It’s been said that “baseball is a game of inches.” Sometimes it’s less than that.

To hear Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser tell it, a ½ inch is making a difference for him. He cites two things that have helped turn his bat around. He is raking now with a 13-game hitting streak since the All-Star game.

A nice mental reset at the break helped and so too has using a bigger bat, one a bit heavier and one that is 34 inches. A bit longer than the 33 ½ inch model he previously used.

Going into the All-Star break, Cowser was 4-for-31 (.129) with 12 strikeouts his last 10 games.

Coming out of the break he's been on a roll and his hitting streak was extended Wednesday afternoon with a homer and single. Over the 13 games he is batting 19-for-50 which is .380/.429/.660/1.089 with two doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs.

For the Orioles, the high they felt of winning 10-4 today at Camden Yards as Jackson Holliday hit a grand slam to lead the O's past the Blue Jays lasted briefly. The attention immediately turned to Jordan Westburg, who was hit in the hand with a fastball.

A team that has lost pitchers Tyler Wells, John Means and Kyle Bradish for the year and hopes to get Danny Coulombe back late in the year, and recently saw Jorge Mateo also get hurt, lost infielder Westburg. He will miss significant time after getting hit in the right-hand today by a 95 mph fastball in the fifth inning from righty reliever Yerry Rodríguez. He fractured his right hand.

Westburg, who has made starts at second and third, has batted .269 with 25 doubles, five triples, 18 homers, 58 RBIs and a .815 OPS in 101 games.

“All-Star player,” said manager Brandon Hyde, who hopes Westburg can make it back before the end of the regular season. “So, injuries are a part of the game. We have to pick up the pieces for him. We’ve got to play well. He is a huge part of our lineup, our culture, really everything. He’s right in the middle of everything and so we have to have other guys kind of step up in his place and fill the void.”

During the same series when catcher James McCann was hit in the face by a pitch Monday suffering multiple nasal fractures, now the O’s lose Westburg.

On the first full day after the trade deadline, Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias expressed optimism that his roster was “fortified,” his pitching staff improved and that his team has “as good a shot as anybody.”

This morning the O’s began the process of retooling their roster after the flurry of deadline trades for the stretch run and trying to turn a recent small stretch of winning into a larger one.

With three wins in their past four games scoring 29 runs, the O’s took the field amid the Baltimore sunshine today looking for yet another American League East series win.

Ryan Mountcastle’s two-run triple to right in the last of the first got the Orioles off to a good start. They built an early 3-0 lead.

The deadline deals opened the door for Jackson Holliday’s return to this team. He electrified the crowd today when his first major league homer was a grand slam in the last of the fifth. It opened an 8-3 lead and led to a Holliday curtain call. The crowd was on its feet and roaring for Holliday, who went 2-for-34 with the Orioles in 10 April games.

The Orioles, still a work in progress with their roster after the trade deadline, take the field today with Jackson Holliday back in the lineup as they host Toronto to wrap up the four-game series.

The Orioles (64-44) lead the American League East by 1/2 game over the Yankees and by seven games over the Red Sox after last night's 6-2 win. They have taken two of three in this series, are 22-10 in division games and have scored 29 runs in winning three of the past four games.

The Orioles, now 7-6 the last 13 games, are hoping they are in the beginning stages of an extended stretch of winning as the playoff push is on now post-trade deadline.

The Orioles are 11-13 this month, so they are about to have a losing month for the first time since September of 2022. The nine consecutive winning months were the longest active streak in the majors. 

Today's roster moves included the recall of Holliday from Triple-A. In other moves, lefty Gregory Soto was activated after being acquired yesterday. In corresponding moves, catcher Blake Hunt, who was added to the active roster right before the game last night, and infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra, who had his contract selected from the Tides yesterday, were optioned to Norfolk (Hunt stayed in Baltimore on the taxi squad).

Orioles infielder Jackson Holliday is back with the team today and about to play in a big league game for the first time since April 23. He said he feels more prepared this time around and his arm is fully ready after a bout with right elbow inflammation.

The 20-year-old Holliday went 2-for-34 with 18 strikeouts in 10 games in his first time in the bigs.

