The Orioles will host the 2022 World Series champion Houston Astros tonight to start a three-game series as their homestand continues. Houston is the only American League club the Orioles have yet to play.

The O’s swept the New York Mets over the weekend and lead Tampa Bay by three games atop the AL East. The Orioles (70-42) have outscored their opponents 25-7 during a four-game win streak. They have won seven of eight games and 11 of 15, and are 21-7 in the last 28 games.

O’s pitching has an ERA of 2.15 while allowing 19 runs the last eight games. Their ERA in the past 28 games is 3.23.

In the series versus the Mets, the O’s staff gave up just six runs (five earned) over 27 innings, allowing 15 hits with 11 walks and 26 strikeouts. The Orioles pitched their sixth shutout of the year Sunday with a 2-0 win over the Mets as Kyle Bradish, Cionel Pérez, Cole Irvin, Shintaro Fujinami and Félix Bautista teamed up for a four-hitter.

The Orioles bullpen combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings Sunday and threw 10 innings in the series without allowing an earned run. Over the past eight games, the O’s ‘pen has allowed one earned run in 25 1/3 innings. Their bullpen ERA for the year is down to 3.53, which ranks third-best in the AL.

Orioles second baseman Adam Frazier has his right thumb taped after jamming it on a diving play in the final game in Toronto. He remains out of the lineup.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Frazier is available off the bench tonight. He might not have started anyway with the Orioles facing another left-hander, Houston’s Framber Valdez, who threw a no-hitter in his last outing.

“He’s been getting treatment since then, but he feels way better today,” Hyde said.

“He should be in there tomorrow.”

Center fielder Cedric Mullins remains with Double-A Bowie, starting in center field tonight in Richmond. His rehab assignment is nearing a conclusion.

Adley Rutschman is leading off and serving as designated hitter tonight, as the Orioles begin their three-game series against the Astros at Camden Yards.

The Orioles are facing another left-hander tonight, Framber Valdez, which obviously impacts how manager Brandon Hyde writes out his lineup.

Jorge Mateo is in center field, and Austin Hays returns to the lineup as the left fielder.

Gunnar Henderson is playing shortstop and batting fifth. He leads the Orioles with 62 runs scored and can become the first rookie to finish first in that category since Cal Ripken Jr. (90) in 1982, per STATS.

Willie Tasby led the Orioles with 69 runs in 1959 and Tito Francona was first with 62 in 1956.

With the promotion Sunday of infielder Max Wagner from High-A Aberdeen to Double-A Bowie, the Orioles now have their first four picks from the 2022 MLB Draft all together at the Double-A level with Jackson Holliday, Dylan Beavers, Wagner and Jud Fabian. 

Holliday was the No. 1 overall pick in that draft with Beavers at No. 33, Wagner No. 42 and Fabian No. 67. The last three are all college draft picks but Holliday, who is baseball's No. 1 prospect, is the 19-year-old phenom having a sensational season. 

Beavers has put up some very solid numbers in his own right and just got to Bowie last week, going 8-for-20 in his first five Double-A games. His bat is hot now, but it wasn’t always that way in 2023. He began the year with Aberdeen and after 45 games was batting just .214 with a .664 OPS.  But then in his next 40 games with the IronBirds he had this line - .343/.443/.580/1.023 with 29 walks and 21 extra-base hits.  

Now ranked as the No. 10 O’s prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 22 by Baseball America, his bat was smoking. He is a player that gets some 60 grades from scouts for his power, running and arm.  

Beavers told me over the weekend in Bowie that when his bat was slow to get going this year, he tried not to overly stress about it and instead draw on experience from college ball at the University of California. There he began his career as a two-way player and later as a power-hitting outfielder was good enough to be the No. 33 overall selection. 

Yes, there are concerns about season innings limits for several pitchers and yes there have been concerns about the O’s middle relief and getting rest for their late game bullpen flamethrowers.

But while those concerns are still out there and valid, the Orioles keep winning and their pitching staff seems to have hit a higher gear recently.

In taking two of three against the New York Yankees last weekend, the Orioles gave up three runs in their two wins. In taking three of four at Toronto, they allowed 10 runs in the series. In sweeping three from the New York Mets, they allowed six runs in the series and produced the season’s sixth shutout with Sunday’s four-hitter.

The O’s team ERA is 4.04 to rank eighth in the American League. That is respectable but they are trending up with their pitching as their team ERA is going down. The current mark is the lowest O’s team ERA since May 25.

In going 7-1 the last eight games, the team ERA is 2.15. In going 21-7 the last 28 games, their ERA is 3.23.

