ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Opposing teams at Tropicana Field must become educated on the unique ground rules during their pregame studies. Be able to recite the outcome if a ball strikes one of the catwalks. Know whether it remains in play and what happens if it’s caught or lands on the turf.

Adley Rutschman didn’t let the quirks complicate his at-bat tonight in the first inning. He swung hard and hit the longest home run of his young career, perhaps unaware that the ball slammed into the C-ring in right field before it could punch a hole in the roof.

He just circled the bases. No one was going to stop him, or the team trying to move into third place in its division and the wild card race

Rutschman’s 439-foot shot staked Austin Voth to a quick lead, the right-hander carried a no-hit bid into the sixth, Jorge Mateo collected five hits, and Cedric Mullins also nailed the C-ring in the eighth, as if the Orioles were playing a carnival game instead of beginning a crucial series with a 10-3 victory over the Rays.

Voth retired the first 10 batters and didn’t allow a hit until Jose Siri’s infield single leading off the sixth, and the Orioles improved to 59-53. They’re a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay in both races.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Left-hander DL Hall is joining the Orioles later today in St. Petersburg, Fla., with the expectation that he's going on the active roster prior to Saturday afternoon's game.

Manager Brandon Hyde said during his media dugout scrum that Hall is "going to be in the traveling party."

"We're going to get through tonight's game and see where we are from there," he said.

Hall, the No. 4 prospect in the system per MLBPipeline.com, has posted a 4.76 ERA and 1.486 WHIP in 18 starts with Triple-A Norfolk. He’s walked 44 batters in 70 innings but also struck out 114.

The Orioles haven't confirmed when Hall, 23, joins the pitching staff after he left the Tides, who are in Rochester. Also pending is what Hall’s role will be upon his arrival, whether he makes any starts or works out of the bullpen during a pennant race.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Orioles and Rays meet in a three-game series that could jostle them within the division and wild card standings.

The Rays are a half-game ahead of the Orioles for third place in the American League East. The same distance that separates them in the wild card race, with the Orioles dropping out of a third-place tie last night.

The teams have split 16 games against each other, but the Orioles are 1-5 at Tropicana Field.

A big series awaits them.

Terrin Vavra is starting in left field tonight. Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

BOSTON - In an August mailbag race, mine isn’t vying for a third wild card. It’s running away with the division. Can’t be caught.

It can, however, be emptied.

Don’t ask me how that works.

This is the latest sequel to the beloved original. You ask, I answer, you keep asking and I keep changing my responses to confuse the heck out of you.

Trust the first one.

BOSTON – The division standings plastered on the lower left portion of the Green Monster weren’t updated when the Orioles arrived at the ballpark this afternoon or during the early rounds of the Red Sox’s batting practice session.

It wasn’t until later that the Orioles were shown to be tied with the Rays for third place rather than trailing by a half-game. Which also meant they were tied for the last wild card spot.

Important distinctions for the Orioles, even if the famed wall isn’t official.

The holdovers from past seasons are accustomed to the team being listed at the bottom, but the Red Sox have become tenants of the cellar.

There’s a new order in the East. Unfortunately for the Orioles, they learned that the Red Sox still have some of their old fight.

BOSTON – Austin Voth is packing his bags today and leaving the Orioles again, this time confident that he’ll start Friday night’s series opener against the Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla.

It doesn’t always work out.

Voth had left the team to make tonight’s start in Boston, with the Orioles getting him on an earlier flight rather than putting him on the charter, but last night’s rainout moved Dean Kremer to tonight.

Rather than skip Voth, manager Brandon Hyde chose to hand him the ball on Friday. Jordan Lyles and Spenser Watkins would follow if kept in order, but those spots are TBA.

“We’re still figuring some things out there the last two days in Tampa,” Hyde said. “Dean was ready to pitch last night, and we’re just pushing those two guys back.”

BOSTON - The Orioles landed in Boston early this morning tied with the Rays for third place in the American League East and for the last wild card spot. They’re only two games behind the Blue Jays for the top spot.

They will try to improve on a 25-31 road record with one game in Boston, three in St. Petersburg, Fla. and three in Toronto.

A win tonight puts the Orioles seven games above .500 for the first time since May 22, 2017.

Dean Kremer is making the start after last night’s rainout. Austin Voth was supposed to face the Red Sox.

Kremer has made two career starts against Boston and allowed 10 runs and 12 hits in 7 2/3 innings. His only appearance at Fenway Park in 2020 resulted in seven runs and seven hits in 2 2/3 innings.

The team isn’t clear to Grayson Rodriguez, but he knows that he’s going to pitch in games next month.

