The nine days between starts didn’t freshen Tyler Wells. The break busted his roll.

The Dodgers sent 10 batters to the plate in the second inning, scored five runs and drained 40 pitches out of Wells, who didn’t return for the third in the Orioles’ 10-3 loss before an announced crowd of 22,775 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles will try Wednesday afternoon to avoid their first sweep since May 2022. A second straight loss lowered their record to 57-37.

Wells came close to duplicating the shortest start of his career, 1 2/3 innings against the Rays in April 2022. He lasted at least five in his first 18 appearances this season.

Jason Heyward hit a three-run homer with no outs in the second, lining a fastball over the center field fence for the 22^nd surrendered by Wells this season. The first five batters reached base, and Freddie Freeman and Will Smith had RBI singles.

Cedric Mullins remains confident that he can avoid the injured list as he recovers from tightness in his right quadriceps.

Mullins is out of the lineup for a third consecutive game. He sustained the injury Saturday night in the second inning while running from first to third base on Jordan Westburg’s fly ball down the right field line.

The ball sliced foul, and Mullins walked off the field with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel.

Asked how he’s progressing, Mullins replied, “I’d say pretty good.”

“It’s just one of those weird things where, as I’m getting work done to it, the soreness kind of accumulates from that,” he said. “Just continuing with the progression there. But I think it’s coming along pretty well.”

Cedric Mullins remains out of the Orioles lineup, his day-to-day status extended while he recovers from right quadriceps tightness.

Aaron Hicks is playing center field again tonight. Austin Hays is in left and Colton Cowser is in right.

Jordan Westburg is the third baseman, and he’s batting ninth.

Gunnar Henderson remains atop the order. He’s hitting .350 with a .650 slugging percentage against breaking pitches since June, according to STATS, compared to his .128 average and .277 slugging heading into the month.

Tyler Wells has a 3.18 ERA and the majors’ lowest WHIP at 0.927. He’s allowed two earned runs in each of his last seven starts, and two or fewer in eight straight.

Orioles scout Trent Friedrich used the word multiple times today when describing outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr.

Different.

Friedrich watched Bradfield play at American Heritage High School in Plantation, Fla. in 2018. He tracked Bradfield at Vanderbilt University, with Tennessee part of his territory. And he knew.

“He impacted the game in so many ways,” Friedrich said. “It’s been really fun ever since he was a sophomore in high school, following him through high school, and then coming into my area at Vanderbilt and being able to watch him the last three years.

“He’s just been different every step of the way.”

The Orioles filed off the field last night with their first loss since July 4. The winning streak expired at eight games.

It didn’t influence their standing as the team with the third-best record in baseball.

The trade deadline arrives in two weeks. The club isn’t broken, so why fix it?

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias is intent on strengthening it. There’s a difference. He’s finally free to operate as a buyer, and he’s got the prospect resources to keep his phone ringing.

A partner is necessary to consummate a deal, and the Orioles will be active in the search. But what exactly do they need?

The first three pitches from Grayson Rodriguez tonight were clocked at 98.9, 99.2 and 99.8 mph, resulting in a fly ball from Dodgers leadoff hitter Mookie Betts.

That’s when he decided to turn up the heat.

Rodriguez concluded an eight-pitch at-bat against Freddie Freeman by getting him to ground a 101-mph fastball to third baseman Ramón Urías. Six of his pitches exceeded 100 mph in the inning. He didn’t top 99.3 during his first stint with the club.

This wasn’t the same version of Rodriguez. Not until he came back out for the sixth.

Twice handed three-run leads, Rodriguez couldn’t record an out in the sixth and watched from the dugout as Chris Taylor hit a grand slam off Bryan Baker in the Dodgers’ 6-4 victory over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 21,956 at Camden Yards.

Cole Irvin knew before the All-Star break that he was switching to a relief role. Orioles manager Brandon Hyde explained the left-hander’s removal from the rotation, and how rookie Grayson Rodriguez was returning from Triple-A Norfolk.

Irvin handled the situation like a professional.

“I’m throwing well,” he said today, “and I’m excited to have Grayson back.”

Two starts this month lowered Irvin’s ERA from 4.95 to 4.51. He allowed two runs over 11 1/3 innings and cleared the sixth for the first time with the Orioles.

