NEW YORK – Adley Rutschman sat at his locker this afternoon with his head bowed and his eyes fixed on a tablet. Robinson Chirinos approached Rutschman, his own tablet in hand, and said a few words to the rookie before they walked out the door for a pregame meeting.

Chirinos is no longer the starting catcher for the Orioles, but he's able to contribute on a nightly basis – whether he’s in the lineup or Rutschman’s ear.

“Robby’s a player, but he really could be a coach,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “His baseball intellect, he’s just so smart when it comes to the game and understands hitters and pitchers. A lot of valuable years, a lot of experience. So, to have Adley be able to work with him on a daily basis, talk to him, have his locker next to him, that’s really, really important. I know Adley’s very appreciative of Robby, as well. He’s got a good thing going there.”

Chirinos agreed to a deal in March worth a guaranteed $900,000 knowing that there would be a transition. Understanding how his role would change.

Perfectly aware that Rutschman wasn’t spending 2022 in the minors.

NEW YORK - A road series prohibits the Orioles from adding to the five walk-off wins that lead the majors and match their total from last season. They’re willing to ditch the dramatics. They’d like to take an early lead and coast. Slow the heart rate a little.

There’s also no rule against rallying on the road, though the Yankees make it harder by blinding opponents while flashing baseball’s best record.

The Orioles scored four runs off Gerrit Cole in the third inning to battle back from an early deficit, Aaron Judge brought his usual torment by homering twice off Jordan Lyles and tying the game in the fifth, and Ramón Urías responded with an opposite-field shot in the sixth.

A bullpen that ran on fumes over the weekend and needed fuel registered important outs behind Lyles, and the Orioles defeated the Yankees 6-4.

Félix Bautista stranded two runners in the seventh and retired the side in order in the eighth. Jorge López handled the save responsibilities, and the Orioles won for the fourth time in five games.  

NEW YORK – Spenser Watkins is on the 15-day injured list with a bruise at the top of his right forearm, forcing a weekend change in the Orioles rotation.

Manager Brandon Hyde needs two starters for Saturday’s doubleheader in Boston. Watkins no longer is an option for either game.

“It’s pretty sore,” said Watkins, who faced only three batters and left after Ji-Man Choi’s line drive struck his arm. “We’ve got a great training staff here that put me through the ringer so far, so it’s feeling a little bit better but still stiff, as you would assume.

“I didn’t really know what the move was going to be. They didn’t really give an inclination one way or the other. But they’re going to make the best move for the team and go from there.”

The Orioles don’t know if Watkins will be ready after 15 days.

NEW YORK – The Orioles are making massive changes to their pitching staff heading into tonight’s series opener at Yankee Stadium.

Right-handers Marcos Diplán, Logan Gillaspie and Beau Sulser have been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk, with pitcher Mike Baumann and infielder Tyler Nevin optioned after yesterday’s game and Spenser Watkins placed on the 15-day injured list with a right elbow contusion.

Watkins was hit by a 106 mph line drive off Ji-Man Choi’s bat in the first inning of yesterday’s game.

Gillaspie is able to return early from the minors because he’s replacing an injured player. He’s tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings in two appearances.

Sulser, wearing No. 67, made his major league debut this season with the Pirates and appeared in four games before the Orioles claimed him off waivers May 14. He’s the brother of former Orioles reliever Cole Sulser.

Adley Rutschman sat in Triple-A Norfolk manager Buck Britton’s office late last night and listened to advice about relaxing and just being himself, along with an explanation as to why he wasn’t in the lineup. Nodding his head. Exuding the same calmness that’s allowed him to thrive under enormous expectations. To never feel suffocated by the constant attention.

Then came the sneak attack by teammates - outfielder DJ Stewart reached him first - who knew he was called up to the majors and wanted to share in the moment. To intensify it, get physical with it.

His baseball world has been a blur since it happened, coming with its own spin rate.

Rutschman is batting sixth and catching rookie Kyle Bradish – purely coincidence, manager Brandon Hyde said - as the Orioles resume their series against the Rays at Camden Yards. He’s also going to be used as the designated hitter in certain games, but he won’t play first base.

The Orioles have plenty of other options.

The patience that executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias keeps preaching through the rebuild process, from number of wins at the major league level on down to the development of prospects, paused yesterday at Gunnar Henderson.

Henderson doubled yesterday at Double-A Bowie, walked twice, scored two runs and raised his average to .291 with a .988 OPS.

His age also is going to increase. He turns 21 next month.

Just a teenager when the Orioles selected him in the second round of the 2019 draft out of John T. Morgan Academy in Selma, Ala. They grow up so fast.

But there’s only one acceptable pace for the Orioles in player development.

The Orioles won’t rush a prospect to the majors, in terms of how they dictate the pace, just to fulfill an unexpected and ill-timed need on the major league roster. They’re adamant about it. There’s no gray area in black and orange besides the uniform.

They might need to do something about their rotation after Spenser Watkins threw 13 pitches today and was drilled on the right arm by a 106-mph line drive from Tampa Bay’s Ji-Man Choi.