The bullpen juggling began today with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning, after balls kept missing the strike zone. Manager Brandon Hyde not wanting the Orioles to drop a game in the series.

Hyde has limits to his patience and desires to back off his relievers. Kyle Bradish tied his career high with five walks but didn’t allow a run. The pressing of luck would have to stop.

Former Orioles outfielder DJ Stewart grounded out against left-hander Cionel Pérez, the matchup game working out, and Jorge Mateo tripled and scored in the bottom half of the inning.

Félix Bautista notched his 30^th save after Shintaro Fujinami topped 100 mph on six of his nine pitches, and the Orioles registered their seventh sweep with a 2-0 victory over the Mets before an announced crowd of 27,100 at Camden Yards.

Mets left-hander José Quintana shut out the Orioles through the fourth, but center fielder Rafael Ortega whiffed on a diving attempt on a sinking liner and Mateo had his second triple of the season. Third baseman Mark Vientos mishandled Adley Rutschman’s grounder and settled for the out at first to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead.

The Orioles have scored 17 runs in winning the first two games of their series with the New York Mets. They go for a three-game sweep this afternoon which would lift them to a season-high 28 games over the .500 mark if they get that done.

The Orioles beat the Mets 10-3 Friday night and 7-3 last night to open a three-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays atop the American League East. They lead Toronto by 7.5 games and are 11 up on New York and 11.5 games ahead of the Boston Red Sox.

The Orioles have won three in a row, six of seven, 10 of 14 and are 20-7 in the last 27 games, playing .741 ball in that span.

The Orioles have now scored five runs or more 15 times in the last 27 games and they are 15-0 in those games. The Birds have scored 37 runs in the last five games and 50 in their past seven.

In going 6-1 in the last seven games, the Orioles have a run differential of +31, winning those games by six, two, 10, five, seven and four runs.

Austin Hays is out of the lineup for the second consecutive day due to soreness that’s accumulated over the last two series.

Hays played left field in all four games against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre and made a sliding catch in foul territory in the ninth inning Friday night at Camden Yards with the Orioles leading 10-3. Hays came up limping and grimacing, but he stayed in the game.

Colton Cowser started in left last night, and Hays is on the bench again today, with Ryan McKenna in left and Jorge Mateo in center.

“He’s made a lot of diving catches on turf, on dirt,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Just a little sore. Off-day works out tomorrow where he’s going to get a few days off here. Should be available possibly off the bench today but just wanted to give him another day to mend a little bit.”

Mateo is making his eighth career start and 14^th appearance in center. He handled the final two innings last night and didn't have a ball hit to him.

The Orioles will go for the sweep this afternoon with Jorge Mateo making his first start in center field in two years.

Austin Hays is on the bench again today. He must be one of the “bumps and bruises” guys from the trip to Toronto.

Mateo was a defensive substitution in center field last night. He hasn’t started since June 13, 2021 with the Padres.

Manager Brandon Hyde said yesterday that Mateo has worked out in center to improve the club’s depth with Cedric Mullins and Aaron Hicks on the injured list.

“Of course, I feel comfortable playing out there,” Mateo said via interpreter Brandon Quinones.

BOWIE, Md. – Before Saturday night at Prince George's Stadium, the last time right-hander Tyler Wells was seen on a mound he lasted just 2 2/3 innings. It was a week ago last night at Baltimore’s Camden Yards where he allowed three runs and three hits on 63 pitches against the New York Yankees.

It was his third straight sub-par game – a stretch where he allowed 11 runs and nine walks over nine innings – and he was optioned to Double-A Bowie after that game.

He reported to the Baysox team here on Tuesday for a reset and to get his arm and body some rest. Scheduled to make a short start last night for Bowie, he took the mound in his No. 34 home white Baysox jersey to face the team with the second-best record in the Eastern League, Boston affiliate Portland.

Pitching at the Double-A level for the first time since the 2018 season and making just his second outing for an O’s affiliate (one at High-A Aberdeen last year), Wells allowed two hits and one run on a solo homer over 3 1/3 innings Saturday night as Bowie beat Portland 9-4.

Wells walked one and fanned two, throwing 53 pitches, 35 for strikes. Many fastballs registered in the 93 mph range on the PG Stadium gun, so pretty normal for Wells, who has gone 7-6 with a 3.80 ERA for the Orioles.

Players stood in the dugout yesterday at sold out Camden Yards to watch the ceremony honoring the 1983 World Series champions. None of them born before future Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. squeezed Garry Maddox’s line drive for the last out.

