With the Orioles now for the third time this year, lefty Cole Irvin will make his fourth O’s start tomorrow - his first in the big leagues since April 13 - when the Orioles host Kansas City on Saturday. 

He will, at least for one day, rejoin the rotation and, maybe if it goes well, stick around in the starting five. He began this year 0-2 with a 10.66 ERA in three starts before he was optioned to the minors April 14. He was back from May 16-21, but got into just one game, getting one out on just seven pitches for the Orioles.

But after going 6-1 with a 3.21 ERA in seven starts for Triple-A Norfolk, Irvin is back on the mound tomorrow afternoon for the Orioles.

“I’m ready, I’m prepared,” he said in the clubhouse this afternoon. “I’ve fixed some things I needed to fix. Eliminated some walks, so now it’s just about getting out there tomorrow and putting in a good effort to get a win for this ballclub.”

With the Tides he pitched 42 innings, striking out 22 while allowing just four walks and 1.048 WHIP. In those first three starts with Baltimore he walked eight in 12 2/3 innings.

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Recalled LHP Nick Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk.
• Optioned LHP Bruce Zimmermann to Triple-A Norfolk.

Once again this year the Orioles are fielding two teams in the rookie-level Dominican Summer League. They are the DSL Orioles Orange team and the DSL Orioles Black team. Play in the DSL began on Monday of this week.

Through the early part of the year, the Black squad is 2-1 and the Orange team is 1-2 after Thursday's games.

Infielder Luis Almeyda, who got a $2.3 million dollar bonus, the largest ever given out by the Orioles last January, is playing on the Orange roster. Thus far he is 2-for-7 with a double, homer and four RBIs. Infielder Joshua Liranzo, who got the second largest bonus in January at $500,000, is on the Black squad. Infielder José Mejía, signed for $400,000 is on the Black roster and infielder Félix Amparo, signed for $350,000, plays for the Black roster.

DSL ORIOLES ORANGE

Pitchers: Ezequiel Bonilla, Eccel Correa, Francisco Crispin, Esteban Dicent, Cesar Espinal, Pedro Figueroa, Javier Gonzalez, Ledwin Gonzalez, Elias Moscoso, Andrés Parra, Juan Rasquin, Geronimo Rombley, Wilton Rondon, Rafael Suero, Kevin Velasco, Jose Yan.

MILWAUKEE – Ramón Urías rounded first base, smacked his hands together and pointed at the sky. On a routine single in the ninth inning of a 10-0 game that felt like much more.

Urías had two hits in 25 at-bats after his activation from the injured list. The hamstring was healed. His offensive stats were hurting.

Manager Brandon Hyde excluded Urías from Wednesday night’s lineup, offering him a reset and a chance to concentrate on his workday. Try to recapture the timing that made him one of the team’s most clutch hitters. Timing apparently lost during an almost three-week absence from the majors.

The ground ball that scooted into left field after he came off the bench could have been a 110-mph line drive and Urías was going to react in the same manner. Joy and relief intertwined at first base.

Urías started at third base yesterday and doubled to right field in his first at-bat, homered in the seventh inning to ruin Milwaukee’s shutout bid, and singled in the ninth. A triple shy of the cycle, and his first three-hit game since May 5.

MILWAUKEE – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde wanted better at-bats from his club today. Get in more favorable counts. Improve the pitch selection and decision making. Stop pressing.

Start scoring again.

Kyle Bradish settled down after an unusually rough first inning, and an offense that was dormant for most of the series bolted upright against the Brewers’ bullpen, with Gunnar Henderson’s two-run shot in the eighth keying a 6-3 victory before an announced crowd of 27,318 at American Family Field.

Anthony Santander doubled off Peter Strzelecki with one out in the eighth to score Adley Rutschman. Austin Hays took a disputed third strike, but Henderson carried a first-pitch fastball over the left field fence.

Henderson raised his arm as he approached second base. An entire team was lifted.

Only once this year did the Orioles lose the first two games of a three-game series and that was May 26-27 versus Texas, but they did win the series finale to avoid a sweep. They need to do that again today or they will be swept by an opponent for the first time in 2023.

The last time they were swept in a series of two or more games was by Detroit on May 13-15, 2022 on the road.

Milwaukee has posted wins by 4-3 in 10 innings and 10-2 to leave the Orioles at 37-24 overall and 2-3 on their road trip that ends today.  The Orioles have their third road series loss of the season and are now 8-3 in road series. They remain in second place in the AL East, but are now 6.5 games back of Tampa Bay and just 1.5 games up on the New York Yankees, who reside in third in the division.

Even with a recent downturn by the offense, the Orioles remain with the sixth-best team OPS in the American League at .731 and they rank fourth in the AL in runs per game at 4.87.

But here were the O’s offensive numbers through their first 49 games: They batted .253/.330/.427/.757 and scored 5.18 runs per game.

MILWAUKEE – The Orioles try to avoid their first sweep this afternoon with Austin Hays in center field and batting cleanup, and Gunnar Henderson replacing Jorge Mateo at shortstop.

Ryan Mountcastle has returned to the lineup after being on the bench for two of the last five games. He’s 4-for-26 in his last seven and batting sixth today.

