The Orioles had to dig deep for motivation tonight.

They didn’t play in front of 45,000 hostile fans. A home run record didn’t hang in the balance. They had already fallen out of the wild card chase and secured the first winning season since 2016.

The temperature at first pitch was 49 degrees, the coldest in Baltimore at the start in four years, with rain falling throughout the night. Weather that scaled back the crowd.

But the statistics count and the wins matter. They had a chance to claim one more series and perhaps influence where the Blue Jays will begin the playoffs.

Dean Kremer braved the elements and grinded through six innings in his final appearance, but the Orioles didn’t offer much support in a 5-1 loss, in a game delayed and then halted after Yennier Canó allowed a run in the eighth and loaded the bases with two outs.

The Orioles have recalled reliever Yennier Canó from Triple-A Norfolk and placed Félix Bautista on the 15-day injured list with left knee discomfort. Bautista is done for 2022.

The rookie made the 40-man roster and then the opening day roster and finished with a 2.19 ERA and 0.929 WHIP in 65 appearances, which tied for second-most behind Dillon Tate’s 66. He recorded 15 saves, 13 after the Jorge López trade to Minnesota, and he allowed 38 hits and struck out 88 batters in 65 2/3 innings.

Bautista averaged 3.2 walks per nine innings, compared to 5.1 in seven minor league seasons.

“We’re going to shut him down for the rest of the season, unfortunately,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “So happy with the season he had and him going forward. What a great story. Great story for us, great story for him. Love watching him pitch, and looking forward to having him next year.”

Bautista, who received votes on the Most Valuable Oriole ballot, said earlier today that his knee felt better and he could come out of the bullpen if allowed.

The Orioles begin the final series of the 2022 season tonight with the Blue Jays arriving in town.

They won’t have Félix Bautista available in the bullpen. He’s been shut down with lingering soreness in his left knee. A roster move is coming.

Gunnar Henderson is the third baseman tonight and Terrin Vavra is in left field. Kyle Stowers is in right.

Dean Kremer has a 3.17 ERA and 1.257 WHIP in 21 games (20 starts). He’s surrendered only 10 home runs in 119 1/3 innings, though two came in his last start in Boston.

Kremer has allowed six earned runs and seven total in 18 innings against Toronto this season.

Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman is in the thick of the voting for American League Rookie of the Year. While waiting for next month’s announcement, he has become the recipient of a local honor bestowed annually by media covering the team.

Rutschman has been voted Most Valuable Oriole, the third rookie since the award’s inception in 1954, joining pitchers Gregg Olson in 1989 and Rodrigo López in 2002. He’s just the third catcher to be named MVO, along with Gus Triandos in 1958 and Chris Hoiles in 1993.

The Orioles are 66-53 since Rutschman’s promotion on May 21 as baseball’s No. 1 prospect. And it isn’t a coincidence.

There’s lots of data to back it up.

The first-overall selection in the 2019 draft is slashing .251/.356/.444 in 110 games, with 34 doubles, one triple, 13 home runs, 42 RBIs, 61 walks and 84 strikeouts. Baseball-Reference.com assigns him a 5.0 WAR.

NEW YORK – The realization that the Orioles could be special in 2022, that they had the staying power to contend late into the season, hit some players at different points and for different reasons.

Can’t agree on everything, but can come pretty close sometimes.

Jordan Lyles saw a bullpen filled with unheralded relievers getting important outs and covering bulk innings and felt much better about the club’s direction. The shortened spring training after baseball’s lockout forced managers to reduce the early workload on their starters. The Orioles had a much stronger safety net than anticipated, especially after Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott were traded in March.

Outfielder Austin Hays remembers how it hit him in May.

“We were playing teams really tough, and then the bullpen just started rolling, and anytime we could get them the lead, the bullpen would just come in and close it down. And then our starters grew as the season went on, especially later in the year,” Hays said.

NEW YORK – The rain, wind and cold didn’t matter. Aaron Judge’s pursuit of a home run record and the hostile reaction from fans denied it also didn’t matter.

The Orioles didn’t bus into the Bronx for three days to stake out their place in history. They wanted to win the series. They wanted an 82^nd victory and assurances that they’d finish on the right side of .500.

Gunnar Henderson drew a bases-loaded walk off Aroldis Chapman in the seventh inning to break a tie, Bryan Baker registered his 10^th scoreless appearance in a row by retiring all six batters faced and the Orioles defeated the Yankees 3-1 before an announced crowd of 45,332 to guarantee their first winning record since 2016 with three games to play at home.

"I think it's an accomplishment definitely from where we came from last year, 30 win difference, and still got a few games to go," said manager Brandon Hyde. "Proud of our guys with the season they've had."

Dillon Tate notched his fifth save with an uneventful ninth inning.

NEW YORK – The Orioles have set two-thirds of their rotation for the final series of 2022.

