To reach the halfway point of their season tonight, the Orioles also drifted back to last October.

Hosting the Rangers brought inescapable reminders of the Division Series sweep. The abrupt finish after winning 101 games. The deathly silence inside the visiting clubhouse at Globe Life Field. Manager Brandon Hyde circling the room to offer hugs and to express his gratitude.

The Orioles don’t return to Arlington until the series that follows the break, though some players will arrive early for the All-Star Game. But seeing the Rangers again was like picking at a scab.

Though Hyde hadn’t talked to his players about it and noted how this was a regular season matchup in June, he added, “I think we’re going to remember. That feeling sat with us for a long time.”

Corbin Burnes wasn’t in the rotation for the playoffs. Texas wasn’t a third-place team. Heston Kjerstad was on the roster but didn’t receive an at-bat.

Six Orioles have advanced past Phase 1 of All-Star Game balloting.

Shortstop Gunnar Henderson, catcher Adley Rutschman and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle lead their respective positions. Third baseman Jordan Westburg moves on as the current runner-up to Cleveland’s José Ramírez, and Ryan OHearn jumped from fourth to second among designated hitters behind Houston’s Yordan Alvarez. Anthony Santander is fourth among outfielders.

Rutschman (2,791,952 votes) and Kansas City’s Salvador Perez (1,429,732) are the catching finalists. Henderson (2,664,120) is ahead of the Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr. (1,417,629), and Mountcastle (2,296,697) is ahead of Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (1,976,645).

With a fan election, Rutschman would join Matt Wieters (2014) and Terry Kennedy (1987) among Orioles catchers.

Mountcastle can become the first Orioles first baseman to draw a fan election since Chris Davis in 2013. Others to earn the honor include Boog Powell (1970-71) and Hall of Famer Eddie Murray (1985).

The Orioles snapped a five-game losing streak last night and are rewarded with four against the Rangers, who swept them in the Division Series last year and won the World Series.

Heston Kjerstad is in right field tonight and Anthony Santander is on the bench.

Colton Cowser is in left field. Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter. Jorge Mateo starts at second base and Jordan Westburg is at third.

Gunnar Henderson’s on-base streak has reached 33 games. He hit his 26th home run last night. The only shortstop to have more homers before July is Alex Rodriguez with 27 in 1998, per STATS.

Here’s the list of Orioles with 25-plus home runs before July:

The Orioles score 11 runs in the series opener in Houston, allow 14 and lose because of the pitching. They’re held to four runs over the next three games and lose because of the hitting.

Well, mostly. The Astros scored eight runs Sunday to complete the sweep.

The team erupts for eight runs Tuesday night, collecting 16 hits and belting four home runs, and loses 10-8 because of the pitching. That’s how these things work. The arms, bats and gloves can conspire to create skids.

The brakes finally were applied last night, with only two runs allowed and three home runs hit in a 4-2 win.

Some of the rants on social media are aimed at executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias for failing to react after surgeries removed Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells for the rest of the season and reliever Danny Coulombe until perhaps September. Meanwhile, he’s actively searching for pitching. He’s engaged in talks with numerous executives. It just isn’t live-streamed on the internet.

The relentless schedule and intense heat led the Orioles to implement a “breather day,” as manager Brandon Hyde called it. They treated it as a getaway game, with players allowed to report later and no batting practice held on the field. Dial back the intensity a smidge.

“Hopefully have lunch somewhere and be able to relax a little bit,” Hyde said this afternoon. “You do that periodically to try to keep guys as fresh as possible and not have them at the ballpark for 11 hours a day like normal.”

Freshness in these sweltering conditions didn’t seem possible, but tweaking the routine made sense for a team unable to find another gear and riding its longest losing streak in two years.

Credit the plan, Grayson Rodriguez, Gunnar Henderson or Cedric Mullins. All that matters is the result.

Henderson tied the game in the fifth inning with his 26^th home run and Mullins provided a late lead with his shot onto Eutaw Street in the seventh in the Orioles’ 4-2 victory over the Guardians before an announced crowd of 17,965 at Camden Yards.

The losing streak has reached five games and the Orioles are one more defeat away from back-to-back sweeps and the third in 2024.

The Orioles haven’t been swept in consecutive series since May 13-18, 2022 against the Tigers and Yankees, also the last time they lost six games in a row.

Heston Kjerstad is in left field and batting seventh. Cedric Mullins is in center and Anthony Santander is in right. Colton Cowser, who homered last night, isn’t in the lineup.

Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter. Jorge Mateo is starting at second base, so his left hand and wrist are fine.

Gunnar Henderson has reached base in 32 consecutive games.

