After winning the last two games against Seattle by 6-4 and 3-2 scores to take another series, the Orioles welcome the Cincinnati Reds to Camden Yards tonight as this homestand continues. The clubs open a three-game series tonight.

The game will mark the big league debut of O's prospect Jordan Westburg, who will bat seventh and play second base in the series opener. 

The Orioles (47-29) are the current No. 1 wild card team in the American League. But they are second in the AL East and 4.5 games behind Tampa Bay.

The Orioles are 2-1 on this homestand, have won four of their past six and 10 of the last 15 games. They are now 16-7-2 in series play for the year, 8-3-1 in home series and 24-14 at Oriole Park in 2023. Sunday’s win improved them to 8-4 in rubber match games.

With win No. 47, the Orioles matched the season-long win total of the 2018 Orioles, a club that went 47-115.

Now ranked as the No. 34 prospect in baseball by MLBPipeline.com and No. 41 by Baseball America, Jordan Westburg is getting a lot of firsts out of the way today. Like his first interview as part of the Orioles before he takes the field with the Orioles tonight for the first time, batting seventh at second base.

“Feeling a lot right now,” Westburg said, surrounded by a large group of reporters this afternoon in the Baltimore clubhouse. “Don’t really know what emotions I’m feeling. Lot of excitement but yeah, it’s been a whirlwind of a day. I’m excited to be here and get it going.”

Did he seek any advice from others who have recently been through this day?

“Nothing major. Just kind of asking where to go and what time everything is right now. Make sure I’m not late.

“Just kind of soak it all in, enjoy the moment, don’t be too nervous. Just kind of the cliché things,” he said.

He has essentially played a full big league season’s worth of games at the Triple-A level. And now, after 158 games with the Norfolk Tides and having spent more than a calendar year with that club, Jordan Westburg’s big league debut is finally at hand.

He is expected to join the Orioles roster today and play in the game tonight when they open a three-game series with the Cincinnati Reds. As it turns out, 21-year-old Elly De La Cruz of the Reds will not be the only big-name prospect getting attention in this series.

Westburg is ready, probably more than ready, and maybe among the most impressive aspects of his game is that while fans and media bantered about him and speculated about when his time would finally come, he just kept taking great at-bats and hammering baseballs.

The focus is strong.

In what would turn out to be his last two games in Norfolk’s series at Nashville, he went 5-for-9 with a homer. One last reminder to the organization – still here, still raking, still ready.

With a walk-off win yesterday on Ryan McKenna’s two-run homer to right in the last of the 10^th, the Orioles moved a game closer to first place, strengthened their hold on a wild card playoff spot and set themselves up to try to win another series.

The Orioles (46-29) are 4 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay, which lost Saturday. They have won three of their past five games and nine of the last 14. They are now 4-4 in extra innings, 11-8 in June and 23-14 at Oriole Park.

They have split the first two games of this series and are 7-4 in rubber match games.

They came up with their fourth walk-off win of the year, and they have had five such losses. They have walk-off wins on April 13 against Oakland and April 21 and April 23 against Detroit. Adley Rutschman’s homer ended the Oakland game and Adam Frazier was the batter for the other two previous walk-off wins.

McKenna, who drilled a 95 mph fastball 393 feet to right, produced his first career walk-off hit.

Continuing to make the most of his second chance with the Orioles, outfielder Aaron Hicks found himself back in the O’s starting lineup on Saturday afternoon against Seattle. That was big for him because, on the day Cedric Mullins returned to the team, he was both still on the roster and still getting at-bats.

In 28 games this year with the Yankees, Hicks’ OPS was .524. In 20 games with the Orioles through yesterday, it is .984. He had three multi-hit games with New York and has six with Baltimore.

And Hicks came up big again for the Orioles in the last of the sixth, hitting a go-ahead homer 426 feet to center for a 4-3 lead. That lead would not hold up, but on Ryan McKenna's two-run walk-off homer in the 10th the Orioles would beat the Mariners 6-4. 

