CHICAGO – The Orioles won’t completely empty their injured list this season because closer Félix Bautista is on the 60-day and unavailable until 2025. He’s playing catch and posting videos of his workouts in Sarasota.

They got it down to two names, including Tyler Wells, before John Means and Dean Kremer hopped on this week on back-to-back days. Health progress is made and then erased.

To borrow a Bruce Springsteen lyric, one step up and two steps back.

Five starters have gone on the injured list. Ace Corbin Burnes and left-hander Cole Irvin, temporarily moved to the bullpen, have managed to avoid it.

Knuckles rap on wood at the mere mention of it.

CHICAGO – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde explained earlier in the day why Adley Rutschman wasn’t in the lineup. Had nothing to do with an injury. That’s reserved for the rotation.

Three consecutive day games were on the docket. This was a way to give the catcher a little break before the grind.

Hyde smiled as he sat in the visiting dugout and conceded that Rutschman probably would get in there anyway. That’s usually how it works.

Rutschman came off the bench in the eighth inning and singled with two outs to score two runs, breaking a tie and giving the Orioles a 6-4 victory over the White Sox before an announced crowd of 18,831 at Guaranteed Rate Field that ensures nothing less than a split of the four-game series.

The Orioles are 31-18 and starting Albert Suárez on Saturday afternoon after placing Dean Kremer on the 15-day injured list with a strained right triceps.

CHICAGO - The Orioles aren’t listing a starter for Saturday afternoon’s game against the White Sox. They can go in a few directions. Calling upon Dean Kremer isn't among them.

Kremer was supposed to get the ball on his normal turn, but he’s on the 15-day injured list with a strained right triceps. Manager Brandon Hyde said he could make the announcement after tonight’s game.

“This is still pretty fresh so we’re still talking about it,” Hyde said.

Albert Suárez is the in-house candidate. He can provide some length.

Meanwhile, left-hander Cade Povich is scheduled to start Saturday for Triple-A Norfolk in Worcester. The No. 9 prospect in the system per MLB Pipeline is 5-1 with a 2.08 ERA and 1.049 WHIP in nine games and is averaging 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings. His walk rate is down to 3.2, compared to 5.8 last year in 10 starts with the Tides.

CHICAGO - The Orioles are running out of starters.

The team announced today that it placed Dean Kremer on the 15-day injured list with a right triceps strain, retroactive to Tuesday. They also optioned Jonathan Heasley to Triple-A Norfolk.

On the other side of the transaction, the Orioles recalled relievers Dillon Tate and Nick Vespi from Norfolk.

Kremer was supposed to start Saturday afternoon against the White Sox. He’s joining John Means on the IL.

Kremer is 3-4 with a 4.32 ERA and 1.120 WHIP in nine starts. He’s allowed eight earned runs and 11 total in his last two games covering 9 2/3 innings.

Teammates felt sharp pangs of sympathy for Orioles pitcher John Means, experiencing their own discomfort after he packed up his belongings Wednesday and flew back to Baltimore.

They don’t know when they’ll see him again, though early next week at Camden Yards is most likely. They don’t know how long he’ll be on the injured list or when he’ll start again. No one had answers yesterday.

None of it seemed fair.

Means returns from ligament-reconstructive surgery in his elbow and a strained muscle in his upper back, only to be shelved by a strained left forearm that keeps him off the Division Series roster. He accepts that he’ll begin the 2024 season on the injured list, is reinstated, and returns to it after only four starts and with his ERA at 2.61 and WHIP at 0.871.

“It’s so hard to hear,” said reliever Danny Coulombe. “John just worked his tail off to get back. Nobody can ever question his work ethic. But his body didn’t cooperate and we’re just hoping and praying for the best.

CHICAGO – One of the starting pitchers was back in Baltimore having his left elbow examined. Multiple relievers were unavailable following a couple of rain delays and a suspended game in St. Louis, which necessitated the arrival of Jonathan Heasley in a potential bulk role.

The Orioles had lost three in a row and seen much better days when they arrived in Chicago to begin their series against the White Sox, and that was before Grayson Rodriguez threw 30 pitches in the first inning.

They fell behind twice tonight to the team with the worst record in baseball. The team that’s scored the fewest runs. But they snapped out of their funk in the fourth inning.

Finally, they could feel good again. They were due for it.

They just had to sweat a little in the ninth.

CHICAGO – John Means has returned to Baltimore and is undergoing further examinations and testing on his sore left elbow.

Means went on the 15-day injured list today with a left forearm strain after tossing three scoreless innings yesterday in St. Louis but experiencing discomfort that caused him to occasionally flex his arm. He obviously was uncomfortable on the mound.

“He’s meeting with the doctors in Baltimore and just haven’t gotten the results back yet,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “He’s meeting with them this afternoon and we’re hoping for the best.