Might be with the Orioles. Might be a progression that returns him to Triple-A Norfolk, whose season runs through Sept. 28.

Rodriguez can feel it. Especially because he no longer feels anything in his right lat.

Baseball’s top pitching prospect, No. 2 overall with the Orioles, had his first bullpen session yesterday at the spring training complex in Sarasota. He worked off a half mound on Monday and threw 25 pitches yesterday on a full mound.

“I feel great,” he told MASNsports.com. “Obviously, the throwing program is going well, so there haven’t been any hiccups. Everything’s been going smooth. My arm feels great.”

Tonight’s game between the Orioles and Blue Jays has been postponed due to rain and will be made up as part of a traditional doubleheader on Monday, Sept. 5.

The first game starts at 1:05 p.m. The second game is slated to begin about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.

Fans holding tickets for the originally scheduled 1:05 p.m. game on Sept. 5 should use them for both games of the doubleheader.

Tickets for tonight’s game aren’t valid for the doubleheader. Fans may exchange the value of their tickets toward any remaining regular season home game this season, including the doubleheader, based on availability.

The first 15,000 fans ages 15 and over attending the doubleheader will receive a Ryan Mountcastle t-shirt.

The Brewers walked off the Rays today, leaving the Orioles tied for the third wild card spot. A win tonight would give them sole possession of it.

Manager Brandon Hyde won’t steal a peek at the upcoming road trip – the one game in Boston, three in St. Petersburg, Fla. and three in Toronto that concludes it. He follows the mantra of Nationals manager and friend Davey Martinez about going “1-0 today.”

“I’ve heard him say it a bunch of times, and I’m very close to him, but for me, that’s what you’re supposed to do is you’re supposed to try to not look too far ahead and try to win tonight’s game, and if you don’t, it’s going to bite you. Do the task that’s in front of you," Hyde said.

“Tonight, we’re facing a really good Blue Jays team and a really good starter (José Berríos), and we’ll worry about Boston tomorrow. But right now, we have what’s in front of us and we can’t control what other teams are doing. We’re paying attention a little bit more, but we have no control over it. Just have to control what we can control and try to win tonight’s game.”

Rain is in the forecast for much of the night, and the tarp is on the field at Camden Yards. The first drops began to fall shortly before 5:30 p.m., and it’s pouring. The warning track is a long and winding puddle.

The Orioles are a half-game behind in the wild card race as they go for the sweep tonight against the Blue Jays and board their flight to Boston. They’re only two back for the top spot.

They can move seven games above .500 for the first time since May 22, 2017.

Last night marked the seventh time this season that the Orioles won after trailing through seven innings. They have 25 comeback victories.

The 16 wins in the last 20 home games represents their best stretch at Camden Yards since 2016.

The Orioles are running out the same lineup tonight.

Two months after Ryan Mountcastle did his usual damage to the Blue Jays in Toronto, there’s still no one who can offer any sort of explanation for his extreme dominance against them. Why he stays or gets hot. Why slumps disappear like the baseballs that he hits.

Theories aren’t pulled out of thin air, or the heavy stuff that Baltimore is experiencing this month.

Mountcastle laughs about it. He knows the questions are coming at his locker.

Manager Brandon Hyde put him in the cleanup spot Monday night, though Mountcastle posted a .170 average and .435 OPS in his last 26 games. No home runs since July 3. None at Camden Yards since June 5.

Of course, Mountcastle hit a 426-foot homer to left field and delivered an RBI single in a 7-4 victory. Exactly how the script read.

The Orioles lost their lead tonight in the top of the sixth inning, then watched the tarp pulled onto the field before the rain arrived. Hurt by their own mistakes and what they couldn’t control.

They handled it with the same confidence and composure that’s guided them through the season. Always finding rays of light after a heavy downpour of disappointment.

This one almost got away from them. But it’s a different team in 2022.

Rougned Odor hit a two-run homer off Yimi García in the bottom of the eighth inning to rally the Orioles past the Blue Jays 6-5 at Camden Yards following a 1 hour, 18 minute rain delay.

Bo Bichette slugged his second home run of the night in the sixth inning, a go-ahead three-run shot on a two-strike pitch from reliever Bryan Baker. Ryan Mountcastle drew the Orioles within a run in the seventh on a double that scored Adley Rutschman, and Odor followed Austin Hays’ leadoff single in the eighth by driving a changeup 415 feet to right-center field.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde can’t ignore the standings any longer.

His club is one game back in the wild card race, the season has moved past July and he’s peeking at the results.

“Yeah, I am,” he said. “Tried to stay up for the Seattle game, but I checked it this morning.

