The All-Star break for the Orioles arrives after today's series and homestand finale against the Yankees. They are not exactly charging into the break. The Birds are 0-5 this homestand and have have been outscored 31-4.

They have scored two, zero, zero, one and one run in the five games and have scored just two runs their past 42 innings. The O's have gone a season-high four straight games without a home run.

The Orioles (57-38) and Yankees (58-39) are tied for the American League East lead, which will be held at the break by the winner of today's game. Technically the O's enter this game leading the division by percentage points, playing .600 ball to the Yankees' .598.

Until the Orioles were swept by the Cardinals on May 20-22 on the road, they had gone 106 straight regular season series of at least two games without being swept. Their most recent sweep in the regular season before that St. Louis series was May 13-15, 2022 at Detroit. That was easily an O's club record and the third-longest sweepless streak in major league history. The previous O's record was 46 straight series in 1971-1972.

But after losing to the Yankees 4-1 Friday and 6-1 yesterday, a loss today would mean the Orioles have been swept in two straight series and in three of their past seven series.

After drafting with a top five pick every year from 2019 through 2022 – twice selecting No. 1 overall – Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias and his staff this year will draft lower down the board for the second year in a row.

With the No. 17 pick in round one last year, they selected Vanderbilt outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., who now plays at High-A Aberdeen. Tonight, as another the three-day draft begins, they will have three selections at Nos. 22, 32 and 61.

The draft is heavy in college bats, scarce at the top in high school talent and not considered a great draft.

“It’s kind of a mess to be honest,” said MLB.com’s Jim Callis, who will be on MLB Network's coverage tonight. “This draft is kind of a slightly below average draft. The strength of the draft is college hitters. There is just not depth in terms of everything else.

“By the time we get to pick 22, there are about 10 guys on the first tier of the draft and they will all be gone. There could be 20 college hitters taken the first round. That is the strength of the draft. So that reflects the strength and that the other demographics are not particularly strong.”

Can a team struggling to score runs get them today against a pitcher they hit hard less than a month ago?

We're going to find out as the Orioles again face Yankees right-hander Luis Gil (9-5, 3.27 ERA), who is making his 19th start of the season.

When Gil faced the Orioles May 1, he pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings on just two hits. But the rematch June 20 at New York was very different. The righty entered that game with a 2.03 ERA.

He allowed eight hits and seven runs - both season highs - in just 1 1/3 innings as the Orioles won 17-5 to take that series.

They scored in the first inning that night on Ryan O'Hearn's single to lead 1-0 and knocked Gil out by scoring six runs in the second inning. An inning that featured Cedric Mullins' two-run homer and Ryan Mountcastle's bases-clearing, three-run double.

It is not an exaggeration to say the Orioles have done very well in the MLB Draft. They have high picks near the top of the board they like, players like Adley Rutschman, Heston Kjerstad and Colton Cowser, and some that came a bit later that are now All-Stars, like Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg.

They have the No. 1 farm system in baseball, and that farm is a big reason they lead the American League East.

But as another draft is set to begin tomorrow night, the Orioles are confident, but not cocky, that they will do well again.

“I think we have some humility. We can’t just turn anything into gold. That is just not the reality,” the O’s vice president of player development and domestic scouting, Matt Blood, said Friday at Oriole Park in a predraft update with local media. “I think that good scouting makes good player development and good player development helps make good scouting. I like to think that our two departments are very in sync and aligned. I would really hope so now, since I am overseeing them both.

“But it is something we take a lot of pride in, is our efficiency of development. We are going to look for players we feel like we can help and players that, if they come to our system, they will have an even better chance to be major league contributors.”

The Orioles traded a National League Central opponent tonight for one in the American League East. They had won 73 percent of their division games this year. But even that wasn’t enough to get their offense going again.

After scoring two runs in being swept by the Cubs, the Orioles ended their scoreless innings streak tonight but extended a losing streak to four.

Gerrit Cole allowed one run on 106 pitches over six frames as the New York Yankees beat the Orioles 4-1 in front of 39,566 at Camden Yards in the opener of a three-game series.

But what happened in the last of the ninth will be the lasting memory of this night. Yankees closer Clay Holmes hit Heston Kjerstad with a pitch in the batting helmet and a few minutes later both dugouts emptied as O's manager Brandon Hyde had words with someone in the visiting dugout.