The Orioles improved to 46-29 and moved to 4 1/2 games back of Tampa Bay, which lost. 

So Mullins was back, but Hicks was still in the starting nine. 

The Orioles are, no doubt, very eager to turn the page today to a new game and the second game of their weekend series with the Seattle Mariners. Last night’s 13-1 loss was their biggest margin of defeat of 2023, topping the 12-2 loss at home to Texas on May 26.

The O’s offense has produced just three runs on seven hits the past two games after scoring 14 runs on 24 hits in the two games that preceded this most recent pair.

The Orioles allowed a season-high 13 runs and tied a season high in giving up 17 hits (it's happened three times, the last on May 31 against Cleveland). This marked the most runs surrendered since Sept. 10, 2022 versus Boston, when they allowed 17. The 12-run losing margin is their largest since that Sept. 10 game, which they lost 17-4. The Orioles are now 17-8 in series openers.

Baltimore is 45-29 for the year and trails first-place Tampa Bay by 5 1/2 games while leading third-place New York by five games in the American League East. The Orioles hold the first AL wild card spot today and lead that by five games over both Houston and New York.

Since leading Tampa Bay 6-0 at the end of the fourth inning on Tuesday, the Orioles have been outscored 26-5 by their opponents. They’ve allowed 26 runs the past three games.

The Orioles got their center fielder and leadoff hitter back today. And it’s in less than a month since he left the field on May 29 against Cleveland with a right groin strain. Mullins rehabbed in Florida, went 1-for-10 with a homer in three Triple-A rehab games this week and is back atop the lineup today.

“Feels good. Body is doing well,” he said this afternoon. “To be able to come back and get back in action feels pretty good.

“This is an injury I’ve never dealt with before, so there was really no idea in my head what the timeline would be like. Body was responding really well down in Florida and was able to progress every day. Kind of push the leg a bit to the point it feels really good.

“I had a hamstring injury in 2017 and kind of had a flashback to that. But it didn’t feel as bad as back then, so I had an idea it wasn’t going to be that long of a stint for me. But just didn’t know what the body would feel like.”

The Orioles went 11-9 without Mullins, and manager Brandon Hyde said that while the Orioles missed Mullins, of course, his return came maybe faster than expected.

As the Orioles look to grow some arms on the farm for the big league team, under executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias, they have not used high draft picks on pitchers. They have taken just one before the fifth round of the last four drafts. And that pitcher, Nolan McLean taken in round three last year, went unsigned and the O’s will get a comp selection for that in the coming MLB Draft.

But in two recently promoted pitchers having big years on the farm this season, they are finding that they could identify someone they liked down the board in the draft and still have them develop into good pitchers.

Now we see if they can take that all the way to the big leagues.

In 2023, it's so far and so good for 24-year-old right-hander Justin Armbruester, selected in round 12 of the 2021 draft from New Mexico. And add to him right-hander Alex Pham, 23, taken in that same draft in round 19 from the University of San Francisco.

Among O’s farm pitchers with 40 or more innings this season, Armbruester ranks first in ERA, Ryan Long is second and Pham is third.

After their second off day of this week, the rested Orioles are home tonight to begin a nine-game homestand. The last time they were home they went 5-1 against Kansas City and Toronto. Tonight they welcome Seattle for the first of three and then also host Cincinnati and Minnesota.

The Orioles (45-28, .616) are 4 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay after the Rays lost last night to Kansas City. The Orioles are 22-13 at home and 23-15 on the road.

Starting May 26, the Orioles have gone 3-4-1 in series, going 1-2 versus both Texas and Cleveland, 2-1 at San Francisco and 1-2 at Milwaukee. They then went 3-0 versus Kansas City, 2-1 against Toronto, 1-2 at the Chicago Cubs and 1-1 against Tampa Bay. That is a 12-11 record in that span.

Seattle was a playoff team last year, going 90-72. In the wild card round they beat Toronto two games to none before losing 3-0 at Houston in the American League Division Series. Now the Mariners are 36-37 and in fourth in the AL West and 9 1/2 games behind Texas.