He remained the odd man out with Rodriguez pitching himself back to Baltimore.

Aaron Hicks has returned to the Orioles lineup tonight after being scratched yesterday with lower-back soreness. He’s in center field.

Cedric Mullins remains day-to-day with a sore right quadriceps. Manager Brandon Hyde said Mullins is “a lot better” and the club is encouraged by his progress.

Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter. Colton Cowser is in left field, with Austin Hays on the bench.

Gunnar Henderson is leading off and playing shortstop.

Ramón Urías is at third base and Adam Frazier is playing second.

The Orioles recalled Grayson Rodriguez from Triple-A Norfolk today and optioned reliever Eduard Bazardo.

Rodriguez is making his 11^th start tonight and his first since May 26 against the Rangers. He went 4-0 with a 1.96 ERA in eight starts with Triple-A Norfolk, striking out 56 batters in 41 1/3 innings.

Rodriguez posted a 7.35 ERA and 1.743 WHIP in 45 1/3 innings with the Orioles before they optioned him. He walked 21 batters and struck out 56. He also surrendered 13 home runs.

Bazardo was sent down following yesterday’s 5-4 win over the Marlins. He was charged with three runs and retired only one batter in the ninth inning.

The roster still holds 14 position players and 12 pitchers. Outfielder Cedric Mullins is day-to-day with a sore right quadriceps muscle, and outfielder Aaron Hicks was scratched from yesterday’s lineup with lower-back discomfort.

Dan Simonds didn’t need consecutive years to form an opinion on Mac Horvath. He didn’t even need a full season.

The relatively brief amount of time that Horvath spent at IMG Academy in Florida revealed traits that made him special. Intangibles that Simonds knew would separate Horvath from a talented group of players.

The total package prompted the Orioles to draft Horvath in the second round last week out of the University of North Carolina. Maybe a little higher than Simonds imagined before Horvath walked onto the Chapel Hill campus, but understandable based on the projections.

Simonds has spent 10 years at IMG Academy and oversees the entire operation as Baseball Director, including camps that run throughout the summer, winter and spring, and the professional training at the Bradenton facility. Horvath transferred from Century High School in Minnesota for his senior year.

In the fall of 2019. Before the world shut down early in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.

The Orioles made a late lineup change this morning.

Aaron Hicks has been scratched and no longer gets the start in center field.

Austin Hays goes from the bench to left field for the series finale against the Marlins at Camden Yards. Colton Cowser’s first start in Baltimore switches from left field to center.

Hays is batting fourth, with Ryan O’Hearn moving down to fifth.

For the Orioles
Gunnar Henderson SS
Adley Rutschman DH
Anthony Santander RF
Austin Hays LF
Ryan O’Hearn 1B
Ramón Urías 3B
Colton Cowser CF
Adam Frazier 2B
James McCann C

The Orioles are trying today to complete their sixth series sweep before the Dodgers come to town. They’re also attempting to extend their winning streak to a season-high eight games.

The Marlins are starting an opener, left-hander Steven Okert, who retired all four batters last night with three strikeouts.

Manager Brandon Hyde knows that the Marlins are going with a bullpen game today and made out a lineup that includes Colton Cowser in left field, the former first-round pick’s first Camden Yards start. Aaron Hicks is in center and Anthony Santander is in right.

Cedric Mullins is sitting after experiencing tightness last night in his right quadriceps.

Gunnar Henderson is leading off and playing shortstop, with Ramón Urías at third base. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

Ryan Mountcastle stepped into the cage yesterday for batting practice and hit a ball into the second deck in left field. It meant nothing and everything.

The stats didn’t change. Mountcastle’s last official home run is May 24 in New York, about two weeks before dizziness and blurred vision forced him onto the injured list.

The diagnosis was vertigo, which he never experienced in the past. He spent about a month away from the majors and made his first start last night since June 8, after manager Brandon Hyde used him twice off the bench.

“I feel good,” Mountcastle said yesterday. “Those couple weeks were brutal. I wanted to be back with the team so bad, but it just kept flaring up and finally got it right. I was just happy to be back and feeling like my normal self.”