"I was walking back and I hear stuff from their dugout," Hyde said. "So I just reacted the way I did. Saw what they were pointing at me and the whole thing, so just reacted the way I did.

They are the top two teams in the American League East, with the Orioles (57-36) leading the Yankees (56-39) by two games atop the division. But both have been playing under .500 ball for a couple of weeks or more. 

Heading into the weekend series, the Orioles are coming off being swept three straight by the Cubs. They have lost four of five and five of their past seven games. They are 8-11 since June 21. But they have actually gained 2.5 games on the Yankees since that date as New York is 5-13 since then.

The Yankees have lost three of four and seven of their last nine games. They are 6-17 since June 15 with a -35 run differential and 5.91 team ERA in that span, allowing 40 homers in those 23 games.

Will one team get well at the expense of the other this weekend?

Both have struggled with pitching lately, although the Orioles scored just two runs in the series with the Cubs. They still are among the best pitching staffs in baseball on the stat sheet. With a 3.60 team ERA, the Yankees rank second in the AL and at 3.66, the Orioles are fourth. O's starters have a 3.54 ERA to rank third while New York is fifth in the AL with a 3.66 rotation ERA. The Yankees bullpen is second (3.55) while the O's are eighth (3.86).

When the Orioles make the No. 22 overall selection Sunday night in round one as another MLB Draft day arrives, their outlook for acquiring amateur talent is not really different than when the club was a losing and rebuilding organization.

There is no urgency, just because now the Orioles are a winning team that could go deep in the postseason, to select players for instance who could get there quicker to help the big league team in Baltimore.

“I don’t think so,” said Orioles vice president of player development and domestic scouting Matt Blood, as to whether the draft approach has changed. “Again, our job is to make the best bet we can. And our job is sort of to predict the future, which is very hard to do. We’re going to stick with our process and will try to get the best major league value that we possibly can with every single pick.”

The Orioles have four of the draft’s first 97 picks. They have selections at Nos. 22, 32, 61 and 97. The draft runs through the first two rounds and Competitive Balance Round B on Sunday night. Selections in rounds three through 10 are Monday with rounds 11 through 20 on Tuesday to wrap up the three days.

The draft begins at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday night and at 2 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday.

On Tuesday night during the All-Star game in Texas, no doubt at some point the national television audience will hear one of the broadcasters point out the two O’s starters in the game – Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson – were the first two draft picks by Mike Elias after joining the Orioles.

Rutschman was the No. 1 pick in that 2019 draft but the Orioles got Henderson at No. 42 overall. Baseball America had him at No. 30 in their pre-draft projections.

The first two picks of the new regime are now All-Stars.

“It is definitely a testament to Elias,” Henderson said in the clubhouse pregame yesterday. “I know Rutch was obviously the consensus 1/1 pick. But to take a chance on me, I can’t thank him enough for that. Just glad to be able to go out there and help the O’s win some games.”

So why was Gunnar still there at pick No. 42?

Leading the American League East by two games over the Yankees, the Orioles take the field as a first-place team tonight, but one that is looking to avoid a three-game sweep.

The Cubs have beaten the Orioles by 9-2 and 4-0 the past two nights and could hand the Orioles their first home sweep this year. Baltimore has been swept twice on the road - May 20-22 at St. Louis and June 21-23 at Houston.

The Orioles have not been swept at home in a series of at least two games since Aug. 27-29, 2021 versus Tampa Bay when they lost three straight.

With last night's loss, the O's have lost this series, falling to 20-7-3 in series play and they have lost three of their past six series.

At 57-35, the Orioles have lost three of four and four of the last six games. They are 8-10 since June 21 with a team ERA of 5.68 in this span while scoring 4.2 runs per game.

When they play the All-Star game next Tuesday night in Arlington, Texas, the O’s participants will have a homegrown flavor.

Three of the four players repping the Orioles were drafted and developed by the Orioles in Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Westburg.

The fourth player going, pitcher Corbin Burnes, was acquired in a trade of O’s prospects they drafted and developed. They sent lefty DL Hall to Milwaukee in that deal, their first round pick (No 21 overall) in 2017. They also sent infielder Joey Ortiz, their fourth round pick in 2019 and a draft pick this year to the Brewers. They will have the No. 34 pick in this coming draft from the Burnes deal.

The first two selections Mike Elias ever made as O’s executive vice president and general in the 2019 MLB Draft were Rutschman taken No. 1 overall and Henderson at No. 42.