“When you’re in August, you start paying attention. After our games I’m always watching the Midwest games and the West Coast games at night anyway, but maybe a little differently now that we’re in August.”

The last few months of past seasons didn’t tempt Hyde to peruse the standings. Quite the opposite.

The Orioles have moved within one game of the final wild card spot as they continue their series tonight against the Blue Jays.

They’re 1 ½ behind the third-place Rays and three behind second-place Toronto.

Terrin Vavra is the designated hitter tonight, batting fifth in a lineup that also includes Adley Rutschman catching, Austin Hays in left field, and Ramón Urías at third base.

Ryan Mountcastle has a career .356 average and 1.131 OPS in 30 games against Toronto, with four doubles, 13 home runs and 25 RBIs. He’s 10-for-21 with two doubles, four home runs and nine RBIs this season.

Urías had never hit a first-inning home run until last night’s three-run shot. He was 1-for-27 in the opening frame.

Tyler Wells can’t say with any amount of confidence that he’s going to pitch again this year. He’s encouraged by the improvements he’s noticing in his lower left side, which has him trending in the right direction. A popular term in the clubhouse whenever a player has avoided a setback.

But pitch again in 2022?

There are health and innings factors to consider.

Wells sustained his injury during a start on July 27, wincing in pain after throwing a slider to Tampa Bay’s Yandy Díaz in the fifth. The team announced that Wells experienced lower back discomfort, but he also felt it in his side, which usually signals an issue with the oblique that’s much more serious.

“I feel much, much better,” he said yesterday.

The Orioles knew the statistics and their own history with Yusei Kikuchi.

He walks a lot of batters. He can create rallies on his own. Be patient, be smart, and maybe it becomes a bullpen game for the Blue Jays.

Adley Rutschman drew a seven-pitch walk tonight with one out in the first inning and Anthony Santander earned a free pass on six. Ryan Mountcastle grounded into a force, but Ramón Urías launched a 96 mph fastball over the right-center field fence.

One big swing drew the loudest ovation, but the two walks before it set up the moment.

The Orioles did the heavy lifting in the third, again bringing the crowd to its feet, when Santander and Mountcastle went back-to-back, and Austin Hays homered off reliever Trent Thornton in the sixth in a 7-4 victory that again bumped the club five games above .500 at 57-52.

Cedric Mullins has moved down to eighth in the Orioles’ order for tonight’s series opener against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Ryan McKenna is batting leadoff for the fifth time in his career.

The reasoning is simple.

The splits, which matter with Toronto starting left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. And the composition of the Jays’ bullpen, which is strictly right-handed.

The substitutions should flow when the Jays remove Kikuchi. The Orioles have Rougned Odor and Terrin Vavra on the bench for pinch-hitting purposes.

Mullins is batting .211/.273/.303 in 166 plate appearances against left-handers. McKenna is batting .294/.368/.559 in 38 plate appearances, going 10-for-34 with three doubles and two home runs.

The Orioles recalled reliever Louis Head this afternoon from Triple-A Norfolk to provide a fresh bullpen arm. They optioned Beau Sulser following yesterday’s game.

Head, who’s wearing No. 60, came to the organization as a July 12 waiver claim from the Marlins. He was on the injured list with a left shoulder impingement.

The right-hander made his major league debut with the Rays last summer, and he appeared in 23 games with the Marlins this season, allowing 19 runs and 26 hits with 11 walks and 23 strikeouts in 23 2/3 innings.

Head posted a 3.38 ERA in seven games with Norfolk. He allowed three runs and four hits with seven walks and 12 strikeouts in eight innings.

Sulser surrendered Ke’Bryan Hayes’ two-run homer yesterday after he replaced Keegan Akin. He threw 49 pitches in 2 1/3 innings.

Terrin Vavra returned to his locker yesterday morning as neighbor Tyler Nevin wrapped up an interview about the rookie, the last compliment reaching his ears. Vavra never turned to watch, never acted like he overheard it. He just went about his business until he couldn’t ignore it any longer.

Nevin didn’t let the moment pass quietly, telling Vavra afterward that he had just finished treating his friend with extreme kindness. Vavra knew he was the main topic after hearing the word “trade.”

They arrived together at the 2020 deadline, when the Orioles sent reliever Mychal Givens to the Rockies. Never teammates in the minors until changing organizations.

“Got to know him in instructs, spring training, stuff like that,” Nevin said, “but as far as on the team, those first few weeks in Norfolk were our first experience doing that.”

Nevin quickly became more familiar with Vavra’s abilities as a hitter. He’s studied enough plate appearances to feel confident that the on-base skills wouldn’t taper in the majors.