He just turned 19 in December and in 33 career pro baseball games, shortstop Jackson Holliday is batting .339/.503/.530/.1.033 with 11 doubles, a triple, three homers and 24 RBIs. There have been few, really no struggles, for Holliday yet on the Orioles' watch.

But if he doesn’t tear it up initially as he now moves up from Low Single-A Delmarva to High-A Aberdeen, he will be keeping good company. Gunnar Henderson started 1-for-31 his first 11 games at Aberdeen in the 2021 season and last season Heston Kjerstad hit .233 with an OPS of .674 at Aberdeen in 43 games.

Those stats for both were modest but it didn't keep them from advancing in their careers.

Now the player that the O’s drafted No. 1 overall last summer, a player ranked as baseball’s No. 10 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 13 by Baseball America, will play his first IronBirds game tonight when Aberdeen plays at Wilmington. His home debut is to come May 9 at Ripken Stadium.

On my WBAL Radio O’s postgame show last night, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias joined me to talk about Holliday’s promotion.

For the first time since April 9, the Orioles will face an American League East team tonight. They open a three-game home series versus the Boston Red Sox.

The O’s (14-7) opened the 2023 season at Fenway Park, winning 10-9 before losses by 9-8 and 9-5 scores. They allowed Boston at least nine runs in three consecutive games.

Contrast that with the pitching lately, where the Orioles have allowed just seven runs during a six-game win streak. O’s pitchers have allowed just three runs over their past 54 innings and three runs the last five games, allowing, in order, 0, 0, 1, 1 and 1 against Washington and Detroit.

But Boston (12-11) just took two of three at Milwaukee, and the Red Sox, since beginning this season at 5-8, are 7-3 and have won three of their past four. They are 2-5 versus AL East clubs, going 2-1 against Baltimore but 0-4 against Tampa Bay.

The current AL East standings

At the end of a baseball season, when a team like the Orioles hopes to have enough wins to make the playoffs, victories like Sunday may really seem important. They took a game where they didn’t have a baserunner until the seventh inning and didn’t score until the eighth and they won that game.

Adam Frazier scored the winning run and afterward talked about the importance of turning a potential 1-0 loss into a 2-1 win to sweep the Detroit Tigers.

"Those kinds of wins at the end of the season, they add up," Frazier said Sunday. "That's how you make the playoffs. A lot of good teams can win a series, but to sweep a series is hard to do.”

Frazier pinch-ran for the placed runner at second base to start the bottom of the 10th inning. He advanced to third on a sac bunt and then, with Jorge Mateo batting, scored on a wild pitch thrown by Mason Englert to end the day with the third O’s walk-off win in their past four at home.

“Guy (Eduardo Rodriguez) was throwing a perfect game, so anytime you can steal one like that it means a lot,” Frazier added this afternoon, speaking of the O’s 14^th win. “Those little wins where it looks like you might not win start adding up later in the year.

He is one of baseball’s best prospects and has been playing very much like it this year. And now, after just 13 games to begin his 2023 season at Low Single-A Delmarva, the Orioles are promoting shortstop Jackson Holliday to High-A Aberdeen.

Holliday, 19, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, will play his first IronBirds game tomorrow night when Aberdeen begins a six-game series at Wilmington. The following week Aberdeen plays at Brooklyn. Holliday will make his home debut at Ripken Stadium on Tuesday, May 9 against Hudson Valley.

With Delmarva, Holliday was batting .392/.523/.667/.1.190 with six doubles, a triple, two homers, 15 runs, three steals and 15 RBIs. He ranked in the top three in the Carolina League in average, OBP, slugging, OPS, runs and RBIs. He produced three games with four RBIs each and on Friday went 3-for-6 with his first two homers of the season. He ends his time with Delmarva batting .429 (12-for-28) during a seven-game hitting streak.

Holliday, who turned 19 on Dec. 4, is ranked as MLB’s No. 10 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 13 by Baseball America. Last summer he became the third No. 1 overall pick in Orioles history, following Ben McDonald in 1989 and Adley Rutschman in 2019.

He became the first high school position player taken by the Orioles with their top draft selection since Manny Machado was selected No. 3 overall in 2010.

With the Major League Baseball season now underway, the Orioles’ year-round baseball operations continue in Sarasota with Extended Spring Training. The public is invited to watch Orioles minor league players in action at the Ed Smith Stadium complex in April, May, and June. Baltimore’s farm system is currently rated as the top player development system in baseball, according to Baseball America, ESPN, and MLB Pipeline. 