“That credit goes to Mike. Mike and his team,” manager Brandon Hyde said Wednesday pregame marveling at the O’s success in the draft under Elias. “What they’ve done in the draft since we’ve been here is unbelievable. To have Gunner, Adley and Jordan Westburg going to the All-Star game that just got drafted so many years ago that he drafted, that’s unbelievably rare.

After scoring 14 runs in the last two games of the series at Oakland over the weekend, it looked like the Orioles offense was starting to roll again. But tonight, early on, it didn’t look that way as they faced Chicago Cubs lefty Shota Imanaga in the second game of the series. 

Coming into this game the O’s had scored three runs or fewer five times in the last eight games, those two wins at Oakland standing out as good days in this run.

And their early struggles on offense carried through the night as the Cubs beat the Orioles 4-0 in front of 20,694 at Oriole Park. For the game, the Orioles went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

The O’s have lost three of four and four of their past six games as they fall to 29-19 at home and to 57-35 for the season.

They are now 12-13 versus National League teams. Their season win percentage is now .620 and they remain, narrowly, on a pace to win 100 games, projecting for 100.4 wins at that percentage over the full year.

With a team ERA of 5.78 the last 17 games, and having allowed 19 runs Saturday and nine last night, the Orioles could use a well pitched game tonight in the second of their series with the Chicago Cubs.

Enter right-hander Corbin Burnes (9-3, 2.32 ERA), who is looking to become a 10-game winner in his 19th start of 2024. Burnes was selected to pitch in the All-Star Game and could even be chosen to start for the American League.

He has strong credentials for that. He ranks second in the league in ERA (led by Kansas City's Seth Lugo at 2.21). He is third with 14 quality starts, one off the league lead, and is tied for fifth in opponents OPS at .590. He ranks seventh in both batting average against (.215) and WHIP (1.021).

The Orioles are 12-6 in his outings and Burnes is 5-1 with a 1.78 ERA and 1.121 WHIP in 10 home starts, in which the Orioles are 7-3.

Since April 26, Burnes has made 12 quality starts in a 13-start span, going 6-3 with a 2.16 ERA. He has allowed a .592 OPS in this stretch. 

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde gave some props to the fans today. The Orioles-Cubs game last night, the series opener that Chicago won 9-2, saw an attendance of 30,373.

According to the Baltimore Sun, that was the largest Tuesday night crowd at Oriole Park since the Orioles and Mets drew 34,068 on Aug. 18, 2015.

“You know, I remember it when we had some 8,000 nights," said Hyde. "So, to have 30,000, wish we would have played better. To have people support us, the fans and the area support us the way they are, it’s a noticeable difference.

“You just feel more of a buzz. More of a buzz in the crowd and you are not hearing individual conversations above your dugout. It’s more of a big baseball feel. You hear the roar of the crowd instead of individual sections.”

At this point there are four Orioles headed to the All-Star Game in Texas: starters Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, along with pitcher Corbin Burnes and infielder Jordan Westburg.

Take it one day at a time. Worry about today’s game. Don’t look too far ahead or much ahead at all.

It can be a bit boring creed, but for the Orioles it is working.

Their latest example of how they quickly deal with adversity and then move past it just happened Sunday at Oakland. After giving up 19 runs the day before, they scored four in the first the next day and won. They got swept by at St. Louis in May, ending the sweepless streak and then went on a 16-4 run the next 20 games.

Guess what, more adversity last night as they allowed 14 hits in a 9-2 loss to the Cubs and Dean Kremer gave up seven runs in four innings. In their second game after allowing 19 runs, the O's allowed nine.

Now they have to overcome another down game. They've responded well to tough times most of this year. How do they do that?

Armed with the best record in the American League and second-best in MLB and coming off two West Coast road series wins, the O’s begin their final homestand before the All-Star break tonight at Oriole Park.

They host the Chicago Cubs for three games and then the New York Yankees for three.

Only Philadelphia (58-32, .644) has a win percentage ahead of the Orioles (57-33, .633) in the majors as play begins tonight.

The Orioles lead the AL East by three games over New York, by 7.5 over Boston, by 13 games over Tampa Bay and 16 over Toronto.

The Yankees (55-37, .598) have lost or split seven consecutive series, the longest active streak in MLB. The Yankees are 6-16 (.273) over their last 22 games, tied for their worst record over a 22-game span in the last 25 years. In those last seven series, they have lost series to the Red Sox twice, the Orioles, the Braves, Mets and Reds.