The Mariners got off to a poor start and were 4-8, and later 11-16 through 27 games. By May 28 they had moved three games over .500 at 28-25, but are 8-12 since that point.

He might be the American League’s leading hitter for yet another day today with his .323 batting average. And that is six points ahead of Bo Bichette of Toronto, next at .317. But the Orioles' Austin Hays is not even ready to ponder being in contention for a batting title.

“We are not even at the All-Star break yet. So, we have a long way to go before I can say that,” he told reporters today at Oriole Park, echoing comments he made during the recent road trip.

Hays' most recent batting tear – he had five straight multi-hit games, going 12-for-21 – was slowed Wednesday when he took an 0-for-3 at Tampa Bay.

But his 67-game numbers for the year are still pretty special. His batting line shows a .323/.362/.520/.882 to go with 21 doubles, two triples, eight homers and 31 RBIs. A player that hit .256 and .250 the past two years is now well, well above that.

His OPS+ was 107 in 2021 and 104 in 2022, slightly above league average. Now it is 144, or 44 percent above the league.

When the Triple-A Norfolk Tides won 8-3 at Nashville on Wednesday night, they became first-half champions of the 20-team International League. The first half ends this Sunday and by already winning it, Norfolk clinched its first playoff spot since 2015.

There was no big on-field celebration for a few good reasons. For one, not wanting a host of top prospects to dogpile or jump on top of each other when a clubhouse celebration was already planned.

It was a job well done by the Tides - from the season’s first day through the clincher.

“I think first and foremost, dogpiling at this point in the season, I would hate for someone to get hurt at the bottom of one of those piles,” manager Buck Britton told me in a phone interview yesterday. “And also, I don’t think the guys were interested in dogpiling. They knew we would have a celebration in the clubhouse. So, I was glad it turned out the way it did. All I need is someone getting hurt on the bottom. Not a call I would want to make.”

But a celebration was had, and Norfolk’s players and staff could enjoy a job well done.

Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman has advanced to the second-phase of voting for the 2023 All-Star Game, as he attempts to get the start for the AL in the game set for Tuesday, July 11 in Seattle.

The second phase of voting, which begins this Monday at 12:00 p.m. (ET), features the top two vote-getters at each position (and the top six outfielders in the AL; next four outfielders in the NL after Ronald Acuña Jr.) in each league based on vote totals from Phase 1, which ran from May 31^st to June 22^nd.

Acuña and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Angels will bypass the second phase of voting and have claimed automatic starting assignments at the All-Star Game after leading their respective leagues in voting during Phase 1.

Phase 2 voting will give fans the opportunity to vote among the finalists at each position during a four-day window that concludes at 12:00 p.m. (ET) next Thursday.

Rutschman got 1,291,399 votes, as he tries to become the first O’s catcher to win a fan election since Matt Wieters in 2014. The other catcher finalist in the American League is Jonah Heim of the Texas Rangers, the Orioles’ fourth-round draft pick in 2013. Heim got 969,250 votes. The voting starts anew on Monday and previous votes do not carry over.  

It has been quite a season for the Orioles’ Triple-A Norfolk Tides affiliate. They broke out of the gates this year going 7-1 and were 11-4 after 15 games. After 29 games in early May they were 22-7.

Last night they rode that strong start all the way to the first-half championship of the International League. With an 8-3 win at Nashville, Norfolk (46-23) has clinched a playoff berth for the first time since the 2015 season.

Colton Cowser got the scoring started in the first inning with a 109 mph solo homer to right for the Tides. Connor Norby tripled in two runs and later hit a sac fly. Cesar Prieto, in his Triple-A debut, went 1-for-3 with a sac fly. Maverick Handley singled in a run and Cedric Mullins' two-run homer capped the Norfolk scoring in the ninth. 

On his rehab assignment Mullins went 1-for-5 and Ryan Mountcastle went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. 