Watkins spun off the mound as third baseman Ramón Urías retrieved the ball, glanced home and threw late to first base. All three batters reached against Watkins, whose ouster forced Joey Krehbiel into a game that the Orioles rallied to tie with two outs in the ninth, just as a storm hit and halted play after three hours, 52 minutes.

It resumed following a 51-minute delay, Cionel Pérez tossed two scoreless innings, leaving the bases loaded in the top of the 11th, and Choi whiffed on Rougned Odor’s chopper to first base that scored automatic runner Adley Rutschman and gave the Orioles a 7-6 victory before an announced crowd of 23,778 to close out the homestand.

Chris Owings laid down a sacrifice bunt before Odor batted, and the Orioles had their third walk-off win in four days. Rutschman had his first major league run, with the play scored a fielder's choice and no error.

Adley Rutschman will have two home games on his major league resume before the Orioles hit the road again, his debut coming last night in front of an enthusiastic crowd that reacted to his every movement.

Rutschman will catch again Monday night in the Bronx after serving as designated hitter today. There was speculation that he might have his contract selected on the trip.

“It was tricky timing-wise,” executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said this morning while sitting in the dugout. “We wanted to get him up as soon as possible. I think we had hopes that he would break with the team in Sarasota. We had a very ill-timed injury. With it being on his throwing arm and him missing the entirety of spring training, it was not something we could rush. And so there was a very careful rehab process in Sarasota and then an equally careful workload and at-bat buildup in the lower minors, mid-minors, and then eventually Norfolk.

“Luckily, he seemed to hit the ground running from a hitting perspective, didn’t get a lot of indications that his timing was off from anything that he did at any of the three levels, and it was really just more about kind of building up the catching to ultimately checking the box of doing three days in a row, which is something that, if he had a normal spring training, (manager) Brandon Hyde is doing back-to-backs with the catchers, and Adley just missed all that. So, once that box was checked, we figured it was a live ball and then looking at the schedule, Yankee Stadium didn’t seem like a great option for a debut.

“It just seemed like he was ready and this weekend made the most sense. And now he will get the experience of going to play in Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, which is cool for him, because that’s life in the AL East, then come back for a nice homestand around Memorial Day. So, I think the timing worked out as well as it could have given that we were constrained by his injury.”

Follow the Orioles long enough and you can begin to compile a list of players who made brief stops, got their major league debuts out of the way and returned to the minors. Some came back later, others disappeared as if walking into a heavy fog or an Iowa cornfield.

There’s more than a kernel of truth to it.

If there must be some shuffling on the pitching staff, the club would prefer to do it based only on the need for fresher arms after a long game, homestand or road trip, not an epic failure. The conversations in the manager’s office are a little easier when they begin with, “It isn’t you, it’s me.”

As a team, you know that you’re trending in a good direction.

But there’s also the other side of it. Shaking hands for a job well done and arranging for travel papers.

Adley Rutschman walked into the dugout around 6:30 p.m., turned and headed back into the tunnel. Photographers jostling for position on the other side of the railing lowered their arms. Stakeouts apparently come with a pause button.

Rutschman immediately came back, again in his full catching gear, walked up the steps and smiled as fans cheered and yelled his name. He wasn’t animated, but he noticed it.

The top pick in the 2019 draft is known as a big autograph signer, but the starting pitcher needed him in the bullpen.

Another ovation broke out as Rutschman’s name was read over the public address system, and again as he walked back from the bullpen to the dugout. The game hadn’t started and he already was bathed in sweat and showered with affection on a steamy evening at Camden Yards.

The major league debut of baseball’s No. 1 prospect was going to be rated a success just by getting him to Baltimore.

Orioles fans arrived early at Camden Yards this afternoon, unable to pass through the gates but hopeful of scoring an autograph from catcher Adley Rutschman near the players’ entrance. Or at least get a glimpse of him.

A sign was hung outside Pickles Pub that read: “You Adley At Hello”

This is Rutschman’s day, for sure, but the Orioles had other business to handle, some of it more pleasant than others.

John Means avoided next Thursday’s arbitration hearing in New York by agreeing to a two-year contract, $5.925 million contract. The file-and-trial approach discarded again in a multi-year deal.

Means remains arbitration eligible in 2024, but his salary is set as he recovers from last month’s Tommy John surgery.

Adley Rutschman makes his major league debut tonight as the Orioles’ No. 6 hitter in a lineup that looks a lot different with him in it.

Rutschman’s contract was selected from Triple-A Norfolk this morning. The Orioles designated catcher Anthony Bemboom for assignment.

Rutschman will be catching Kyle Bradish, the No. 10 prospect in the system per MLBPipeline.com. Bradish, who’s a year older than Rutschman, has posted a 5.06 ERA and 1.359 WHIP in four major league starts.

Bradish has struck out 22 batters in 21 1/3 innings.

Ryan Mountcastle was activated from the injured list, as expected. A big day in Baltimore.