Dean Kremer and Mike Baumann are starting the first two games against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. The spot for Wednesday afternoon is listed as TBA.

Manager Brandon Hyde said he wants to check on veteran Jordan Lyles, who’s made a career-high 32 starts this season and is one inning short of the career-high 180 he reached last year with the Rangers.

Grayson Rodriguez, the No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball, has been throwing to stay ready in case of a late promotion, but the Orioles aren’t expected to select his contract this week.

Asked about Rodriguez, Hyde said, “That would be a question for Mike (Elias). Moving prospects to the big leagues, those are directed to the front office decisions.”

NEW YORK – The Orioles have reached the final road game of the 2022 season.

A win would make the Orioles 38-43 away from home. But the forecast today is brutal. The Yankees will make every attempt to play with a sellout crowd hoping to witness Aaron Judge’s 62^nd home run.

Kyle Stowers is the designated hitter today. Terrin Vavra is playing second base.

Rookie Kyle Bradish is making his final start of the season. He’s registered a 5.11 ERA and 1.393 WHIP in 22 games.

Bradish tossed 8 2/3 scoreless innings with only two hits allowed, no walks and 10 strikeouts against the Astros on Sept. 22, but he lasted only 2 1/3 innings in Boston and was charged with seven runs.

NEW YORK – The mood yesterday morning inside and outside the Orioles’ clubhouse made it appear that Game 162 was due to begin in a few hours.

The media was armed with reflective questions on the season. The pain and disappointment of falling out of the wild card race. The pride and joy of lasting until the morning of Oct. 1. When it dawned on the team that it could win. What needs to be done to improve in 2023.

The Orioles were preparing for Game 158.

Elimination felt like the end, but the Orioles want to claim their weekend series in the Bronx and return home to fans who should salute them. And hop on flights Wednesday night or Thursday morning as the first Orioles team to finish above .500 since 2016.

They’re only guaranteed to be .500 with their 81 victories.

NEW YORK – Austin Hays didn’t know that the Mariners won early this morning, the final bump that knocked the Orioles out of the wild card race, until he had rolled out of bed, showered and dressed, and headed downstairs to the team bus.

Players were talking about it. How they were forced to move into a different phase of their season, the mindset altered to where satisfaction must come only from being a .500 club, with an opportunity to finish on the winning side.

The playoff dream disappeared, but they had a little more work to do.

Keeping Aaron Judge at 61 home runs was accomplished again. Doing anything good against Nestor Cortes remained a futile endeavor.

The former Orioles Rule 5 pick and two-week reliever in 2018 held the Orioles to one hit and struck out 12 in 7 1/3 innings in the Yankees’ 8-0 victory before an announced crowd of 45,428.

NEW YORK – Veteran pitcher Jordan Lyles is hopeful that the Orioles pick up his $11 million option for the 2023 season. He wants to stay. He’s grown extremely fond of the team, and he’s excited for a future that could include a soon-to-be 32-year-old starter.

“I would love to be back here,” he said this morning. “To see what we’ve done in the last calendar year as an organization, from what was expected of us coming into the season, and the transition to be where we are right now, it’s pretty special. I enjoy the guys. Hyder (Brandon Hyde) has been amazing. Definitely Manager of the Year in my eyes. A good clubhouse. Everything is positive here. I would love to come back.”

The Orioles gave Lyles a one-year guarantee and knew he could be flipped at the trade deadline, but he became too valuable to them. The anchor of a rotation that could have been dragged down by John Means’ elbow surgery and a collection of inexperienced starters.

A deal consummated right before the shutdown, with his physical put on a lengthy hold, turned out to work tremendously for both parties.

“Definitely has grown on me as time as went on,” said Lyles, who held the Yankees to one run in seven-plus innings last night in his career-high 32^nd start.

NEW YORK – The quest has shifted for the Orioles. Finish above .500. That’s it beyond personal numbers.

A Mariners win early this morning eliminated the Orioles from wild card contention. Five games remain in the season.

Gunnar Henderson is batting leadoff today and playing third base. Adley Rutschman is batting third as the designated hitter.

Cedric Mullins stays in the lineup but moves down to sixth. Ryan McKenna is in left field and Austin Hays is in right as the cleanup hitter.

Anthony Santander is on the bench.

NEW YORK – The Orioles keep trying to win games while hoping that perspective isn’t lost on their 2022 season.

They were supposed to lose 100 games again. At least. They were supposed to curse the new lottery system for the right to pick first in the 2023 draft.

To be in contention for a wild card on the last day of September was a monumental achievement. The final record can’t chop it down.

The Orioles could hit a wall instead of running the table and they’d still be worthy of gushing praise.

The Mariners’ win over the Athletics, past midnight and about 30 minutes into October, eliminated the Orioles from the wild card race. It finally happened, with only five games left.

NEW YORK - The night didn’t belong to Aaron Judge.