Starter Grayson Rodriguez allowed two runs (one earned) in 4 1/3 innings on 92 pitches. Darwinzon Hernandez got the win in relief while Dillon Tate allowed one run in one inning and Mychal Givens threw a scoreless inning. 

The Orioles lost the first game they played this season against the Tampa Bay Rays, but have since won three in a row. They won the last two games of a series at Camden Yards from May 8-10 and they won 8-6 last night at Tropicana Field.

So they took the opener of a two-game series, meaning they can sweep this series with a win this afternoon. By winning last night the Orioles ended a couple of streaks. Tampa Bay had been 12-0 this year in opening games of home series. The Rays had won seven straight home series, and the best they can do in this one is tie it.

The loss marked Tampa Bay’s third straight defeat, giving the Rays their first losing streak of more than two games since a five-game skid to conclude the 2022 season.

The Orioles' win last night ended this stat: The Orioles had lost their past 15 series at Tropicana Field dating to July 2017. According to Stats Perform, the 15-series-loss streak tied for the longest in club history. The O's also lost 15 straight road series at Boston between 2005 and 2010. While a loss today would mean they don't win this series, the Tuesday win also means they cannot lose it, so that stat is done now. 

Tampa Bay (51-25) leads the Orioles (45-27) by four games atop the American League East but now leads by just two games in the loss column.

When I interviewed right-hander Tyler Wells (6-2, 3.20 ERA) a few days ago for this article, we also talked about a topic not included in the previous article. That is his innings load for this year.

At some point in the second half it will have to become a topic of discussion for the O’s front office and manager Brandon Hyde. How far can they push Wells with his innings total for this year? And keep in mind they hope he is still pitching in October too.

The most innings as a pro that Wells has pitched were 119 1/3 in the minors in 2018. At the big league level, his career most is the 103 2/3 innings he pitched for the Orioles last year. He is at 81 2/3 innings right now (17^th most in the American League). At his current pace he would pitch around 186 innings this season.

For now, Wells has tabled any discussion or concerns about his innings load for this season.

“For me, I’m not even focused on it,” he told me in Chicago. “If they want me to take the ball, I’m going to take the ball. You know that is the kind of person I am. I did that last year, taking the ball as long as I am healthy. I don’t think I’m really focused on that. I trust that our medical staff is doing their part in it and I know that Hyder is always doing his part with that. I know that the front office is too. Whenever it becomes a talking point with them, and they want to address it with me I am always listening. But for me right now I’m not worried about it.”

The Orioles road trip continues tonight at Tropicana Field as Baltimore begins a two-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays, the American League East leader and the club with the best record in MLB.

The Rays (51-24, .680) are on a pace to win 110 games, while the Orioles (44-27, .620) are on pace for 100 wins. The Rays lead the Orioles by five games atop the division but that margin is just three games in the loss column. While Tampa Bay's record ranks first in MLB, the Orioles are fourth in overall win percentage.

Both teams have won at a lesser pace over recent stretches. The Orioles are 3-4 in their past seven series, going 11-10 in 21 games in that span. But they have also won seven of their past 10.

The Orioles beat the Cubs Sunday to avoid a three-game sweep. They have not been swept in a series of at least two games since a three-game set from May 13-15, 2022 at Detroit. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, their streak of 62 consecutive series without being swept is the longest active streak in MLB, ahead of a 36-series streak by Arizona and a 23-series streak by Tampa Bay.

Tampa Bay lost the last two games of its recent series with San Diego, and has gone 4-5 over the last nine games. In the last two series, the Rays went 2-2 against Oakland and 1-2 versus San Diego.

From Rule 5 selection to the big league leader in WHIP. Following Tommy John surgery and with having never pitched at Triple-A, O's right-hander Tyler Wells has skipped a few steps along the way.

But for now, he’s about the best the Orioles can offer in an improving rotation.