Austin Hays has lived through some of the darkest days in recent Orioles history. He played in 131 games in 2021 when the team lost 110. The beatings through the rebuild left marks on anyone who got close to it.

With that in mind, and it’s fresh, the attention given to a four-game losing streak prior to last night seemed almost comical.

This is what happens when a team wins 101 last summer and posts the best record in the American League and goes on another impressive run this season. Getting swept twice is as jarring as a head-on collision. Or a week without an elbow surgery.

In the 91-degree heat last night, the Orioles vowed to keep the losses from snowballing. They’ll bring the same attitude into tonight now that the streak is five.

“We just keep doing what we’ve been doing for the last two years,” Hays said yesterday afternoon. “Turn the page, move on to the next day, just don’t look too far into anything. We know that we can play good baseball, and when you’re playing good baseball, you win games. That’s where we’re at.”

Jordan Westburg’s line drive at 110.5 mph reached the left field corner in the third inning. Gunnar Henderson, who walked with one out, raced around the bases and dived across the plate to break the tie.

The Orioles had their fourth run to match their total over the previous three games. The bats were back. They just needed the pitching to hold up.

It didn’t.

Cole Irvin lasted only four innings, Yennier Cano allowed two runs in the eighth, and the losing streak reached five games with Cleveland’s 10-8 victory before an announced crowd of 18,574 at Camden Yards.

Irvin was charged with four earned runs and eight total, along with a season-high 10 hits, and he came out after 71 pitches. The rotation has gone eight games in a row without a quality start.

The Orioles announced today that they signed first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper to a minor league contract. He’ll report to Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday.

Cooper, 33, appeared in a combined 36 games with the Cubs and Red Sox and batted .206/.267/.299 with five doubles, one triple, one home run and 11 RBIs. He’s played for five teams in the majors beginning in 2017 with the Yankees and hit .265/.333/.427 in 517 games.

Cooper was an All-Star with the Marlins in 2022. Three years earlier, he batted .281 with 16 doubles, 15 home runs, 50 RBIs and a .791 OPS in 107 games.

Last season, Cooper hit a combined 17 home runs with 61 RBIs in 123 games between the Marlins and Padres.

The Red Sox acquired Cooper from the Cubs in April for cash considerations and released him 11 days ago.

The Orioles began a seven-game homestand last night by shutting down offensively after the third inning and losing to the Guardians 3-2.

They always seem to leave a trail of questions as they move through the season, and yesterday was no exception. Some can be resolved quickly and others are going to linger.

Here are three:

What’s happening with Dean Kremer?

In a perfect baseball world, Kremer would be in the Orioles rotation later this week and helping to steady a ship that hasn’t sunk but is veering off course.

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.

The Orioles are prepared to wait a little longer on Dean Kremer before he returns to the rotation.

Kremer is expected to make a third injury rehab start after throwing only 39 pitches in two-thirds of an inning Saturday with Triple-A Norfolk. He worked 3 2/3 innings and threw 59 pitches in his first outing, and the Orioles hoped that he could build on it.

“We haven’t finalized it, but I would assume that he’s going to make another rehab start just because he didn’t get his pitches up, didn’t get out of the first inning there,” manager Brandon Hyde said earlier today. “It wasn’t an ideal situation for him from a pitch-count standpoint, but he did feel good after the two-thirds that he threw down there.

“I’m going to assume that we’re going to give him another rehab start. We just haven’t finalized it yet.”

Cole Irvin and Grayson Rodriguez start the last two games of the Guardians series. The Rangers arrive next for a four-game set that apparently won’t provide Kremer with his first major league start since May 20 in St. Louis.

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.

The Orioles made last night’s reported move official today by recalling outfielder Heston Kjerstad from Triple-A Norfolk. He’s back in the majors for the third time in his career and the first since they optioned him May 13.

Infielder Nick Maton was designated for assignment to make room for Kjerstad on the active roster. The 40-man roster is reduced to 39 players.

Kjerstad is batting .300/.397/.601 with 14 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs and 58 RBIs in 56 games with Norfolk. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the No. 21 prospect in baseball.

Appearing in only seven games earlier this season, Kjerstad collected two hits and struck out six times in 14 at-bats.

The offense could use a jolt after scoring one run in each of the last two games on Jordan Westburg homers. The Orioles were swept in Houston.

The mailbag wasn’t emptied on the first attempt. Passionate fans have questions, and there’s never a shortage.

Let’s get to a few more before tonight’s game against the Guardians that begins the latest homestand.

Same rules apply. There are none except for the ban on profanity. Stop trying.

