innings, but he was the choice under these circumstances.

Rather than start the fifth game of the season in Texas, which seemed to be the original plan before the surprising camp cut, Rodriguez had a brief stay in Triple-A and arrived a day later for his major league debut.

Rodriguez would have pitched Thursday for the Tides, with Drew Rom going tonight. Bruce Zimmermann and Spenser Watkins already made their first appearances over the weekend and weren’t available.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled RHP Grayson Rodriguez from Triple-A Norfolk. Rodriguez will start today’s game against Texas, which will be his Major League debut. He will wear No. 30.
• Placed RHP Kyle Bradish on the 15-day Injured List with a right foot contusion, retroactive to April 4. 
  

The warning, or maybe it was just a gentle reminder, came from executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias on the day that the Orioles made their deepest roster cuts in spring training.

“We’re going to need more starters,” Elias said, as media crowded him outside the baseball operations center and sought an explanation for Grayson Rodriguez’s unexpected optioning to Triple-A.

Elias wasn’t breaking new ground, of course, as he stood on the concrete. No team goes through an entire 162-game grind with the same five members of its rotation. But the Orioles were only four deep into their season, the home opener on hold until later in the week, when Jonah Heim’s 104 mph line drive nailed Kyle Bradish on the right foot Monday night and made those words echo louder.

It also made a sickening thud, with initial fears that Bradish suffered a fracture. X-rays were negative for that, but further tests had to be scheduled because MRIs always reveal more.

I wonder why teams even bother with X-rays. There’s always the inevitable MRI.

ARLINGTON, Texas – As news surfaced before first pitch tonight that rookie right-hander Grayson Rodriguez was expected to make his major league debut on Wednesday afternoon for the Orioles, the club prepared to take the field against Texas. They were looking for a series win and to follow up last night’s uplifting shutout victory over the Rangers.

And they got the win and made it look rather easy, beating Texas 7-2 for their first 2023 win that did not come by either one or two runs. The Orioles improved to 3-2 tonight and Texas falls to 3-2. After sweeping defending National League champion Philadelphia to start their year, the Rangers could get swept in this series by the Orioles.

Just before the game started, multiple outlets reported that the Orioles would call up Rodriguez to make his big league debut in tomorrow afternoon’s series finale.

Rodriguez, 23, the No. 6 prospect in the sport per Baseball America, would be facing Texas right-hander Jacob deGrom, a pitcher with a career 2.55 ERA and two Cy Young Awards. He would also be pitching in his home state for his debut. The O’s drafted him in Round 1 (No. 11 overall) in the 2018 draft out of a high school in Nacogdoches, Texas.

Rodriguez was considered likely to break north with the Orioles in the Opening Day starting rotation, but late in camp was sent back to the minors after pitching to a spring ERA of 7.04 over 15 1/3 innings. He made his Triple-A season debut in Norfolk’s season opener at Durham last Friday night, allowing three runs (two earned) over four innings. He was scheduled to pitch this Thursday for the Tides at home, but now that plan has changed. Rodriguez would be pitching on normal rest tomorrow.

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Orioles got through a tough spot last night because right-hander Tyler Wells and two of his teammates saved the day in the 2-0 win over the Texas Rangers. When right-hander Kyle Bradish left last night’s game early, the Orioles put the wheels in motion in thinking about piecing together last night’s nine innings and about tonight’s outing. During the Monday game, they were already leaning toward having Opening Day starter Kyle Gibson pitch tonight.

But now comes the decision about the starter here tomorrow afternoon in the series finale at Texas. The O’s still have not made a decision on what they will do. They could use Austin Voth if he doesn’t pitch tonight. They could call someone up from the minor leagues to make the start.

“We’re still in discussions about tomorrow,” manager Brandon Hyde said today in the Baltimore dugout. “We’re going to get through tonight and then go from there.”

At Triple-A, DL Hall is scheduled to pitch Norfolk’s home opener tonight. Drew Rom is listed for Wednesday, Grayson Rodriguez for Thursday and Bruce Zimmermann on Saturday.

Hyde was asked if it’s too soon to call up Rodriguez after the organization decided to option him to the minors to begin the season. Rodriguez pitched to a 7.04 ERA in 15 1/3 spring innings. He went four innings, allowing three runs (two earned) in the Tides' season opener last Friday. He would be on regular rest for a start tomorrow.

Ryan McKenna gets the start in left field tonight as the Orioles try to guarantee a series win in Texas.

Gunnar Henderson collected his first two hits last night, including a home run, but he's on the bench against Rangers left-hander Andrew Heaney. Ramón Urías is starting at third base.

