The Orioles are 16 games into the 2024 season, settling into second place and confident that their best baseball is ahead of them. The division battles are slow building, with the competition so far limited to the three-game sweep in Boston. They must wait until April 29 to begin a four-game set against the Yankees before traveling to Cincinnati and D.C., and hosting the Diamondbacks.

No one should wait for more observations and surprises, the stuff that might not have been safe bets during the winter or the early days in camp. The stuff that's getting noticed.

Colton Cowser is tied for the Orioles’ home run lead.

He had sole possession until Gunnar Henderson and Cedric Mullins caught up to him last night.

Cowser needed 37 games to hit his first major league home run. He belted two that night in Boston and four over four games, including Sunday’s 422-foot blast to right-center field in the eighth inning.

Cole Irvin had his back to home plate and a huge smile on his face. Both arms raised. Eyes wide. A combination of pure joy and utter disbelief.

Cedric Mullins saved him from allowing a run in the top of the first inning, and did it in remarkable fashion. Now it was Irvin’s duty to show his appreciation in the proper fashion.

Accept the lead that came quickly to him and don’t lose it. Care for it until handing it over to the bullpen.

Relievers became responsible for it by the fifth, sooner than manager Brandon Hyde desired but a group effort that got the series started on a winning note. And Mullins wasn’t done contributing.

Jordan Westburg delivered a two-run double in the first inning, Ryan O’Hearn led off the third with a homer, Mullins finished with a sacrifice fly and two-run homer, and the Orioles never trailed in a 7-4 victory over the Twins before an announced crowd of 14,611 at Camden Yards.

Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish begins his injury rehab assignment Tuesday night at Double-A Bowie. The Baysox are playing the Altoona Curve, a Pirates affiliate, with first pitch scheduled for 6:05 p.m.

Bradish was supposed to debut last Thursday at High-A Aberdeen, but he threw live batting practice due to the inclement weather. He had a bullpen session Saturday at Camden Yards and keeps reporting positive progress.

The Bowie start will be Bradish’s first since Game 1 of the Division Series against the Rangers. He was diagnosed in January with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and received a platelet-rich plasma injection.

The Orioles want to get multiple innings out of Bradish.

“I think we’re hoping somewhere between two and three innings, in between 40-50 pitches would be ideal,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “See how he feels after every inning, but that would be best-case scenario.”

The Orioles avoided a sweep in the Brewers series with yesterday’s 6-4 win, running their streak in the regular season to 96. Jackson Holliday collected his first major league hit with a single in the seventh inning, and he’s batting ninth and playing second base tonight against the Twins at Camden Yards.

Holliday was 0-for-13 before his ground ball reached right field.

“Not so much difficult, just a lot, but it’s been fun,” he told the media at his locker. “It’s quite an experience. I don’t think I’d ever take it for granted, the experience that I’ve had and it’s a good learning experience. If you are 0-for three or four games, that’s going to happen in baseball. I’d prefer it not to happen at the beginning of my career, but it’s going to happen and I’m glad to hopefully learn from it.”

Anthony Santander gets a breather tonight, with Colton Cowser in right field and Austin Hays in left.

Cedric Mullins homered yesterday and has a six-game hitting streak.

The last mailbag felt emptied but actually had more to it. I need an umpire to stop by my house and check the bottom for sticky substances.

As everyone knows, there’s nothing worse than a sticky bottom. But I digress …

Let’s do a morning mashup, combining a mailbag with leftovers. Much safer than the two liquids you poured together in chemistry class.

Complaining about the clarity, lengthy, style, grammar or brevity will get you edited right out of here.

Also, my mailbag makes your mailbag use the homer hose for a good cleansing.  

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde just wanted Jackson Holliday to breathe.

What sounds simple and natural is a lot more challenging in a suffocating environment.

Holliday played in his first three major league games and didn’t get a hit in 11 at-bats. Seven of them ended with a strikeout.

Fans of opposing teams celebrated it on social media. They chanted “overrated” at Fenway Park. Nonsense in the baseball world remains in full supply, but that’s the nature of the business.

Take the pulse inside the Orioles clubhouse and the level of concern is undetectable.

It’s nothing personal.

DL Hall was a popular teammate inside the Orioles clubhouse. His friends hated to see him traded, though the return softened the blow. But he came back to Baltimore wearing a different uniform and with the intent to beat them.

Ryan Mountcastle and Jordan Westburg hit home runs in the first inning. The pleasantries were over.

Gunnar Henderson delivered an RBI single in the second at 112.8 mph off the bat and Adley Rutschman homered in the third to break a tie. Hall was taking a beating. But the Brewers can dole out their own punishment, and they went hard after Dean Kremer and the bullpen.

Nothing personal.

The Orioles have activated reliever Yohan Ramírez, acquired from the Mets this week for cash considerations, and optioned Jonathan Heasley to Triple-A Norfolk. These moves were anticipated last night.

