The Orioles have scored 23 runs on 29 hits the last two nights at Fenway Park, but they have split the two games. They won 14-8 on Monday and lost 13-9 last night.

The Orioles pitching, which recently had a three-game stretch versus Detroit and Houston where it allowed one run over three games, has now yielded 38 runs over the past four games.

The Orioles bullpen pitched just one-third of an inning during that three-game stretch, but has now given up 21 earned runs in 23 2/3 innings the past four games.

But the Baltimore offense has picked it up a bit lately. The Orioles have scored, as mentioned 23 runs this series, 42 runs the last five games and 52 in the past seven.

In this series, the Orioles have hit four doubles, five triples and nine homers while going 10-for-26 with runners in scoring position.

After he went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts on Sunday against Houston, O’s rookie Gunnar Henderson saw his average drop to .276. At that point he was 0-for-13 with seven strikeouts his previous four games and 4-for-29 with 11 strikeouts his previous eight.

Reason to worry? Nope.

Henderson, still just 21, began the game Monday at Boston by drawing a walk. Then he walked again. Then he walked again. Three walks in the first five innings. Then he mashed a baseball out to center in the sixth. A two-run homer that he hit 111 mph and it went 428 feet. A mammoth blast.

What slump?

Henderson continues to show he belongs in the majors and that he has smarts and poise and composure beyond his years. When he made his MLB debut Aug. 31, he became the youngest player to make his debut for the Orioles (21 years-063 days) since Dylan Bundy (19-313) on Sept. 23, 2012 and youngest position player since Manny Machado (20-034) on Aug. 9, 2012.

Their regular season is now down to single digits – nine games remaining over the next nine days – as the Orioles return to Fenway Park tonight for Game 2 of a four-game series and seven-game road trip.

The trip got off to a great start last night, even though they had to put up with a 100-minute rain delay. The O’s mashed five homers in beating Boston 14-8. They never trailed in the game and took a 4-0 lead in the second. But Boston pulled within 6-5 in the fourth inning. The O’s then pulled away, scoring seven runs their next three at-bats. They scored in seven of their nine at-bats during the night.

The Orioles are now 6-0 when hitting five homers this year:

* Aug. 5 vs. Minnesota, win 5-3
* June 7 vs. Cubs, win 9-3
* June 27 at Seattle, win 9-2
* Aug. 19 vs. Boston, win 15-10
* Sept. 3 vs. Oakland, win 8-1
* Sept. 26 at Boston, win 14-8

Anthony Santander, who recently went through a stretch of 13 straight games without a homer or RBI, now has hit two homers in two of the last three games. He has 31 on the year, four over the past three games and 10 in his last 29 contests.

The top-ranked pitching prospect in baseball made his latest outing last night and right-hander Grayson Rodriguez threw well for Triple-A Norfolk at home in a no-decision versus Jacksonville.

Will his next start be with the Orioles?

A lot of fans would be excited to see that. Whether the Orioles are in or out of the playoff race with a few games to go, it would be a sight to see, the No. 4 ranked prospect in baseball joining the big club and no doubt there would be Adley Rutschman at the plate to catch him.

With just two games left in the Norfolk season, Rodriguez will end his Triple-A campaign, going 6-1 with a 2.20 ERA over 14 starts. In 69 2/3 innings this season at Triple-A he allowed 44 hits and just two homers with 21 walks and 97 strikeouts.

Last night versus Jacksonville, he went five innings allowing three hits and one run (on his second homer allowed) with three walks and six strikeouts, throwing 89 pitches.

The Orioles begin the final road trip of the season tonight, starting a seven-game trip to Boston and New York with the opener of a four-game series at Fenway Park. The Orioles have had two straight losing homestands at Camden Yards going, 4-6 from Sept. 2-11 and going 3-4 in the homestand versus Detroit and Houston that ended on Sunday afternoon. Two of their three losses during the homestand were by one run, and another game went extra innings.

The Orioles (79-73) have 10 games left and need to go 3-7 or better to secure their first winning season since going 89-73 in 2016.

The Birds are 11-12 in September with five games left in the month and would need to go 4-1 or 5-0 to clinch their fourth consecutive winning month after going 17-10 in August, 16-9 in July, and 14-12 in June. The last time the Orioles had four consecutive winning months in a season was June (16-12), July (17-8), August (19-9) and September (17-10) 2014.