Anthony Santander is in right field and batting third. He’s 0-for-20 on the road trip.

James McCann is catching and Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

Ryan O’Hearn is starting in left field. Aaron Hicks, who’s 7-for-19 with the Orioles, is on the bench.

Young Jackson Holliday played his first game for High-A Aberdeen on April 25, moving up from Low Single-A Delmarva after producing an OPS of 1.182 in 14 games there.

It was fast, but not unexpected from the player that is so skilled, has such a strong background in the game and was taken No. 1 overall in the 2022 MLB Draft.

But it was a few weeks after that promotion, that Holliday’s immense talent was on full display. On May 16-17 at Winston-Salem, he went 8-for-9 over a two-game stretch with two doubles, three triples, a homer and 11 RBIs for the IronBirds.

It was a stunning two-game display.

“It was like watching 'MLB: The Show,'” Aberdeen manager Roberto Mercado told me this week of those games for the IronBirds. “Talk about hitting the ball all over the park and he was hitting the ball with power too. Along with that he was and has been playing great defense and has a great baseball IQ. All season he has played really, really well.”

MILWAUKEE – The goals have shifted for the Orioles as they near the conclusion of their latest road trip.

Don’t get swept. Try to go .500.

Try to keep the first-place Rays within viewing distance and don’t let anyone get too close.

Corbin Burnes tossed eight scoreless innings, rookie Joey Wiemer homered twice and had five RBIs, and the Brewers scored six runs off Dean Kremer in a 10-2 victory before an announced crowd of 22,320 at American Family Field.

The Orioles won two of three games from the Giants but have dropped the first two in Milwaukee. Their record is 37-24, still good for second place in the division but leaving them 6 ½ behind Tampa Bay, which got a walk-off home run from Randy Arozarena.

MILWAUKEE – Ramón Urías will watch his younger brother tonight from the visiting dugout. He can wave toward the home side.

Urías started at third base last night, with Luis playing second for the Brewers. Ramón isn’t in the lineup while mired in a 2-for-25 slump. Luis also is sitting.

The brothers hadn’t played in the same major league game before, creating a unique experience for the family.

“It was a special moment,” Ramón said this afternoon. “We were looking forward to this game, and it was an exciting moment to be on the field.”

One that they dreamed about growing up in Mexico.

The Orioles lost the opening game of a series five times in the month of May. They would win two of those series, lose two and split a four-game set against the Los Angeles Angels.

Last night’s 4-3 loss in 10 innings at Milwaukee was their sixth series-opening loss in the last nine such games. In May, the Orioles lost the series opener to both Tampa Bay and the New York Yankees, but won the last two games to take those series. They lost series openers – and later the series itself – against Texas and Cleveland.

They hit the 60-game mark last night, going 37-23, and now have 102 games remaining in the 2023 regular season. With a .617 win percentage, they hold the third-best record in MLB and are playing at a pace to win 100 games over a full year.

O's pitchers struck out a season-high 16 batters Tuesday night, their most since also fanning 16 in nine innings on Sept. 20, 2020 vs. Tampa Bay. The O’s staff, at 9.26 strikeouts per nine innings, ranks fifth in the American League in K rate behind Houston (9.67), Toronto (9.61), Minnesota (9.56) and the Chicago White Sox (9.47).

Outfielder Aaron Hicks hit a two-run home run in the second inning to tie the game, his first since joining the O's. He’s reached safely in each of his first five games with Baltimore and has hit safely in four of them, batting .400/.500/.733 (6- for-15) with one triple, one home run, five runs scored, three RBIs and three walks with two multi-hit efforts.

MILWAUKEE – Gunnar Henderson has returned to the Orioles lineup tonight for the first time since Saturday.

Henderson was day-to-day with discomfort in his lower back.

Josh Lester is the designated hitter and Ryan O’Hearn gets the start at first base.

Ryan Mountcastle and Ramón Urías are on the bench.

Adam Frazier is leading off again.

Many hitters are in trouble when the count reaches two strikes against most big league pitchers. At that point, that pitcher has done a lot of the heavy lifting to get ahead and now tries to execute a put away pitch to end the at-bat, either with weak contact or with a strikeout.

Among all Orioles players, catcher Adley Rutschman is the best hitter in two-strike count situations, batting .267. That doesn’t mean just 0-2 but 1-2 or any count with two strikes. That may not sound that a great number but .267 ranks as tied for the best in the American League in such spots. Among all MLB hitters it is tied for sixth-best. Miami’s Luis Arráez leads all hitters batting .304 with two-strike counts. Rutschman’s OPS in such spots is .713, to rank ninth-best in the AL.

Rutschman has a batting average of .273 when the count is specifically 0-2 and .310 when the count is at 1-2.

He has a strong, as they call it, “two-strike approach.”

“It is definitely unique and it’s incredibly advanced,” manager Brandon Hyde said in San Francisco of Rutschman’s two-strike batting. “And for someone that has played a year in the big leagues to have that sort of confidence and bat-to-ball skills (is impressive). With no press in his game, he is just super relaxed and he understands the strikezone so well. He has so much confidence in his hands, that’s why he shows so many two strike handsy swings, handsy hits to left field.”