“It was disappointing because he’s worked so hard to get back and was a huge boost for us in September last year after the long road back. Was throwing the ball well. You could tell something was a little bit off yesterday, but hopefully we get good news today.”

Means couldn’t pitch in the 2023 Division Series due to a forearm strain, and he went on the injured list Opening Day to get built up after a late start to his winter throwing program.

CHICAGO – Jordan Westburg is batting fifth tonight and playing third base in the series opener in Chicago.

Colton Cowser is in left field, Cedric Mullins is in center and Anthony Santander is in right.

Ryan Mountcastle is the first baseman, with Ryan O’Hearn serving as designated hitter.

Adley Rutschman leads the Orioles with 56 hits. He joins Milwaukee’s William Contreras (65) as the only catchers ranking first on their teams.

Grayson Rodriguez has a streak of 12 straight scoreless innings, third-longest by an Orioles starter behind Cole Irvin’s 22 2/3 and Albert Suárez’s 12 1/3.

CHICAGO – John Means is returning to the 15-day injured list.

The Orioles announced today that Means has been diagnosed with a left forearm strain, the same ailment that delayed his 2024 debut.

Reliever Jonathan Heasley was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to replace Means on the roster.

Means tossed three scoreless innings yesterday in St. Louis but was flexing his arm and experiencing a noticeable decline in velocity across the board. The game was interrupted by rain but Means wasn’t returning for the fourth.

This is the latest setback for Means, who returned from Tommy John surgery last September, made four starts and missed the Division Series due to the forearm strain.

The Orioles have talked about going to a six-man rotation, certainly by the brutal stretch in June with only one day off. In the meantime, Cole Irvin pitches out of the bullpen and waits to find out if he’s bouncing between roles again.

Too many starters? We heard it before Kyle Bradish and John Means were reinstated from the injured list. Tyler Wells and Grayson Rodriguez were sidelined by inflammation in the elbow and shoulder, respectively. These things, yes, have a way of working themselves out.

Means made his fourth start yesterday and tossed three scoreless innings against the Cardinals with only one hit allowed. He threw 51 pitches and Irvin replaced him after inclement weather forced another interruption.

Toasted ravioli and rain delays. It’s what St. Louis does.

Was a storm the only reason Means came out of the game? Unfortunately, no.

Teammates knew that reliever Mike Baumann wouldn’t clear waivers after the Orioles designated him for assignment. He’d most likely be traded rather than relinquished for no return.

They were right.

The Orioles announced late tonight that they’ve traded Baumann and Triple-A Norfolk catcher Michael Pérez to the Mariners for catcher Blake Hunt. Hunt was optioned to Norfolk.

Hunt, 25, is batting .293/.372/.533 with four doubles, a triple, four home runs, 20 RBIs, six walks and 15 runs scored in 23 games with Triple-A Tacoma. He’s also been hit by four pitches.

He knows how to get on base.

ST. LOUIS – It was just a series when a lot went wrong for the Orioles. And for the first time in over two years, they have been swept three straight in the regular season.

The St. Louis Cardinals, who entered this series with a 20-26 record, did the job today, overcoming a 3-0 deficit to beat the Orioles 5-4 and complete the sweep at Busch Stadium.

Something even went wrong as the O's tried to rally in the ninth against reliever Ryan Fernandez. Austin Hays singled and went to third on pinch-hitter Cedric Mullins' single. Then pinch hitter Kyle Stowers lined one deep to right and Lars Nootbaar made a great catch. Hays scored from third but the Cards doubled Mullins off first base. No doubt he wanted to steam home with the tying run, but the ball was caught.

"I thought it was gone off the bat," Hays said of Stowers blast, adding that Mullins made what looked like a good decision in taking off on contact. "He's got a good chance to score on that ball if it gets down."

The Birds also contributed to their demise by making two errors as St. Louis scored three in the sixth to get the lead.

The Orioles completed their suspended game today with a 3-1 loss to the Cardinals, setting up this afternoon’s series finale before the charter flight to Chicago.

A win is needed to prevent the sweepless streak in the regular season from ending at 106 series.

Nolan Gorman hit a two-run homer off Keegan Akin in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie. Akin inherited a runner from Jacob Webb.

Ryan Mountcastle singled today to interrupt a 1-for-26 slump. He’s on the bench for the second game.

Left-hander Nick Vespi was added as the 27^th man. The Cardinals added right-hander Chris Roycroft.

ST. LOUIS – The Orioles, even as visitors, took the field first today at Busch Stadium. They batted second. Their pitcher to start the day was reliever Jacob Webb.

It was not a usual day or game.

This was the resumption of last night’s suspended game in the last of the sixth with the game tied 1-1.

The Orioles have not had a lead in this series, and four batters after play resumed they were behind again today. Their only hit after play resumed was Ryan Mountcastle's single in the seventh, which snapped a 1-for-26 run. 