While the Orioles were beginning their home series tonight against the Rays, catcher Adley Rutschman sat on the visiting bench at Truist Field in Charlotte. The Triple-A Norfolk lineup card listed him among the reserves. He stood in front of the dugout for the anthem.

Any reported sightings at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport were done in jest.

The debut remains on hold, leaving fans to press for answers, some more aggressively than others, and a team to worry only about its opponent and life inside an unforgiving division.

The Yankees carried baseball’s best record out of Camden Yards, and the Rays walked in after beating the Orioles 18 times in 19 games last season and sweeping them this year in the opening series.

They won 15 in a row against the Orioles, their longest streak against any opponent in franchise history, and their last loss in Baltimore came in 2020.

Ryan Mountcastle took batting practice on the field again today and is expected to be activated from the injured list prior to Saturday night’s game against the Rays.

Mountcastle hasn’t played since the Orioles scratched him from the May 11 lineup in St. Louis with discomfort in his left wrist and forearm. He went on the injured list a few days later.

“If everything goes well (today) and he doesn’t feel anything,” said manager Brandon Hyde, “he should be back in there tomorrow.”

A corresponding roster move must be made to accommodate Mountcastle.

The Orioles didn’t select catcher Adley Rutschman’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk. He apparently remains with the team in Charlotte as the Orioles begin another home series.

Another series is in the books and the Orioles have moved on to the Rays, who arrive at Camden Yards for three games.

Sportswriters are prisoners to lists of five, but three sounds right. So here are three more observations while I wait for the lineup to be posted – and for more questions about possible call-ups.

I swear, I don’t have any inside information on Jacob Nottingham.

* Trey Mancini keeps squaring up baseballs, but now they’re finding grass or the seats.

Mancini entered yesterday slashing .375/.444/.500 in May, the second-highest average in the American League and third-highest on-base percentage. He’s reached base in 13 consecutive games after lining a single into center field in the first inning, and is batting .360 (18-for-50) with two home runs and five RBIs during that span, including his 10-pitch single in the ninth inning that led to Anthony Santander’s walk-off home run.

Less than a week after the Orioles designated Paul Fry for assignment, they found a trade partner for him and severed ties with their longest tenured pitcher.

Fry was sent to the Diamondbacks tonight for 19-year-old pitcher Luis Osorio, who spent his only professional season in 2021 in the Dominican Summer League.

Osorio, a native of Venezuela, posted a 5.83 ERA and 1.272 WHIP in 15 games, including six starts. He walked 20 batters and struck out 54 in 41 2/3 innings.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias has a fondness for acquiring young talent to stock the DSL rosters, moves he’s orchestrated multiple times at the trade deadline.

Osorio faced the Orioles’ DSL1 team on Sept. 16 and earned the win with four scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and struck out eight.

Orioles pitcher John Means has his arbitration hearing set for May 26, during an off-day between visits to New York and Boston.

Means will be with the Orioles for the first half of the trip, wearing a brace on his left elbow and a mustache that he decided to grow again.

“Got to keep it interesting, you know?” he said this afternoon in his first media scrum since undergoing Tommy John surgery.

“I’m losing my mind. I’ve got to keep it fresh. I don’t know. Felt like doing it one day and here it is.”

The facial hair gets mixed reviews, but Means said his recovery from surgery is “going better than it’s supposed to be.”

Jorge Mateo has returned to the Orioles lineup for tonight’s game against the Yankees.

Mateo wasn’t available since Sunday’s collision with Detroit’s Spenser Torkelson that left him with a bruised shoulder and chest.

Austin Hays is playing left field on back-to-back nights since returning to the lineup. Tyler Nevin is the first baseman and Anthony Bemboom is catching.

No roster moves have been announced.

Trey Mancini is batting .392 (20-for-51) with two home runs since May 3.

The Orioles selected the contract of left-hander Nick Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk this afternoon and designated lefty Logan Allen for assignment.

Vespi, who’s wearing No. 79, brings a 0.00 ERA to Camden Yards while waiting to make his major league debut. The 18^th round draft pick in 2015 was charged with three unearned runs and six hits in 14 1/3 innings, with three walks and 21 strikeouts.

Allen was claimed off waivers from the Guardians on May 5 and made three appearances, allowing two runs and three hits with two walks in 1 2/3 innings.

Today’s moves are the latest to impact the bullpen. Paul Fry was designated for assignment on Saturday. Denyi Reyes has his contract selected on Thursday, made his major league debut with two scoreless innings in Detroit and was optioned.

Meanwhile, the Orioles resume their four-game series with the Yankees tonight. Neither team has posted its lineup.

The Orioles began their homestand last night without a single roster move.

Didn’t need to replace an injured player whose day-to-day status grew too long. Didn’t select the contract of baseball’s No. 1 prospect.

Austin Hays took coach’s batting practice, but only the shadow of Adley Rutschman could keep fans from seeing the importance of that update.

The Triple-A Norfolk Tides were off yesterday. Rutschman didn’t hop on a flight to Baltimore.

The Orioles never circled that date or any other on the calendar. Some media did. Some fans did. The opening game of a homestand seemed to make sense.