All of them hoping 40 years is the limit between titles.

Ripken headed downstairs after the Orioles’ 7-3 win last night and talked to manager Brandon Hyde in the hallway outside the clubhouse. The 1983 team endorses the 2023 group that is a season-high 27 games above .500, loving the talent and energy, and how it’s brought fans back to Camden Yards.

Here’s more from Friday’s media sessions:

Al Bumbry on the similarity between the 1983 and 2023 Orioles.

The Orioles returned home and kept winning last night. And in the last week or so some of their wins have been coming by bigger margins. Friday night James McCann tied his career high with five RBIs and Jordan Westburg hit a three-run homer in a 10-3 romp over the New York Mets.

McCann had a two-run single, two-run double, an RBI single and a walk. His five-RBI game tied his career high from Aug. 12, 2017 for Detroit.

Westburg’s second big league homer was a three-run blast to center, hit 424 feet on a 96 mph fastball in the last of the seventh. Westburg went 2-for-3 with two walks and is hitting .276 with a .785 OPS.

The Baltimore offense has produced 30 runs the last four games and 43 in the past six games. In their last 26 games, the Orioles have scored five runs or more 14 times, and they are 14-0 in those games.

Since playing on "Sunday Night Baseball," the Orioles' wins have come by 9-3, 4-2, 13-3, 6-1 and 10-3 margins. They are 5-1 the last six games with a plus-27 run differential.

It’s a long season and a pitcher that was seemingly unhittable for a long stretch of 2023 was now becoming much more hittable. O’s righty reliever Yennier Cano had a prolific start to his season. But in recent outings he’s made some changes to try to get himself completely back on track.

This is a right-hander who has been a standout for the Orioles, who made the All-Star team. After his first 17 games of the year, Cano had not allowed a run and had allowed just four hits over 21 2/3 innings. He gave up his first run this season on May 19 and first walk on May 25. He didn’t make the Opening Day roster but was pitching in the bigs in mid-April. So that was a stunning stretch of outstanding pitching.

But in 10 appearances before the recent series with the New York Yankees, Cano had an ERA of 5.00, allowing a .368 batting average and 1.000 OPS.

Then he faced the Yankees twice, and was particularly sharp during the "Sunday Night Baseball" game. He threw a scoreless inning on 17 pitches with three strikeouts.

Two of the strikeouts came on fastballs, but Cano threw nine sliders in that game. A pitcher who had averaged using his slider just 12 percent of the time on the year threw 53 percent in that game.

The 1983 Orioles had three future Hall of Famers on their roster but also reserves who stepped up in pressure situations, contributions made from top to bottom that led to the organization’s last World Series championship.

This year’s club is reliant on 26 players, too early to know who might be ticketed for Cooperstown. And they keep finding new and creative ways to win.

It could be a starter or reliever, a regular or a backup. Many times, it’s a group effort.

In his first game against the Mets since they traded him in December, catcher James McCann had a two-run single in the fourth inning, a two-run double in the sixth and an RBI single in the seventh to tie his career high. Rookie Jordan Westburg reached base four times, scoring from first base in the sixth on Ryan O’Hearn’s tie-breaking fly ball that fell in right-center field, and hammering a 424-foot, three-run homer in the seventh.

Mike Baumann got a big double play to end the top half of the inning and retired all four batters that he faced.

More than 20 members of the Orioles 1983 World Series championship team are in Baltimore for the 40^th anniversary celebration. A few players didn’t expect to be invited back, saying their group won’t be the most recent to win a title.

They think this Orioles team is destined to make its own history.

A three-games series against the Mets begins with the Orioles holding the best record in the American League and second-best in baseball.

“Well, it’s really nice of them to say that, but we have a long way to go and big shoes to fill,” manager Brandon Hyde said today.

“That was a great team, so I’m excited to see some of these guys, meet some of them. I haven’t met very many of them, but fortunate to get to rub shoulders with Jim Palmer on most days and hear about ’83 stories and other Orioles past stories. It’s fun to have them here. It’s nice for them to be recognized in the ballpark, and they should be. It’s an awesome feat to win a World Series and they should be celebrated throughout the city.”

The Orioles enjoyed their trek to Toronto, taking three of four from a Blue Jays team that had won 21 of 28 games heading into that series. The Orioles outscored the Blue Jays 24-10 in the series. 

They left Canada with a 67-42 record and have now won four of five, eight of 12 and 18 of the last 25 games. They are 13-7 in the second half.