Gates open 30 minutes before game time and there is no charge to attend the games, which will be held on the Main Field unless otherwise noted. Free parking is available in the East Lot. Stadium entry is located at the Left Field Gate, and seating is restricted to sections 116-125 and 216-225. Concession stands will be closed. Game times and locations are subject to change without notice due to weather and field conditions.

ORIOLES 2023 EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING HOME GAMES

ABERDEEN, Md. - JACKSON HOLLIDAY, Baltimore Orioles’ 2022 1st overall draft  pick, has been promoted from the Delmarva Shorebirds (Single-A) to the Aberdeen IronBirds (Advanced-A), the Orioles  announced today. Holliday, son of retired Major League 7-time  All-Star Matt Holliday, re-joined the Shorebirds out of 2023 Spring Training, having posted a .297/.489/.422 line in 20 games in 2022. His 2023 campaign is more of the same, with .392/.503/.530 in 51 at bats this year, including 2 home runs and 15 RBI. Holliday has also posted highlight  reel plays on defense, adding to his overall scouting profile. “The IronBirds are thrilled to have Jackson  joining us here in Aberdeen to play in Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium,” celebrated Jack Graham, IronBirds  GM. “He’s a special player and we are thrilled to have him joining the ranks of players who have stopped  in Harford County on their journey through Birdland.” 

Holliday joins the team as they begin a road series in Wilmington, Delaware, against their cross-border  rivals the BlueRocks, Advanced-A Washington Nationals affiliate. His presence will provide a jolt for the IronBirds team as they enter their fourth series of the season, which began on April 6th. Tickets for games  in Wilmington can be purchased by visiting www.bluerocks.com, and tickets for IronBirds games beginning  May 9th can be purchased at www.ironbirdsbaseball.com, or by calling (410) 297-9292. 

The Orioles, through 21 games, are playing .667 ball at 14-7. They are on a pace to win 108 games this season. It’s a pretty solid start, to say the least.

They are second in the AL East, 4.5 games back of a 19-3 Tampa Bay team, but 1.5 games ahead of both the Yankees and Blue Jays and three games up on the Boston team they host tonight.

Birdland has to be pleased with that start, which ties for third-best after 21 games in Baltimore Orioles history.

The Orioles started the year playing three teams that are all playing .522 or better ball right now in the Red Sox, Rangers and Yankees. They went 4-5 in those games. They have played four teams since that have not played better than .350 ball to this point. Against those lesser clubs, they cleaned up going 10-2.

O’s manager Brandon Hyde doesn’t see the schedule in terms of games and series they should win, he said yesterday.

The first inning didn’t hurt Grayson Rodriguez today. He punched back before it could leave marks.

A leadoff single by Akil Baddoo wasn’t a “here we go again” moment for the rookie. He struck out the next three batters for his only scoreless opening frame in four major league starts.

Rodriguez didn’t retire the side in order until the fifth, which included two of his six strikeouts. He managed to keep the Tigers scoreless while the Orioles tried to get their first base runner against Tigers left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez.

Ryan Mountcastle lined a two-out single into left-center field in the seventh to complete a tense eight-pitch at-bat against the former Orioles minor leaguer. There wouldn’t be an embarrassing entry into baseball’s history books.

There wouldn’t even be a shutout.

After 2-1 and 5-1 wins the last two days over the Detroit Tigers (7-12), the Orioles can complete their first three-game sweep of the 2023 season with a win this afternoon at Oriole Park.

O’s pitchers have allowed just two runs and seven hits this weekend with five walks and 23 strikeouts. Right-hander Kyle Gibson allowed one run and two hits over 6 1/3 innings last night. He walked three and tied his career high with 11 strikeouts. Gibson is now 4-0 with a 3.60 ERA. The rest of the O’s rotation has combined for just two wins.

Highest Single-Game Strikeout Totals by O's Pitchers since 2019:

12 K: John Means on 5/5/21 at Seattle

12 K: John Means on 9/20/20 vs. Tampa Bay

A late scratch from last night’s lineup, shortstop Jorge Mateo is starting this afternoon’s series finale against the Tigers at Camden Yards with no rain in the forecast.

Manager Brandon Hyde reconsidered yesterday with rain falling throughout the day, worried that Mateo might reinjure his right hip. Mateo, who hasn’t played since leaving Wednesday’s game in D.C., was on the field before 10 a.m. with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel to do some light running and side-to-side drills.

He must have passed the tests.

Cedric Mullins is batting ninth again today, with Austin Hays in the leadoff spot. Ramón Urías, who had a three-run double last night and later was ejected from the game, is batting cleanup and playing second base.