“Just going to enjoy it,” Holliday said this morning in the Baltimore clubhouse which gets an influx of new talent after the trade deadline. “Enjoy being here and being present. Feel like last time it was all a blur. Just glad to be up here and enjoy every moment with these guys and have fun.

“It was obviously sad to go back down. But got to go down there and make some adjustments and improve a little bit and set myself up for the second time around. Glad to be here.”

Holliday indicated the adjustments he made were minor. He told me he has not eliminated his high leg kick, which some questioned whether that would impact his ability to hit premium velocity. That part didn’t change.

In the end Garrett Crochet was not traded to the Orioles or anybody. Neither were Tarik Skubal or Blake Snell.

The O’s added four pitchers – two starters and two relievers – one each throwing left and right. But they didn't get any of the big three.

There were no blockbuster deals and no elite prospects were moved. The highest-rated prospect they traded was infielder Connor Norby, ranked No. 5 by MLBPipeline.com.

The O’s rotation, in some order, now likely consists of Corbin Burnes, Grayson Rodriguez, Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer and lefty Trevor Rogers.

The O’s added Rogers yesterday for Norby and Kyle Stowers who went to Miami where reportedly Stowers will get a lot of playing time and Norby went back to the farm to work on playing third base.

The Orioles and Blue Jays play the third game of their four-game series tonight after splitting a doubleheader Monday. The Orioles won the opener 11-5 and lost the nightcap 8-4.

The Orioles (63-44) lead the American League East, but now just by a half-game over the Yankees, who have won their past three games. The Orioles have not been in second place since June 26. They would be tonight with a loss and another Yankees win.

While the Orioles are 3-3 their past six games, in longer stretches they have lost six of their past nine, 12 of 19 and 13 of the last 21 games.

Since June 21 when they began a series where they would be swept in Houston, the Orioles are 14-19 with a -42 run differential. In those 33 games, they have a team ERA of 5.37 allowing a team batting average to opponents of .270 with an .800 OPS in that span. Opponents are scoring 4.5 runs per game with 48 home runs in this stretch.

After the doubleheader, the O’s have now allowed five or more runs in eight straight games, seven times allowing six or more. In the eight games, they have allowed 91 hits with a 5.45 team ERA.

Orioles rookie Heston Kjerstad was a part of the Triple-A Norfolk team last year that ended up winning the Triple-A championship. He was with the Orioles when the Tides won that title in late September, but the lineup that night for the Tides included infielder Connor Norby and outfielder Kyle Stowers, who were traded today to the Marlins for lefty pitcher Trevor Rogers.

That lineup also included Jackson Holliday, Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo and Joey Ortiz.

It's easy to see how that team won a title.

Today Kjerstad is still an Oriole, but the other two are not.

“Norby and Stowers have been awesome. Not only great friends to me but great baseball players,” Kjerstad said this afternoon in the Baltimore clubhouse. “They’re going to go on and have great big league careers. They’ve been fun to watch play.

Right-hander Zach Eflin started for the Orioles in Game 1 yesterday. He threw well and got the win against Toronto in his O's debut. He also did something unusual for him. He fanned seven batters to tie a season-high and had six strikeouts after just four innings.

Thirteen times this year in his 20 starts, Eflin fanned five or fewer. He's mostly a control artist and a pitch-to-contact guy.

He is much more of that style pitcher then one with a premium fastball and a big strikeout rate.

Eflin can be a strikeout pitcher. And last year when his ERA was 3.50 and he finished sixth for the AL Cy Young award, he averaged 9.4 strikeouts per every nine innings. But the year before, in 2022, he averaged 7.7 K/9 and this year his average is 7.1 K/9.

There was a day in this game when 7.1 strikeouts per 9 was a lot. For instance, Jim Palmer for his career averaged 5.0 strikeouts per nine and yet won three Cy Young Awards. Today 7.1 per nine is below average.

A straight doubleheader is coming up today at Oriole Park as the Orioles (62-43) host Toronto (49-56) to begin a four-game series.

The Orioles beat San Diego 8-6 on Sunday to avoid being swept three in a row as they snapped San Diego's seven-game win streak.

Even with that win the Orioles are 1-4 their past five series. They have lost five of seven, 10 of 15 and 12 of their past 19 games. They improved to 13-18 the last 31 games.