The Orioles have gone 30-36 (.455) this season versus American League East opponents. In 2021 they went 20-56 (.263) in division games. They won just three series last year against AL East clubs, going 3-19-2. This season they are 9-11-1 in AL East series.

The Orioles are 8-7 versus Boston, 8-8 against Toronto, 9-10 versus Tampa Bay and 5-11 against the New York Yankees.

You are not going to find his name on many American League pitching stat leaders – although he has given up about as many hits as anyone in the AL this year – yet right-hander Jordan Lyles has meant a ton to the Orioles this year. Just ask his teammates and those he has mentored this year in the Baltimore starting rotation.

A starting rotation with a lot of youthful potential that is starting to show their stuff with his support and leadership along the way.

Lyles is 11-11 with a 4.50 ERA heading into tonight’s start in Boston. But stats and being a so-called “innings eater” don’t begin to tell the full story of his impact on the 2022 Orioles.

“He is invaluable in so many ways,” right-hander Tyler Wells said Sunday. “You can’t really put a price on what he has done for us as a starting staff, as a team, and as a mentor for a lot of us. He really teaches us what it’s like to be a starter and how he has made a 10-year career into what he has. All based on certain principles – like going deep into games and giving your team a chance to win every single time.

“As us young guys continue to develop, our mindsets, our development and pitching strategies we are getting are based off of learning from a guy that has had a very successful career.”

After their gut-punch loss on Saturday night, it’s a quick turnaround for the Orioles today as they try to erase that memory and win this afternoon to take the series from the now 100-win Houston Astros.

When Anthony Santander hit his second homer of the game – a two-run shot in the last of the eighth – the Orioles had taken a 9-7 lead. But that lead would not hold. Houston’s four-run ninth led the Astros to an 11-10 win. Houston improved to 100-53 by winning for the fifth time in seven games, 11^th in 14 and 19^th time in the past 25 games.

Houston has become the first club in American League history to reach 100 wins four times in the span of five full seasons, per Elias Sports Bureau. And Dusty Baker is one of four managers in MLB history to win 100 games with a team in both leagues (also: Sparky Anderson, Whitey Herzog and Tony LaRussa). Their 100 wins ties a franchise record for most wins in the first 153 games of a season (also: 2019). Houston recorded its 28th comeback win and this marked their third game of the season surrendering 10-or-more runs (last: 5/14 at WSH, 13).

The Orioles (79-72) now have 11 games remaining. They lost ground Saturday to both Seattle and Toronto in the wild card race. They are four games behind Seattle, 4 1/2 back of Tampa Bay and 5 1/2 behind Toronto, which holds the first AL wild card today.

The Orioles had their streak of 22 scoreless innings pitched snapped with Jose Altuve’s two-run home run in the third inning. Baltimore scored five runs in the fourth inning, their 11th time scoring at least five in an inning this season. They fell to 58-2 when leading after six innings and are now 21-24 in one-run games. The O’s 17 hits is their most in a loss since Aug. 10, 2018 versus Boston, when they also had 17. Six different O’s tallied multi-hit games, the second-most in a game this year (8/19 vs. Boston, 7).

When the high Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds played for the South Atlantic League championship this week, I wrote that the last two O’s minor league championship teams were the 2011 Single-A Frederick Keys and the 2015 Double-A Bowie Baysox.

And while Aberdeen fell short of a title, a reader on Twitter asked if they were the only O’s minor league titles. And the answer is certainly no since the Orioles have been playing in Baltimore since 1954.

I asked the club's public relations staff a question I have also often wondered about – how many minor league championships have O’s farm clubs won in team history? And, as with most minor league information one would seek, records are incomplete and hard to fully know since we are talking about so many teams in so many leagues over so many years.

But thanks to Nate Rowan and Liam Davis of the O’s staff, their research did produce a list of champions. And the O’s want to take a longer and closer look at this list this winter to produce as complete a list as they can for next year’s media guide.

So far, this is what can be confirmed.

The Orioles look to continue their winning ways over the Astros tonight as the teams play the third game of a four-game series at Camden Yards. The O’s will also try to keep their amazing recent run of pitching going, a run that has seen their staff allow just one run the last three games.

The Orioles (79-71) have 12 games remaining in the regular season and have now won three in a row by a combined 16-1 score. After scoring just two runs in the first two games of the Detroit series, they now have 16 in these three games and they have gone 10-for-18 with runners in scoring position in those games.