A sense of normal also eluded Mountcastle at the plate. He was mired in a 4-for-30 slump before going on the injured list and kept struggling in his rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk.

Only two of the six clubhouse televisions this afternoon were tuned into the first game of the Rays’ doubleheader against the Royals. The Cubs-Red Sox also aired on two of them. Or players could choose between the Scottish Open and a scouting combine men’s basketball tournament.

No one seemed interested.

One player sat in a recliner for a few minutes during the media’s access, got up and left. The place emptied for a meeting. Further evidence that the first-place Rays aren’t an obsession.

The Orioles may check the standings, but they know how little it matters if they don’t win.

They might have lost their center fielder again.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde understands the logic behind going with a 12-man pitching staff, with the four-day All-Star break creating a rested bullpen. An extra arm isn’t necessary.

Hyde endorses the unbalanced ratio of pitchers to position players.

Ride with a dozen until it can’t be done.

A five-man bench is ideal for Hyde, however long it lasts. The late-game choices are much more enticing than in past seasons with the increase in talent.

“I have options this year," Hyde said, "which is nice.”

The Orioles carry a six-game winning streak into tonight, with the Rays leading them by only 1 ½ in the American League East.

A right-handed lineup against Marlins left-hander Braxton Garrett puts Austin Hays in the leadoff spot and Ryan Mountcastle at cleanup. Mountcastle is the designated hitter, with Anthony Santander at first base.

Jordan Westburg is the second baseman, Gunnar Henderson moves to third and Jorge Mateo gets the start at shortstop.

Colton Cowser stood on deck last night with two outs in the eighth inning but didn’t bat. He’s waiting to make his Camden Yards debut.

The Orioles have hit eight home runs in the last two games after totaling eight in the previous 13.

The Orioles have six pitchers on the injured list in various stages of their recoveries. Beginning or getting close to rehab assignments. Throwing in the bullpen or on flat ground. Shut down completely until cleared to play catch.

John Means threw a bullpen session yesterday at Camden Yards. Cionel Pérez is reporting to Double-A Bowie today. Others are in Sarasota.

And then, there’s left-hander DL Hall, who’s on a completely different program.

Hall also is at the spring training complex in Sarasota, but he’s continuing his progression to build strength and velocity. The transfer was made after the Orioles put Hall on a “de-load” with Triple-A Norfolk by limiting his innings and pitch counts.

The opposite of stretching him out to start.

The Orioles held an optional workout last night at Camden Yards. No pressure to get back to Baltimore. No demands placed on the players. Manager Brandon Hyde left it entirely to them.

“A ton of guys showed up,” Hyde said. “Guys want to get back after it.”

No wonder. A first half that produced the third-best record in baseball had the Orioles eager to resume their season. Breaks are nice, but they have business to finish.

The weather forced them to wait again, with rain delaying the start of tonight’s game by one hour and six minutes, but they didn’t let it interfere with the mindset or the mission.

Cedric Mullins and Adam Frazier homered off Sandy Alcantara in the fourth inning, which began with the score tied, Frazier went deep again in the eighth, and the Orioles extended their winning streak to six games with a 5-2 victory over the Marlins before an announced crowd of 23,377 at Camden Yards.

Orioles reliever Cionel Pérez will begin his injury rehab assignment Saturday at Double-A Bowie.

Pérez was shut down with left forearm soreness, but he completed a bullpen session yesterday. He posted a 4.45 ERA and 1.780 WHIP in 33 games this season but didn’t allow a run in his last five appearances.

“He feels really good,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

Keegan Akin is cleared to throw on flat ground. He’s on the 15-day injured list with lower back discomfort.

“Still doing his buildup,” Hyde said. “He’ll continue doing that. He’s progressing with catch play.”

The Orioles begin the second half of the season with a three-game series against Marlins and Gunnar Henderson staying at shortstop tonight and atop the order.

Ryan Mountcastle is on the bench. Ryan O’Hearn gets the start at first base.

Jordan Westburg is playing third base. Aaron Hicks is in right field, with Anthony Santander serving as designated hitter.

Cedric Mullins is batting sixth behind All-Star Austin Hays.

Orioles starters have strung together five quality starts in a row during a five-game winning streak, posting a 1.67 ERA during that stretch.