With a 20-10 road record on the year, the Orioles open a series at Milwaukee tonight looking for yet another series win and another road series win.

On the season, the Orioles are 13-5-1 in series play and they are 8-2 in road series. They lost their first road series of the season at Boston and have lost just one road series since then, at Atlanta. Since losing that series to the Braves they have won their past three road series at Toronto, New York and San Francisco, going 7-2 in the last nine road games.

According to Stats Perform, the Orioles’ 20 road wins in their first 30 away games ties for the second-most ever by an O’s club in the first 30 road contests. It trails only the 1969 club that won 23 of its first 30 on the road.

The American League East as the Milwaukee series begins:

* Tampa Bay, 43-19 (.694)

The Orioles have made the following roster moves:

• Reinstated LHP Danny Coulombe from the Bereavement List.
• Optioned INF/OF Terrin Vavra to Triple-A Norfolk.

Just looking at the stat will probably not impress anyone. The Orioles' starting rotation ERA for the year of 4.78 ranks only 12^th best in the American League. And 24^th in all of MLB. So, there is room for improvement.

But in recent weeks we have seen some of that improvement which creates some hope that the next 103 games for that rotation can be better than the first 59.

And that is because they’ve pitched better in the last 25 games from their rotation - much better. The O’s rotation ERA in that span is 4.00. An ERA for the year of 4.00 would rank sixth-best in the AL. In those 25 games – where the club is 15-10 – the Orioles have 11 quality starts. That is a QS in 44 percent of those games for about the last month. In that span they won series from Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh, Toronto, the New York Yankees and San Francisco.

O’s pitching allowed just six runs in three games versus Tampa Bay, seven runs against Pittsburgh, 10 runs in the three-game sweep at Toronto, 13 runs versus the Yankees and nine at San Francisco. They didn’t outslug those teams while beating them, they pitched them well. And the starters had a lot to do with that.

In the season’s first 34 games, before this 25-game run, Baltimore pitchers produced only seven quality starts with an ERA of 5.39. They got a QS 20.6 percent as opposed to 44 percent now in the last 25 contests.

SAN FRANCISCO – When the series began on Friday the Orioles had lost back-to-back series for the first time all year. Their pitching staff had gotten torched for 12 runs on Wednesday versus Cleveland with the bullpen giving up 11 runs.

But during a weekend where they faced a San Francisco Giants team that had won four of its last five series and was 11-5 over the previous 16 games, the Orioles took two of three from the Giants.

Their pitching staff restored some order even as they played three more games without Cedric Mullins and the last 15 innings of the series without Gunnar Henderson, who left Saturday’s game with lower back discomfort. The good news there is that manager Brandon Hyde said Sunday he was doing better and he seemed confident Henderson could play in the Milwaukee series that begins tomorrow night.

O’s pitching gave up two, four and three runs in the series at Oracle Park, allowing nine runs on 21 hits in the games with 10 walks to 34 strikeouts.

Right-hander Tyler Wells set a career high with nine strikeouts Sunday, but all the Ks also helped escalate his pitch count and he left the game after 5 1/3 innings throwing 102 pitches. Mike Baumann, Yennier Cano and Austin Voth covered the last 3 2/3 allowing a hit and a run.

SAN FRANCISCO - The Orioles and Giants have exchanged victories in the first two games of this weekend series. The Orioles won 3-2 Friday and were held to five hits in last night's 4-0 loss.

Former O's right-hander Alex Cobb went 7 2/3 innings, allowing five hits with no walks and seven strikeouts on 103 pitches. He is now 5-2 with a 2.71 ERA.

This was the second-longest outing of the year for Cobb, who has a 1.43 ERA at Oracle Park, the fourth-lowest home ERA in the major leagues. In his last four starts versus the Orioles he is 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA. 

The Orioles have scored just three runs, going 9-for-61 in this series with three doubles and one home run. They have scored three runs or fewer in seven of the past nine games.

A loss today would give the Orioles three consecutive series losses for the first time this year. They are 3-5 the last eight games and 10-9 over their past 19. They are 19-10 on the road and 11-5 in their past 16 away from Oriole Park.

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 – Sometimes in baseball momentum is only as good as the next day’s pitcher and yesterday the Orioles could not do much with former Oriole right-hander Alex Cobb. He threw 7 2/3 scoreless last night, allowing five hits in the Giants’ 4-0 win over the Orioles.

The series is even at Oracle Park and the rubber match is today at 4:05 p.m. ET.

“Well he throws a lit bit harder,” manager Brandon Hyde said of Cobb who was an Oriole compared to the Cobb who is healthier now. “He was banged up a little bit when I had him and coming off some injuries. And the last couple of years his stuff is back to where it was in the Tampa days. Just throwing the ball extremely well right now.”

Now comes the concern that, after already missing center fielder Cedric Mullins with a right groin strain, the club could play some time without infielder Gunnar Henderson, just as his bat was truly coming around.

He has had some lingering lower back soreness it was learned after last night’s game, which he left before the start of the bottom of the third.