The Orioles had lost eight of their past nine home games until taking the win on Sunday.

Orioles pitchers have allowed six or more runs for six consecutive games, allowing six, six, six, six, nine and six runs. That is the longest such streak since eight straight games allowing six or more runs from Aug. 12-19, 2021.

When it comes to O’s infielder Connor Norby, ranked as the club’s No. 5 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 7 via Baseball America, there are differing opinions on his defense.

Baseball America provides Norby a slightly below average 45 grade on the 20-80 scouting scale for his fielding and a 40 for arm. MLBPipeline goes 50 and 50 for both - essentially big league average.

In the early innings Saturday, Norby looked like a plus defender.

He made a fantastic play in the first inning Saturday. He ranged up the middle sliding onto the outfield to field a Manny Machado grounder and then he got a lot on the throw from the seat of his pants for the out. Two innings later he made another nice play and cut down a runner at home with an off balance throw with the infield in.

There was nothing below average about those plays. Both were big and provided a chance for Norby to show he has improved a lot with his second-base defense.

The Orioles have been swept this year three in a row by St. Louis, Houston and the Chicago Cubs. Today the San Diego Padres, winners of seven in a row, will try to add their name to the list.

San Diego (57-50) has won the first two games of this series by 6-4 and 9-4 scores. The Padres have won these last seven versus Cleveland, Washington and the Orioles. They have outscored their opponents 43-12 in this stretch, pitching three shutouts.

Their team ERA is 1.57 during the seven games as they have allowed a .143 batting average, a .443 OPS and just four home runs.

Their hitters are scoring 6.1 runs per game in the win streak, batting .308 with an .832 team OPS in the seven games.

San Diego is 12-3 in its last 15 road games, and that is the best road record in the major leagues since June 19.

This stat has been pointed out a few times, but even in going 12-18 the last 30 games, the Orioles gained ground on the Yankees. Yes, that is crazy.

On June 20, before the last 30 games, the Orioles were 49-25 (.662) yet a 1/2 game out of first place. Since June 21, even in losing 18 of 30, the O's still lead the American League East by one game after their loss yesterday and the Yankees' 10-inning victory last night.

The games, beyond the stats, tell us that the Yankees have played poor ball for a long time too. But the Orioles' play has fallen. here is a statistical look:

Here are some O's team stats through June 20 and where they ranked in the major leagues:

* 5.27 runs per game (1)
* OPS of .769 (2)
* Slugging .456 (1)
* Home runs per game 1.61 (1)
* Team ERA 3.13 (tied for 1st)
* OPS against .632 (1)
* 0.83 HRs allowed per nine innings (2)

Two days ago the Orioles had a 6-0 lead and almost lost. Last night they held an early two-run lead, were tied in the ninth and lost 6-4 to the Padres in the opener of a three-game series.

The Orioles (61-42) still lead the American League East by two games over the Yankees as both clubs keep losing often lately.

The Orioles have lost four of five, nine of 13 and 11 of their past 17 games. Since June 21 they are 12-17 with a -41 run differential.

The Yankees have lost five of six games and are 2-5 since the All-Star break (the O’s are 3-4). Since June 21, New York is 9-19 with a -16 run differential.

San Diego (56-50) has a six-game winning streak after Friday’s 6-4 victory and they have outscored their opponents 34-8 in those games.

We have seen the Orioles go 20-9 this year versus the American League East. We have seen them produce nine straight winning months, the longest current active streak in the majors. Since the start of 2023, Baltimore is 162-102 (.614), and that is the best win percentage in the majors in that span.

In the span of four series in June we saw the Orioles sweep four in a row at Tampa Bay and win consecutive series against Atlanta, Philadelphia and the New York Yankees.

But since they capped that four-series run by beating the Yankees 17-5, it has turned for the worse. And the Orioles can't seem to turn it back.

Since June 21 they look nothing like a playoff team. They have two five-game losing streaks in this stretch and in their most recent five games, they are 1-4.

That is a mark of 12-17 and a -41 run differential since that June day.

It's already been a busy day for the Orioles, who have made two trades involving seven players and added two pitchers. But tonight they get back on the field and host San Diego to begin a new homestand.