Heasley allowed six runs in two innings in an 11-1 loss. Manager Brandon Hyde said during his afternoon media session that Ramírez would be arriving within the next few days.

He’s here.

Ramírez, who is wearing No. 48, has made five career relief appearances against Milwaukee and allowed two runs in 6 1/3 innings.

Also, infielder Tony Kemp cleared waivers and elected free agency rather than an outright assignment to Norfolk.

The question inevitably comes in casual conversations or radio and television interviews.  And the phrase “pleasant problem” is the chaser.

The constant change in Orioles lineups, with players rotating in the field as if waiting for the music to stop and plopping down, is becoming a less familiar sight. We haven’t gone back to the ‘70s. They want wide margins of victory over wide lapels. But manager Brandon Hyde isn’t gonna fix what ain’t broken and he’s found an order that’s difficult to break up.

An infielder stocked with versatile players is beginning to solidify with Gunnar Henderson at shortstop, Jackson Holliday at second base and Jordan Westburg at third. The first base options remain Ryan Mountcastle or Ryan O’Hearn, the latter serving as designated hitter in the past three games before last night and six overall.

They’ve only played 13.

Jorge Mateo might be in the tightest bind because he isn’t used at third base. It’s pretty much middle infield, which is tougher to crack than a bank safe, or maybe a token appearance in center.

There will be a day when Jackson Holliday walks into a clubhouse and goes to his locker, turns back around and is ignored. No recorders or cameras. No media forming the shape of a basketball three-point arc.

He will be a major league player arriving for work. Perhaps getting a bite to eat, since he dresses next to the entrance to the kitchen. Perhaps just relaxing before fulfilling the on-field obligations.

We aren’t there yet.

“Looking forward to it, but it’s awesome,” he said earlier today, flashing that boyish grin. “Obviously doing something right if you’ve got all this attention. But yeah, looking forward to that. Just excited to play.”

Holliday jogged onto the field about 15 minutes before first pitch and fans cheered him. Stretching out a hamstring could bring a standing ovation. The city is Holliday happy, and he’d love to give them more reasons beyond his arrival.

DL Hall went through the usual, almost clichéd, struggle this afternoon to find the visiting clubhouse at Camden Yards.

The strangeness never goes away for players changing teams and routines. The sense of direction is lost. Amusement follows in the retelling.

“Definitely a little weird for sure,” he said after greeting members of the Baltimore media with a smile and handshake. “I was walking in today, didn’t even know where to go. I was like, ‘I’ve been here but I don’t know how to get to the visiting side.’

“Definitely a weird feeling but awesome. Super excited, obviously.”

The Orioles made their big winter strike by trading Hall and elite-fielding shortstop Joey Ortiz to the Brewers on Feb. 1 for former Cy Young winner Corbin Burnes, a three-time All-Star and the bona fide ace that the front office hunted.

The Orioles return home after a 4-2 road trip to Pittsburgh and Boston, sweeping the Red Sox and increasing their run total to 70, the second-most in the American League behind the Royals’ 72.

Jackson Holliday makes his home debut tonight and waits for his first major league hit. He’s playing second base and batting eighth.

Colton Cowser is in right field and batting second in a drastically different lineup.

Austin Hays is in left field after failing to start in Boston. James McCann is catching. Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle are on the bench.

Cowser has a .917 slugging percentage through 11 games. According to STATS, the only Orioles left-handed hitter with a higher percentage through 11 games in a season is Chris Davis at 1.000 in 2013 (minimum 25 plate appearances.)

BOSTON – Cal Ripken Sr. would have loved this.

The man who created The Oriole Way, who breathed life into it through the years and the many ups and downs, was made for the 2024 team. Or it was made for him.

The last two lineups had seven homegrown players, and an eighth, right fielder Anthony Santander, who was plucked out of A ball in the Rule 5 draft. Also a baseball baby who needed care and nurturing.

“I saw a connection to the spirit of Dad right from the beginning,” said Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. “I don’t know that Dad would have taken his uniform off and given it to somebody, but he might have. If it’s that important to you, here.”

Having Senior’s No. 7 on the shelf since 1992 never seemed that important to the family. The time for reflection came a few days ago, after the club sought approval to pass it along to Jackson Holliday, the sport’s top prospect who debuted last night at Fenway Park.

BOSTON – The Orioles won’t ever profile as a one-prospect team. Win or lose, they’re going to spread the young talent wealth.

They also let the older guys have their moments, a combination that played out again tonight. It usually works in their favor.

It went absolutely nuts late in tonight's game.

Colton Cowser hit his first two major league home runs, including a three-run shot off Isaiah Campbell in a six-run 10th inning in the Orioles' 9-4 victory over the Red Sox.

The ball traveled 438 feet to right field at 113.6 mph off the bat. He'd love to keep traveling to Boston.