A pitcher that was labeled by some as best suited for the bullpen, is now 6-2 with a 3.20 ERA that ranks 10^th best in the American League and 20^th in MLB. Over 81 2/3 innings he has allowed just 54 hits with 16 walks, 82 strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.857.

And a good season has been getting even better. He pitched the Orioles to a series-clinching win over Toronto last Thursday. Over his past four starts he is 3-1 with a 2.55 ERA and .607 OPS against. He’s allowed two earned runs or less in nine of his 14 games.

His opponent batting average is .183 and there is one pitcher in the majors that can top that among qualifiers right now – Shohei Ohtani. Ohtani is also the only guy that allows fewer hits per nine innings than Wells at 5.95.

CHICAGO – It might feel like the Orioles have been struggling lately. They have, after all, lost back-to-back road series for the first time all year and they are 3-4 in their last seven series.

But by winning 6-3 Sunday at Wrigley Field over the Chicago Cubs, the Orioles avoided getting swept and have now won seven of their past 10 games. Yes, over that longer seven-series stretch they are 11-10. But even at a time when they are not winning at the same percentage as earlier and at a time when they are playing without Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle and yesterday Gunnar Henderson, they have won seven of 10 and have a better than .500 record while losing four of seven series.

Their offense was AWOL for most of Friday and Saturday, scoring five total runs. But a three-run sixth inning Sunday produced enough offense for a win. They did not get swept again – third time this season they lost the first two but won the third game of a series.

“Just keep going,” new outfielder Aaron Hicks said about avoiding the sweep. “Day-after-day, it’s a different day. To be able to turn the page and understand it’s a long season. In this game it’s all about winning series. If you lose the first two, make sure you get one out of there. That is kind of how you need to be, especially if you want to be a winning team and a team that goes far into the playoffs.”

Yep, keep grinding and get one win and they did.

CHICAGO – The Orioles minor league rosters are in for some big changes very soon. According to a club source, eight players are about to be promoted and they include five players currently ranked among the O’s top 30 prospects list via Baseball America.

Moving from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk are infielder César Prieto, right-handed pitcher Justin Armbruester and righty reliever Wandisson Charles.

Moving from High-A Aberdeen to Bowie are pitchers Alex Pham, Keagan Gillies and Jean Pinto and outfielder Jud Fabian.

Moving from Low Single-A Delmarva to Aberdeen is right-handed pitcher Juan Nunez.

Fabian is currently ranked as the Orioles’ No. 13 prospect by Baseball America and No. 15 via MLBPipeline.com. In 55 games with the IronBirds, he is batting .281/.392/.490/.882 with 13 doubles, nine homers, 35 runs, 19 steals and 43 RBIs. He was the No. 67 overall draft pick in 2022 out of the University of Florida.

CHICAGO – The Orioles showed up for the series finale at Wrigley Field today looking for some runs after scoring just five in the series' first two games, losing both. They knew they would again play without injured regulars Cedric Mullins and Ryan Mountcastle.

Shortly before gametime, they added Gunnar Henderson to the list of those they would be without. But at least this was not an injury. Manager Brandon Hyde told the Peacock broadcasters during the game that Henderson was not feeling well. He had recently missed a couple of games with a lower back issue, so that actually came as good news.

The news would get better mid-game on the way to a 6-3 Orioles win.

Trailing 3-2 to the top of the sixth, the Orioles put together their best rally of the weekend, scoring three runs on five hits to take a 5-3 lead. They won by that margin to salvage the final game of this series before Monday’s off-day and a series with first-place Tampa Bay that begins Tuesday.

Ryan O’Hearn started the go-ahead rally with a single off Cubs starter Jameson Taillon. Aaron Hicks doubled to deep right to put men on second and third, and a sac fly by Ramón Urías tied it 3-3. Lefty Anthony Kay came in from the Cubs’ bullpen and was greeted with Adam Frazier’s RBI single to center and an O’s 4-3 lead. That was just their second lead this series. Two batters later, Jorge Mateo’s RBI single made it 5-3 and sent another runner to third. But Mateo was thrown out trying to get to second.