He was one of six Orioles who were finalists in the American League in voting for the All-Star game. As it turned out, Gunnar Henderson will start at shortstop and Adley Rutschman as the catcher for the American League, but no other O's finalists made the team.

That group includes Ryan Mountcastle, Jordan Westburg, Ryan O’Hearn and Anthony Santander.

Westburg was on the ballot at third base, but unless he is a late add to replace someone injured, he will not be in the game on July 16.

“I understood it,” Westburg said this afternoon in the Baltimore clubhouse. “There are a lot of good players in this league and so just to be in those conversations, I was very honored. I felt blessed.

“It’s disappointing. I don’t know how many times I will get that opportunity in my career but at the end of the day, I’m not going to live and die by that decision. I’m going to enjoy the time off with my wife at our home. It will be fun.”

For 22-year-old outfielder Dylan Beavers of the Double-A Bowie Baysox, the work to get better and take his game to higher levels is ongoing daily at Prince George’s Stadium and other ballparks around the Eastern League.

Beavers is ranked as the Orioles’ No. 6 prospect by MLBPipeline.com and No. 10 via Baseball America.

He added weight and strength over the winter and that helped him drive the ball better and hit more homers, but he also seen his batting average and OPS drop.

But on the O’s farm, the focus is always on process over results and coaches and players alike take a long-term view. A couple days or even a few weeks of struggles are understood if both sides feel that things are taking place for long-term success.

“I think there have been some positives to take away and also definitely some things to improve on, work on,” Beavers told me recently at Bowie in sizing up his 2024 season. “My power is starting to show up – feel like I am driving the ball better this year. And just kind of matching that consistency that I had last year while continuing to drive the ball.”

The Orioles today announced that Catie Griggs will serve as the first female president of business operations in team history. She begins with the club on Aug. 19.

On Friday, Griggs resigned her position as president of business operations for the Seattle Mariners. The North Carolina native cited a desire to be closer to family on the East Coast. Griggs arrived in Seattle in July 2021 after four seasons as the chief business officer for Atlanta United in Major League Soccer. She oversaw all aspects of the Mariners organization outside of baseball operations.

“Catie’s track record of success, diverse business experience, and commitment to excellence made her the perfect fit to lead the next chapter of our business operation in Baltimore,” said Orioles owner and control person David M. Rubenstein. "The entire Orioles organization welcomes Catie as we continue to elevate every aspect of our operation.”

Griggs managed all aspects of the Mariners' business operations, including investments to improve technology, operations and fan experience at T-Mobile Park. In addition, she led the way as T-Mobile Park became the first venue to host both Major League Baseball's All-Star Week (2023) and the National Hockey League Winter Classic (2024) within a calendar year. Combined, the two events generated more than $80 million in revenue for the city of Seattle and directly engaged more than 300,000 fans. 

Before joining the Mariners, Griggs spent the previous four years (2017-2021) helping build Atlanta United into one of the premier MLS franchises. She was chief business officer, overseeing all aspects of the Atlanta United front office. Prior to Atlanta United, Griggs was with Futures Sport & Entertainment, as well as Turner Broadcasting.

When he got off to a sensational start to his 2024 season, outfielder Colton Cowser was showing for the first time that he might be a good big league player. Showing it, not in minor league games, but at the big league level.

But even he had to realize it might not always go as well as it was then, or he might not be able to make it look as easy as he did then.

Named the American League Rookie of the Month for March/April, he ended that period batting .303/.372/.632/.1.004 with six homers and 18 RBIs.

He ended April ninth in the AL in FanGraphs.com Wins Above Replacement among league position players.

But struggles would follow that torrid hitting stretch. While his OPS for this year of .740 puts him 13 percent above AL average, his OPS was .580 in May, .679 in June and is .490 so far in July.

In the final game of a three-game series and six-game road trip, the Orioles (56-33) play at Oakland (34-57) today. The O's won the series-opener 3-2 Friday and lost 19-8 on Saturday. 

That game produced season-highs or really lows for the Orioles.

* It was the most runs they have allowed this season, topping the 14 from June 21 at Houston.

* It is the most runs the Orioles have allowed since a 22-7 loss on Sept. 12, 2021 against Toronto.

* The Orioles also allowed season highs in hits with 18 (the previous most was 15) and homers, allowing five, one more than the four they gave up to Texas on June 29.