Gunnar Henderson is at third base and Ryan McKenna is the right fielder. Anthony Santander goes to the bench.

When Jorge Mateo was with the San Diego Padres earlier in his career, he could not crack the starting lineup and get regular playing time. But he played in 150 games last season for the Orioles, and maybe all those reps are paying off now.

Mateo is off to a sizzling start at the plate and making a real difference for an Orioles team that already expected to see him play strong defense and steal bases. They knew they would get two of these elements, but now they are getting all three.

Mateo, who has missed the last couple of games with a hip injury, could return to the lineup today. He was in the original lineup yesterday but the wet field led to the Orioles making the precautionary move to sit him another day. 

When center fielder Cedric Mullins watches Mateo play, the O’s leadoff man sees a player he can relate to.

“When I first saw him as a player and his skill set, what he is doing right now is what I always envisioned,” Mullins said recently. “For example, I think me and him are similar in that power-speed combination. He provides great defense on the field. Able to steal bases. Everything that I do at my peak, I think he can do as well. To be able to see it all come together with his hard work is great to see.”

The last four lockers in a row inside the Orioles clubhouse that lead to the entrance to the bathroom and shower area have nameplates above them for John Means, Mychal Givens, Dillon Tate and Cole Irvin.

The first three pitchers are on the injured list, with Means assigned to the 60-day after spring training. Irvin was optioned on April 14 after making three starts.

Those empty spaces will be filled again, but probably on four different days.

Means makes the occasional appearance, and he’s full-go in his bullpen sessions. The team has been targeting a July return for their ace – plenty of time to figure out how he fits.

Tate is beginning his injury rehab assignment Tuesday with high Single-A Aberdeen, and Givens is supposed to start his own later in the week.

Storms moved out of the area, the tarp was peeled back, and the Orioles began tonight’s game on time, an unlikely proposition based on the ominous forecast.

Kyle Gibson’s dominance was delayed.

Gibson had to work through a bases-loaded jam in the first inning that cost him 24 pitches. He allowed one run and two hits in 6 1/3, striking out 11 to match his career high, and the Orioles defeated the Tigers 5-1 before an announced crowd of 12,194 at Camden Yards.

Ramón Urías had a three-run double in the third inning before his ejection, James McCann hit his first home run in the fourth, and the Orioles improved to 13-7. They’ve won five games in a row and nine of 11, and they go for a series sweep on Sunday with Grayson Rodriguez opposing Eduardo Rodriguez.

Gibson was averaging 4.9 strikeouts per nine innings in his first four starts. He registered five tonight through the second to equal his season high and had nine through the fifth. His 11^th concluded the sixth.

Friday’s 2-1 walk-off victory provided the Orioles with a 12-7 record and a fourth win in a row. If they can win one more this weekend versus Detroit (7-11) they will have four consecutive series wins.

They went 3-1 versus Oakland, 2-1 at Chicago against the White Sox and 2-0 at Washington. Overall the Orioles have won six of seven and eight of their past 10 games. They are now 5-3 at home and 5-2 in games decided by one run.

The AL East standings at this hour:

Tampa Bay, 17-3
Orioles, 12-7
New York, 13-8
Toronto, 12-9
Boston 11-10

New York beat Toronto 3-2 this afternoon via a walk-off win scoring in the last of the ninth on DJ LeMahieu's single. Danny Jansen's two-run homer had tied the game 2-2 in the top of the ninth for Toronto.

For Orioles rookie right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, it was one very welcome sight. That was seeing his changeup with great movement and getting the swings and misses it got last Sunday at Chicago.

As he goes into his next start tomorrow at home versus Detroit – his fourth in the majors – he feels having that pitch be as effective as it was his last time out will be huge for him going forward.

When the Orioles selected Rodriguez with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2018 MLB Draft out of Central Heights High School in Nacogdoches, Texas, he could throw with big velocity. But he didn’t have much of a changeup to go to.

On the O’s watch and in their player development system, not only did he develop a good one, but over the years it became his best secondary and helped him become the top pitching prospect in baseball.

He worked hard on it before that start at Chicago and then had it really going that day as, after allowing four runs in the first inning, he threw scoreless ball from the second through the fifth innings against the White Sox in a 93-pitch outing.

The Orioles (11-7) have a couple of streaks going heading into tonight’s game, a series-opener against the Detroit Tigers to start a six-game homestand at Oriole Park.

They are 6-0 this year in series-opening games and their pitching staff has thrown 26 consecutive scoreless innings dating back to the second inning last Sunday at Chicago. The team record for the Orioles is 54 straight innings without allowing a run. That was done by the 1974 team from Sept. 1-7.