The Orioles kept him homerless and savored their own achievement. Modest in comparison to Judge’s pursuit of a 61-year-old record, but hugely important to them.

Manager Brandon Hyde has kept prodding his team to “finish.” It will do so without a losing record.

Jordan Lyles tossed seven-plus innings of one-run ball, the go-ahead run for the Orioles scored on a wild pitch, and they gained their 81^st victory by defeating the Yankees 2-1 in the Bronx before a sellout crowd of 47,583.

The Orioles still want to stay above .500, but for now will settle for the first non-losing season since 2016. They won’t know whether they remain in the wild card hunt until the Mariners are done later tonight.

NEW YORK – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is noticing a playoff atmosphere at Yankee Stadium today, with reporters storming the Bronx and temperatures dipping in the 60s. Except the fuss is over Aaron Judge and his attempt tonight to break Roger Maris’ single-season home run record.

“What an awesome experience for some of these rookies that we have up here,” Hyde said. “This is what it feels like with the amount of media, amount of people on the field, kind of the October air a little bit right now. It’s a special time to be playing baseball, and for our young guys to be able to experience this type of attention and what it feels like, I think it’s going to be awesome for them going forward.”

The crowd will fall silent as Judge steps to the plate. Phones raised to capture the moment. The collective breath held.

“That will be a first for me,” Hyde said. “I haven’t seen a potential milestone like this. Been a part of a bunch of no-hitters and things like that, which, the place can get quiet and nervous. Some postseason series that are super cool. But not an individual accomplishment like this. I’ve never been a part of anything like this.

“I’m hoping that he waits until next series, but it’s going to be a great environment.”

NEW YORK – A weekend series at Yankee Stadium brings so much baggage to the Orioles.

They could be eliminated from the wild card race. They could surrender Aaron Judge’s record-setting 62^nd home run of the season.

This is a unique visit that didn’t turn out as they wanted.

The Mariners won again last night and the Rays lost, leaving the Orioles five games behind the last wild card and with their magic number for elimination down to one. They still need a win to reach 81 and guarantee their first non-losing season since 2016.

The Orioles have lost five of their last six games, including three straight in Boston to close out the penultimate road series of the year.

BOSTON – Two of manager Brandon Hyde’s most difficult conversations of the season were held this week in the visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park.

The Orioles optioned relievers Keegan Akin and Joey Krehbiel, placing them on the taxi squad with instructions to stay ready.

Two pitchers who broke camp with the team and lasted until the fourth week of September. Valuable contributors earlier in the summer who became expendable based on the bullpen’s needs and recent performance.

It’s worked out better for Akin. The Orioles recalled him two days later after infielder Ramón Urías went on the injured list with a sprained right knee, and he tossed three scoreless innings Wednesday night.

Krehbiel played catch yesterday and returned to his locker soaked in sweat despite the cool temperatures in Boston. All he’s got are the workouts.

BOSTON – The wild card race remains the primary obsession within the Orioles clubhouse. Until an elimination becomes official, until the magic number makes their aspirations disappear, it will remain their No. 1 goal and why they push so hard through the fatigue and aches and pains.

Of course, there’s also the joy of finishing with a record that isn’t below .500. It hasn’t been done since 2016. And it matters.

The Orioles were denied again the chance to form the handshake line as winners for the 81^st time this season. They shuffled back inside the clubhouse today, with bags packed, having lost to the Red Sox 5-3 at Fenway Park.

Kyle Stowers hit a game-tying home run in the seventh inning, but J.D. Martinez cleared the Green Monster with a two-run shot off Dillon Tate in the eighth.

With the conclusion of the penultimate road series of 2022, the Orioles head to New York, where Aaron Judge is waiting, and return home for three games against the Blue Jays that gets them to 162.

BOSTON – Jordan Lyles has been moved up to Friday night at Yankee Stadium, working on short rest with Aaron Judge one home run away from breaking Roger Maris’ single-season record in the American League.

Lyles was held to two innings on Monday due to the rain.

Austin Voth is pushed back to Saturday, with rookie Kyle Bradish starting Sunday on regular rest.

“This allows Voth to get an extra day, somebody that we’re monitoring closely,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “He’s thrown a lot of innings so far, so give him an extra day, and Jordan after that, bring him back a day early.”

Judge tied Maris’ record last night while in Toronto. The Yankees are off today.

BOSTON – The Orioles play their final game at Fenway Park today with Gunnar Henderson at third base and Kyle Stowers in left field.

Ryan Mountcastle, who struck out four times last night as the designated hitter, is playing first base.

Cedric Mullins is in center field and Austin Hays is in right. Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

Terrin Vavra goes to the bench, with Rougned Odor playing second base.

Mike Baumann stays in the rotation and makes his third major league start. He went four innings and threw 58 pitches while allowing two runs against the Astros.