Earlier today they dealt outfielder Austin Hays to the Philadelphia Phillies for relief pitcher Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache. Later they acquired starting pitcher Zach Eflin from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for minor league pitcher Jackson Baumeister, infielder Mac Horvath and outfielder Matthew Etzel. The Orioles selected all three in the 2023 MLB Draft.

Baumeister was rated their No. 17 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 18 via Baseball America. Horvath was ranked No. 10 by MLB Pipeline and No. 13 by Baseball America. Etzel was not a top 30 prospect.

The Orioles are 61-41 and leading the American League East by two games over the Yankees after their wild win Thursday at Miami, 7-6 in 10 innings. The Birds hit three early homers in the win as Anthony Santander and Connor Norby hit solo shots and Colton Cowser added a three-run blast.

Cowser has a six-game hitting streak and is 8-for-20 in this span with two doubles, two homers and nine RBIs. During the streak he is batting .400 with an OPS of 1.300.

With all the speculation that the O’s might be trading some prospects at the trade deadline and amid recent reports via ESPN that the club might be willing to deal Ryan Mountcastle and Cedric Mullins, it was another long-time O's player leaving the club.

Austin Hays, a veteran of 557 games over parts of seven seasons with the Orioles, was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies.

The return was right-handed reliever Seranthony Domínguez and outfielder Cristian Pache.

Domínguez, 29, provides help for the Baltimore bullpen, which allowed late-game runs the last two days at Miami.

Domínguez is 3-2 with a 4.75 ERA and 1.222 WHIP on the year over 36 innings. Over the last three seasons, since 2022, he has a 3.74 ERA and 1.256 WHIP.

MIAMI – When a family member texted him with news that O's infielder Jorge Mateo had left a game injured, it was news to Connor Norby. He had not heard anything to that point. Soon he found out much more and that he was headed to Miami for his second stint in the majors with the Orioles.

Not happy how it happened but ready to show he can play at the big league level.

“Unfortunate, but ready to fill a spot when the team needs it,” he said pregame Thursday in the O’s clubhouse after arriving from Triple-A Norfolk.

Norby went 3-for-14 in four early June games with the Orioles. But he felt more comfortable each day and when he was sent back to the minors, he went back confident about his big league future.

“That I can play here,” he said was what he learned in that first taste of big league life. “I still think there is another level to me. As crazy as that sounds at times for me. But I think there is more in the tank. Trying to be as consistent as I can but the biggest thing here is helping us win games. The biggest thing I learned is I can play at this level.”

MIAMI – In desperate need of a win today in the series and road trip finale at Miami, the Orioles hit a bunch of early homers and watched ace right-hander Corbin Burnes deal on the mound for most of his day.

It was a combination that has worked before and looked like it would again today.

It looked like it could and would be easy, but it was not.

The O's let leads of 6-0 in the fourth, 6-1 in the eighth and 6-3 in the ninth get away. The game moved to the 10th inning.

O's closer Craig Kimbrel allowed a one-out infield single and walked the next two hitters to load the bases in the home ninth with the O's up three. Then shortstop Gunnar Henderson bobbled a grounder off the bat of Jazz Chisholm Jr. and it was 6-4. A sac fly by Xavier Edwards made it 6-5 and when Josh Bell singled to right, the game was tied. Yennier Cano replaced Kimbrel and recorded a strikeout to deny Miami a walk-off win and send the game to the 10th.

MIAMI - A road trip that began with promise - the O's scored 17 runs in winning the first two games out of the All-Star break in Texas - is ending with a thud. Especially if the Orioles lose again today at Miami. They will have been swept three in a row and will end the trip with four straight losses.

But the top three American League East teams are a combined 5-12 since the break. The Orioles are 2-3, the Yankees 2-4 and Boston 1-5.

The Orioles (60-41) lead the division by 1.5 games over the Yankees and by six games over the Red Sox.

Since scoring the 17 runs in the series at Texas, the O's have scored eight runs in losing the last three games. They have lost eight of 11 and 10 of their past 15. They are 11-16 with a -40 run differential since June 21. But they have actually gained two games on the Yankees, who have gone 9-18 in the same time frame.

O's ace right-hander Corbin Burnes (10-4, 2.38 ERA) gets the start in the series finale. He is a pitcher on a roll and really has easily been the club’s best starter throughout the season.