The Orioles have their first three-game win streak of the season heading into tonight’s game, and they have won five of six and seven of their last nine games since the start of the Oakland series at Camden Yards.

Detroit (7-10) has a losing record but had won five in a row until Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to Cleveland, which snapped that streak. Detroit has actually played more American League East games so far this year than the Orioles, but is just 1-8 in those games and been outscored 59-21. The Tigers went 0-3 against Tampa Bay and Boston and 1-2 versus Toronto. Their staff ERA is 6.75 and OPS against is .839 in those AL East games.

The Tigers and Guardians combined for 4 hours, 13 minutes of playing time in Tuesday's doubleheader. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the shortest major league doubleheader in which both games went at least nine innings since July 29, 1984, when the Cubs and Mets combined for 4:10. It was the quickest Tigers doubleheader in which both games lasted at least nine innings since Aug. 1, 1980 vs. Seattle, which also lasted 4:13.

It doesn’t have its own name like “Homer Hose,” in fact it doesn’t have any name, but Bryan Baker’s little backward dance off the mound Wednesday night after getting a strikeout in Washington had the texting on his cell phone pretty active for a while.

He said he heard quite a bit about it after he had pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to preserve what was then a 3-0 O’s lead. Using his changeup, which was on point in that game, he got strikeouts of CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas.

In the early going this year, the changeup has become a big pitch for Baker. It’s often been a big pitch for the Orioles as a pitching staff. Baltimore pitchers threw the second-most changeups in the American League in 2022. And this year, at 13.7 percent usage, the Orioles rank third in the league behind the Los Angeles Angels (14.4) and New York Yankees (14.2) in throwing changeups.

“I feel like I finally kind of found it against the Nationals the other day,” Baker said earlier today of his change. “Made a little bit of a tweak with my grip. But just need to maintain consistency with it. Kind of the hardest pitch to do that with, because it’s such a feel pitch. So, yeah, will just try to hold on to what I had the other night.

“The action was good. And it wasn’t too slow to, like, where I was telegraphing it and letting them know it’s coming, and sometimes I do that. Yeah, just try to maintain that going forward.”

As the rotation turns for the Orioles, it took a turn for the better beginning with the second inning Sunday at Chicago. Grayson Rodriguez allowed a pair of homers in the first and the Orioles were down 4-0 to the White Sox.

But they would rally to win that game and two teams have not scored off Baltimore starters, or any Baltimore pitcher, since. Starting with the second inning Sunday, the Orioles staff has thrown 26 consecutive scoreless innings. The starters since that point have thrown 16 2/3 consecutive scoreless.

The back-to-back shutouts at Nats Park reduced their team ERA to 4.68, which is ninth now in the American League and still not as good the league average of 4.32. But trending up.

The Orioles doubled their total of quality starts from two to four in the series in Washington. They are 4-0 in those games. But they rank 22^nd in the majors with four QS. Boston, Detroit and St. Louis are at the bottom of the bigs with just two. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Pittsburgh have 11 and Cleveland is next with 10.

But the O’s hope their young starters are turning a corner and starting to lock in as they did late last year. Right now the rotation features Rodriguez, 23, Kyle Bradish, 26, Dean Kremer, 27, and Tyler Wells, 28.

The Orioles today announced the return of the Birdland Summer Music Series, presented by Miller Lite, which includes three postgame concerts at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. This year’s lineup will include performances by multi-platinum selling artist Andy Grammer on Saturday, May 27, DJ Diesel, aka Shaquille O’Neal, on Friday, June 30, and Brett Young on Friday, September 15.

Birdland Summer Music Series Schedule, presented by Miller Lite:

WASHINGTON – The Orioles (10-7), winners of six of their past eight games and with a record of 3-1 on this road trip, can sweep this two-game series if they win tonight at Nationals Park.

Washington (5-12) allowed just a run and five hits in Tuesday’s 1-0 loss. The Nats, who began this series averaging just 3.88 runs per game this season, were held to three runs or fewer for the ninth time, and they are 0-9 in those games.

The Nats have lost five of six games, are 2-8 at home and are 0-4-1 in five series in 2023.

Right-hander Dean Kremer and three relievers teamed on the Orioles' second shutout of the year, joining their 2-0 win April 3 at Texas. Kremer, now 1-0 with a 6.16 ERA, went 6 2/3 innings, allowing just four singles and no walks while notching six strikeouts on 95 pitches, 66 for strikes. He threw first-pitch strikes to 21 of 25 batters in the series opener.

Speaking of series openers, the Orioles are now 6-0 in such games this year.