Tonight the Orioles play the New York Mets, and the Birds have lost their past two series against National League teams. They went 1-2 versus the Dodgers and Phillies, but they began the second half with a three-game sweep of Miami.

The Orioles are just 15-14 (.517) against NL teams but they are 52-28 (.650) against American League teams.

The Orioles pitched well at Rogers Centre, with their starting pitchers recording a 2.92 ERA in the four-game series while the bullpen allowed just one run in 10 1/3 innings. Over 35 innings at Toronto, Baltimore pitchers allowed 18 hits and 10 runs with 13 walks and 41 strikeouts.

The Orioles are back home for a weekend series against the Mets, followed by three games against the Astros.

Ryan Mountcastle, who went 11-for-13 with four doubles and six RBIs in Toronto, is batting second and playing first base. He tied the club record for hits in a series of four games or fewer. Merv Rettenmund went 11-for-18 when the Orioles swept Cleveland in a four-game series in September 1971.

In 18 games since returning from vertigo, Mountcastle has gone 23-for-50 (.460) with a 1.220 OPS, seven doubles, two home runs and 10 RBIs.

Adley Rutschman is leading off and serving as designated hitter. Gunnar Henderson is batting third and playing shortstop.

Ryan O’Hearn stays in right field. Jordan Westburg is the second baseman. Ryan McKenna starts in center field.

TORONTO – You only get one chance to make a first impression. Right-hander Jack Flaherty, who had made 118 starts for the St. Louis Cardinals since the 2017 season, made a good one on his new Orioles teammates and fans throughout Birdland.

He was rolling, getting through the fifth in Toronto Thursday afternoon on 58 pitches. He had retired 15 in a row. But he got in trouble in the sixth and Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s single made it a 3-1 O’s lead and he walked a man to load the bases. But given a chance to pitch out of that big jam, he did, getting Matt Chapman swinging on a big breaking curveball and Alejandro Kirk to fly out on a breaking ball.

His new manager had the confidence to let him try and get out of that jam.

“Means a lot,” Flaherty said of that trust. “Go out and make pitches and let me get through that. Walked (George) Springer but made some good pitches and was able to execute with Chapman and Kirk there. Nice to have that trust and my job is to continue to make pitches until he takes the ball from me.”

Allowing just one run over six innings on 92 pitches, Flaherty seems fired up to be an Oriole so far. He had not touched 97 mph with his fastball all year and then he did that in his first inning.

TORONTO – Jack Flaherty’s Orioles debut got off to a rocky start today. But it quickly got better. And it mostly stayed that way, especially thanks to some clutch pitching from the right-hander in the last of the sixth. 

Flaherty allowed one run and four hits over six innings on 92 pitches as the Orioles beat Toronto 6-1 to win three of four in this series at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles (67-42) are 8-2 this year versus Toronto. Their AL East lead grows to two games over idle Tampa Bay.

Since July 20, the Orioles have gone 3-1 in both four-game series against their closest pursuers in the Rays and Jays. They also went 2-1 against the Yankees in that span. They are now 22-10 in their past 32 games over the last 10 AL East series, going 8-0-2 in those series.

“Complete team," Flaherty said of the Orioles. "You kind of new that coming in and you get around them and see what they’re about. They are a complete team. Offense, defense, pitching – they can do it all.”

TORONTO – He had three lights out games before last night, but his performance Wednesday led directly to the Orioles’ 4-1 loss against Toronto. Manager Brandon Hyde is trying to figure out how reliever Shintaro Fujinami can become more consistent with his command and control. And pitch without feeling too much pressure as well.

In three games before this one, he had thrown 4 2/3 scoreless with seven strikeouts. Then he came on in the sixth with two on and two outs and walked his first batter and then hit two in a row as Toronto took the lead without getting a hit.

“It’s a balancing act. You just try to do the best you can," said Hyde. "There is no real soft landing in the big leagues. Especially in August and you are trying to win and most of our games are close. It’s not ’19, ‘20 or ’21 here now. We’re trying to win games. And you do the best you can to try and put guys in position to have success. Try to have good conversations. Try to make guys relax as much as possible and make them feel good about themselves. Try to give them confidence as much as possible. But it’s their job to perform. We’re looking for guys that can help us win right now."

Right-hander Jack Flaherty (7-6, 4.43 ERA) makes his O’s debut today after the club acquired him Tuesday just minutes ahead of the trade deadline.

Flaherty went 3-1 with a 3.03 ERA and 1.416 WHIP in five July starts. In 13 starts since he gave up 10 runs in an early May game, he is 5-2 with a 3.58 ERA over 75 1/3 innings. He has six quality starts in that span.