Where would you, Mr. Kubatko, rate Gunnar as an all-time Oriole already? (And yes, I’m asking you to project.)
No need to be so formal but thank you. Yeah, that’s some serious projecting so early in his career, but if we’re talking about where he winds up, he absolutely should be one of the best for everything he brings to the plate and at shortstop. Helps to know whether we’re talking best Orioles or best players to wear the uniform. This isn’t an issue with Henderson, but I think about Frank Robinson. Maybe the best player to wear the uniform but he only spent six seasons in Baltimore. Roberto Alomar spent three but he’s in the Hall of Fame and played the best second base that I’ve ever seen. We’re safe going with Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson, Eddie Murray and Cal Ripken Jr. Henderson has the talent to be talked about in the same sentence.

Hey Roch, any plans to get an interview or article with Terry Crowley or Nick Markakis for their O’s Hall Of Fame inductions?
The team will make them available to the media and I assume that I’ll be in the scrum. Haven’t seen Crowley in many years and I look forward to it. His induction is long overdue. Markakis will be a man of few words but I enjoyed covering him.

Heston Kjerstad had quite a day with Triple-A Norfolk.

The right fielder was ejected this afternoon after being hit by pitches three times in three innings and told later that the Orioles were promoting him.

Kjerstad is expected to be recalled on Monday, according to an industry source. The Orioles are beginning their latest homestand with a three-game series against the Guardians.

This will be Kjerstad’s third stint in the majors and his second this season. He appeared in only seven games and went 2-for-14 with six strikeouts.

The Orioles optioned Kjerstad on May 13 to give him regular at-bats again with Norfolk. They recalled Kyle Stowers in a swap of left-handed hitting outfielders.

HOUSTON – A recent run of strong starts during an overall good season for right-hander Albert Suárez hit a speed bump in New York a few days ago. Today in Houston, it was quite a bumpy ride again for the hurler who took an ERA of 1.61 into that start at Yankee Stadium.

He allowed three runs and walked five in 3 2/3 innings in the Bronx. He was much more around the plate today, maybe in the zone too much early on as the Astros came out swinging against him.

Houston scored four runs on six hits in the last of the first this afternoon and rode that big inning to a 8-1 win behind 15 hits and a solid outing by left-hander Framber Valdez as they sweep this three-game series.

The O’s hit town riding high, coming off Thursday’s 17-5 victory and series win at Yankee Stadium. They had gone 14-6 the previous 20 games with series wins over the Rays, Braves, Phillies and Yankees but didn’t win once this weekend at Minute Maid Park.

At 49-28, they are swept for the second time this year (also May 20-22 at St. Louis) and head home to host Cleveland on Monday night.

HOUSTON – As the Orioles look to salvage one game in their three-game series at Houston and avoid being swept today, they face a tough lefty in Houston’s Framber Valdez (5-5, 3.91 ERA).

He finished 11^th for the American League Cy Young Award in 2020, was fifth in 2022 and ninth last year.

In these past two years he has gone 29-17 with a 3.13 ERA over 399 1/3 innings. But in those two years, as he has had high Cy Young vote finishes, he faced the Orioles once each season and they fared well against him. In the two games, they scored 13 runs off Valdez (10 earned) in a combined 12 1/3 innings.

In an interview with local media today, O’s offensive strategy coach Cody Asche talked about the challenge of facing Valdez today and how the O’s batters might approach it.

“I think a lot of our guys will kind of lean on their experiences last year," he said. " I thought we had really good at-bats last year at Camden. And I think even two years ago, we kind of ended that quality-starts streak against him.

The Orioles need a win today in Houston to avoid being swept for the second time this season. They trail the Yankees by 1 ½ games in the American League East.

With the Astros starting left-hander Framber Valdez, the Orioles lineup counters with Adley Rutschman leading off for the first time this season, Gunnar Henderson batting cleanup and Jordan Westburg batting fifth.

Henderson, who extended his on-base streak to 29 games yesterday, is serving as the designated hitter while Jorge Mateo starts at shortstop.

Ryan Mountcastle moves up to second in the order. Austin Hays is in left field and Colton Cowser is in center.

Albert Suárez is making his ninth start and 16^th appearance. He’s registered a 2.05 ERA and 1.200 WHIP in 48 1/3 innings, and with only one home run surrendered.

The mailbag didn't go deep in the heart of Texas. Too hot for it.

Well, the joke's on you, mailbag. It's in the high '90s here.

Anyway, letter rip. Just ignore the temperatures and the bad pun.

You ask and I answer and we have another sequel to the beloved 2008 original blockbuster. We do not get caught up in editing for style, clarity, brevity, length, latitude or longitude. 

Also, my mailbag gets dumped so questions can be answered and yours gets dumped by every girlfriend.