Anthony Santander is the designated hitter and Austin Hays is in right.

Cedric Mullins is the leadoff hitter rather than moving down to ninth, as he did versus Boston lefty Chris Sale.

For the Orioles
Cedric Mullins CF
Adley Rutschman C
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Anthony Santander DH
Austin Hays RF
Ramón Urías 3B
Adam Frazier 2B
Jorge Mateo SS
Ryan McKenna LF

The line drive that knocked Kyle Bradish out of last night’s game in Texas also rattled the Orioles’ rotation for the series.

Kyle Gibson has moved up to start tonight on regular rest instead of closing out the series on Wednesday.

The Orioles chose Gibson to start the opener in Boston, and the off-day that followed kept him available for tonight’s assignment.

X-rays on Bradish’s right foot came back negative last night, but the club scheduled further tests to ensure that he didn’t sustain a fracture.

A decision is pending on Wednesday’s starter. The Orioles could hand the ball to Austin Voth, who threw one inning on Saturday, but they might need him tonight.

ARLINGTON, Tex. – The Orioles starting rotation, which covered just 12 innings in three games at Boston to start the year, got another short start today. But this one had nothing to do with the pitcher’s performance.

Right-hander Kyle Bradish, who went 4-7 with a 4.90 ERA last season, took a line drive off his right foot. One-time O’s draft pick Jonan Heim drilled the comebacker at 104 mph. It knocked Bradish off his feet and out of this game. The ball was hit so hard it caromed to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle who recorded an out on the play.

Lefty reliever Danny Coulombe hurried into the game and faced a second and third, two outs situation. And he struck out lefty-hitting Brad Miller on a slider to keep the game 0-0 to end the second inning.

The O’s had big hopes this year for Bradish, in large part to his strong finish to the 2022 season. Over his last 13 starts of the year, beginning in late July, he went 3-3 with a 3.28 ERA. In his last eight starts, he threw four quality starts, going 3-2 with a 2.76 ERA and .500 OPS against.

In Boston, Opening Day starter Kyle Gibson’s five innings was the longest outing by the rotation, which allowed 20 hits and 15 runs over 12 innings. That forced the O’s bullpen to throw 13 2/3 innings in that series and they will be needed heavily again tonight.

The mailbag collected questions in Boston and refused to board a flight to Arlington. Bought a seat for it and everything. Still, no.

That’s fine. I’ll share what I’ve got this morning, in the latest sequel to our beloved 2008 original mailbag.

Because I don’t want to be accused of tampering, I will continue to keep the editing to the bare minimum. Also, the bear minimum, which I guess belongs on a Cubs blog.

And finally, my mailbag runs the bases for free and yours must pay to get thrown out at second.

Do you think it's possible they kept too many players in camp for too long, which made it hard to give the actual regulars sufficient reps? Just trying to find a reason for the complete defensive flop we saw.
I feel like the regulars played a sufficient amount, and Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander got some reps in the World Baseball Classic. I don’t want to blame the conditions in Boston, but the cold, rain and wind presented some challenges. As if the outfield at Fenway Park needs more of them. But there were some botched plays in the infield, too. Maybe just write it off to a bad series.

ARLINGTON, Tex. – After losing two of three at Boston and allowing nine runs each game, the Orioles will look for immediate improvement in their pitching and defense tonight. Baltimore opens a three-game series at Globe Life Field against the Rangers.

The O’s scored 23 runs but allowed 27 at Boston and lost the last two days to the Red Sox by 9-8 and 9-5 scores.

Tonight right-hander Kyle Bradish (4-7, 4.90 ERA in 2022) will make his 2023 season debut. Bradish pitched 117 2/3 last season allowing 119 hits and pitching to a WHIP of 1.402 with a 3.5 walk rate and 8.5 strikeout rate. Bradish had six quality starts among his 23 starts and averaged 16.9 pitches per inning.

The Orioles went 14-9 in his starts last season and went 9-4 in his last 13 when he produced a very strong finish. After coming off the injured list in late July, Bradish was 3-3 with a 3.28 ERA in his last 13 games, allowing a .607 OPS. In his last eight starts of 2022, he pitched four quality starts and three scoreless outings, going 3-2 with a 2,76 ERA allowing a .169 batting average and .500 OPS. He gave up just two homers over 45 2/3 innings in those games and allowed two runs or less five times.

Bradish faced Texas just once last season and it was at Globe Life Field, where he allowed one run and three hits over five innings on Aug. 3 on 93 pitches.