BOSTON – Colton Cowser is playing left field again tonight to close out the series against the Red Sox, putting Austin Hays on the bench for the third game in a row and fourth out of six.

Cowser made two impressive catches last night in the eighth inning, slamming against the Green Monster and holding onto the ball while the Orioles protected a 7-5 lead.

“Those were two huge plays in big spots,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Those balls fall, stuff changes from bullpen usage to other things. I’m excited about the way Colton Cowser is playing right now, just all around. The way he’s playing defense, the at-bats he’s given us, the speed on the bases, everything. He had a really nice game last night.

The Orioles face two right-handers in the weekend series against the Brewers at Camden Yards, which could limit Hays to starting against former teammate DL Hall on Saturday. But Hyde didn’t describe the left field arrangement as a strict platoon.

“Austin’s going to get back in there,” he said. “I think we’re just going to see how it goes, honestly. I like the way Colton’s playing right now, and with Cedric (Mullins) and (Anthony) Santander, we have a lot of really good problems right now. We have four guys on the bench that I wish could be out there, and that’s going to be on a nightly basis.”

BOSTON – The Orioles go for the sweep of the Red Sox tonight and they’ve got Jackson Holliday at second base again and batting ninth.

Manager Brandon Hyde is repeating another lineup after avoiding duplicates in 2023.

At 20 years and 128 days, Holliday last night became the fourth-youngest player in franchise history with an RBI in his debut, behind Brooks Robinson, Andy Etchebarren and Ron Hansen.

Jordan Westburg is the third baseman. Colton Cowser is in left field, with Austin Hays on the bench for all three games of the series.

Grayson Rodriguez is 2-0 with a 2.19 ERA and 1.054 WHIP in two starts covering 12 1/3 innings. He’s allowed only three runs and struck out 16.

BOSTON – The Livan Soto shell game was played again this afternoon.

The Orioles claimed Soto on waivers from the Angels Feb. 8, and the Angels claimed him 10 days later.

Soto is on the move again, going back to the Orioles today in a waiver claim. They optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk.

The utility infielder got into in 22 games with the Angels between 2022-23 and went 24-for-64 (.375) with five doubles, a triple and a home run.

Soto, 23, appeared in nine games at Triple-A Salt Lake this year and was 6-for-28 (.214). He’s a left-handed bat that arrives in Norfolk after Jackson Holliday’s promotion yesterday to the Orioles.

BOSTON – The reporter approached Ryan Mountcastle’s locker yesterday, asked if he had a minute and explained that only one topic could be covered. The important one. You know it.

Mountcastle turned around, smiled and said, “Jackson Holliday.”

Of course. It wasn’t the best lobster rolls in New England.

Players learned about Holliday’s promotion late Tuesday night. They, too, have sources scattered throughout baseball.

“Somebody sent it to me over a text,” Mountcastle said. “Super excited for him and super excited for the team and fans to have him up. Hopefully, he does well. Super excited to have him here.”

BOSTON – Jackson Holliday stretched with his teammates on the field. He took batting practice while father Matt and younger brother Ethan stood behind the cage. He paused to sign some autographs before grabbing his bats and heading back to the clubhouse. Fans yelled his name.

He looked every bit like a major leaguer, except for that youthful face, of course. But he’s used to the reactions and enjoys them. It comes with a boyish grin.

Holliday worked this afternoon to keep his emotions in check. Soak in the experience but don’t let it distract. Understand the fuss but also blend, as he’s always tried to do.

Jackson’s first major league at-bat arrived with one out in the third inning and he struck out on a 2-2 sweeper from Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford while Colton Cowser stole second base. Baseball’s top prospect went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and his first RBI in the Orioles' 7-5 come-from-behind win at Fenway Park.

Jordan Westburg hit a three-run homer in the seventh off Chris Martin after the Orioles loaded the bases for the third time. The Red Sox maintained their sloppy ways with a walk, passed ball, catcher’s interference call and two wild pitches to set up Westburg for his second home run – a 432-foot shot to left-center at 111.2 mph off the bat.

BOSTON – Manager Brandon Hyde prepared for tonight's game against the Red Sox but also relived the “tough decision” made in spring training to reassign 20-year-old Jackson Holliday. Again.

How Holliday was playing a new position, how the first-overall draft pick in 2022 needed more exposure to left-handed pitching.

“Just to get him more Triple-A experience, and he did,” Hyde said this afternoon, before Holliday did some stretching with teammates and took his first major league batting practice.

“He got 10 or so games in there defensively, played really well, took really good at-bats. We watched all of them. And we just felt like at this point, at this time, he was ready to come up.”

Holliday was told last night and flew out of Richmond with wife Chloe. The Orioles made it through the early gauntlet of opposing left-handed starters, facing right-handers in all three games of the Red Sox series. They'll see at least one this weekend against the Brewers at Camden Yards, after former Orioles left-hander DL Hall on Friday night.