Second baseman Nolan Gorman’s two-run homer to right in the last of the sixth off lefty Keegan Akin – a left-on-left home run – gave St. Louis a 3-1 lead. The Cards beat the Orioles by that same score. The official attendance from the game that began last night, with many fewer here today, was 32,582.

Most of Trey Mancini’s swings are now done with a tennis racket. He’s living in Miami with wife Sara Perlman, his last baseball game played in spring training with the Marlins before they granted his release on March 23. Interest from other teams hasn’t really percolated and he’s fine with any outcome.

The Cubs are paying Mancini through the rest of the season after signing him to a two-year, $14 million deal in January 2023. They released him seven months later after he batted .234/.299/.336 with 12 doubles and four home runs in 79 games, and he spent a week in the Reds organization, appearing in five games with Triple-A Louisville and going 6-for-19 with two doubles and two home runs.

That release was followed by a minor league deal with the Marlins in January, a 9-for-35 spring with a double and home run, and the opt-out after being told that he wouldn’t make the club.

Mancini, 32, has a World Series ring with the Astros but his finest seasons and fondest memories are with the Orioles, who drafted him in 2013 and brought him to the majors three years later. They traded him at the 2022 deadline while in contention, an unpopular move with fans but not unexpected with free agency pending.

Nothing is more important than what follows here: Trey Mancini has been cancer-free for four years.

ST. LOUIS – A storm producing heavy rain that rolled through Busch Stadium tonight just after 8 p.m local time has forced the suspension of tonight’s Orioles-Cardinals game.

The game will resume Wednesday at 11:15 a.m. local time (12:15 p.m ET) with the teams tied 1-1 and St. Louis coming to bat in the last of the sixth. When that game ends, and 30 minutes later, they will play Wednesday's regularly scheduled nine-inning game. 

Tonight, right-hander Kyle Bradish made his fourth start since coming off the injured list. Just like Dean Kremer last night, he had to pitch early on with no run support.

But he got the job done allowing one run over the first four innings on 61 pitches and twice stranding runners at second and third. He did that in the third and fourth innings by getting big outs.

The Orioles didn’t score until the sixth inning last night and not until the fifth tonight.

ST. LOUIS – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde could not have been thrilled to see the Cardinals steal four bases last night in their series-opening 6-3 win.

The four steals matched a St. Louis season best done one time before. The four allowed is an O's season high, now done three times, once each by Washington, Kansas City and now St. Louis.

Adley Rutschman caught 22 percent of the runners trying to steal last year and that number is 21 percent this year.

“I think the majority of the time, it’s usually on the pitcher,” said Hyde today in the visitor's dugout. “You know, look at those four against him last night, there is absolutely nothing you can do about those four. You’re going to have to balance it with: Did he have a chance or not? And the majority of the time he really hasn’t this year.”

Hyde and the Orioles are very aware, of course, of which of their pitchers are good at holding runners and which ones have challenges. Last night’s starter, Dean Kremer, had seen his opponents steal one base on him all year and St. Louis got two bags.

Ryan Mountcastle is in tonight’s lineup at first base, as the Orioles try to even their series in St. Louis.

Mountcastle came off the bench last night. He hadn’t been in the lineup for two of the last three games.

Kyle Stowers is in right field. Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter.

Anthony Santander, playing with a bruised left knee, is on the bench.

Jordan Westburg is batting cleanup again.

Constant fluctuations in run production are expected over the course of a 162-game regular season. The dam bursts and is rebuilt.

The Orioles were shut out against the Yankees on May 1 and scored seven runs the following day. They beat the Reds 2-1 in Cincinnati, erupted for 11 runs in the next game and lost 3-0 in D.C. They totaled seven runs in a three-game stretch, opened the weekend Mariners series with a 9-2 win and were no-hit last night through five innings before Gunnar Henderson's three-run homer off Sonny Gray.

The club ranked 21^st in the majors in runs scored this month with 64 heading into last night’s game in St. Louis after ranking fourth in the majors and first in the American League with 132 in April.

“We’re just continuing to work through it,” said co-hitting coach Matt Borgschulte. “We just want to continue to take good at-bats and put pressure on the pitcher and hopefully continue to grind out some more good at-bats like we did (Saturday) night and first game of the series.”

Austin Hays was putting together better at-bats right before his left calf strain in Kansas City. He had hits in five of six games heading into last night.

ST. LOUIS – Sometimes the strike call you don’t get leads to the fastball you throw that leaves the ballpark.

That happened to the Orioles tonight, and it was a frustrating way to begin their week-long road trip to St. Louis and Chicago.

This game sure had its frustrations for the Orioles.

Take the Cardinals' four-run last of the fourth, which gave them a 5-0 lead.

No. 9 hitter Michael Siani hit a three-run homer in that inning, but only after home plate umpire Laz Diaz clearly missed an 0-2 pitch and called ball one instead of strike three. Two pitches later, Siani hit a Dean Kremer fastball over the inner half for a jack into the right-field bullpen and a 5-0 lead.