The Orioles improved to 44-32 at home with Friday’s win and they are 27-15 at home since June 22.

For the third time in the five games that they have played against Houston this year, the Orioles shut out the Astros last night as right-hander Dean Kremer pitched a complete-game four-hitter on 106 pitches. He threw a combined 29 two and four-seam fastballs with 29 cutters, 27 curveballs and 21 changeups. He got 15 swings and misses. In two starts versus Houston, Kremer has allowed one run and eight hits over 16 2/3.

In his past eight starts, he is 4-1 with a 2.29 ERA and has allowed just two homers in that span over 51 innings. For the season Kremer improved to 8-5 with a 3.07 ERA.

Anyone watching the Orioles the last two nights had to be impressed with their pitching after back-to-back shutouts of the Astros, who lead the American League with 99 wins. A Houston team that entered this series third in the AL in runs scored, winners of 10 of their last 11 games and with a seven-game road win streak.

Then Houston lost 2-0 and was held to two hits and lost 6-0 and held to four hits.

O’s starters Kyle Bradish and Dean Kremer threw 17 2/3 scoreless innings with two walks and 16 strikeouts combined.

Count former Oriole Trey Mancini among those impressed. Mancini talked about those two Baltimore pitchers today from the visiting clubhouse at Oriole Park.

“The stuff is electric. Both of them,” Mancini said. “Both times we saw them they shut us down and it’s not an easy offense to shut down. You have to tip your hat to them. They did a great job out there and the stuff looks really good. I was their teammate for a long time and to see them come along the way they have is very impressive. The stuff has always been there and now that they are pounding the strike zone, it’s tough to hit.

In recent days, some fans in Birdland have begun to slowly check out a bit on the 2022 Major League Baseball season. But just when some headed out, did the Orioles pull them back in?

Looks that way.

With a stunning run of pitching that includes allowing just one run over the last three games, the Orioles are now three games behind Seattle for the third American League wild-card spot. Tampa Bay and Toronto (84-67) are tied for the top two spots with the Orioles 4 1/2 games behind both clubs.

Is edging out Toronto, in what would be a stunning late-season run, the Orioles' best path to the playoffs? Probably yes, because of the three games the teams still have to play to end the regular season at Oriole Park.

Now 4 1/2 games behind Toronto, the Birds would need to gain 1 1/2 games on Toronto in the next 10 days to be within three games with three to play when the clubs begin that series in Baltimore on Monday, Oct. 3.

The score is 8-4. Not from last night’s game, but from four games this year played between the Orioles and the 99-win Astros, who have the best record in the American League. Yep, four games and a total of 12 runs scored by the teams.

In a Houston series that began Aug. 26, the Orioles won by 2-0 and 3-1 before losing 3-1. They won the series opener in Baltimore last night 2-0.

In those four games, O’s pitching has allowed just four runs versus the Astros. O’s starting pitchers have recorded an ERA of 0.59, allowing nine hits and two runs over 30 1/3 innings. That is against a Houston team that began this series third in the AL averaging 4.58 runs per game and third in the league in slugging and team OPS.

Right-hander Kyle Bradish took a perfect game to the sixth inning last night as he retired the first 17 batters he faced before No. 9 hitter Mauricio Dubon singled to left. Bradish came within an out of pitching a second straight complete game for the Orioles after Jordan Lyles did so Wednesday against the Tigers. He allowed two hits over 8 2/3 with no walks and 10 strikeouts. He threw 100 pitches, 70 for strikes, and improved to 4-7 with a 4.65 ERA.

In two starts this season versus Houston, Bradish has thrown 16 2/3 scoreless, allowing just four hits. Houston batters have gone 4-for-53 (.075) against him. In his last six starts, Bradish has an ERA of 1.64 and has allowed just one homer and an OPS of .420 over 38 1/3 innings. He has thrown seven innings or more in four of the six starts, and the Orioles are 4-2 in those games.

Orioles infielder/outfielder Terrin Vavra's bat has started to heat up again, just as it did when he first got to the majors and went 6-for-13, batting .462 to start to his big league career.

Nothing to it, right?

Of course, we know that is not true. And while Vavra looks solid and comfortable again at the plate, for about a month starting in early August he was struggling, and not playing very much. Then he left the team briefly on paternity leave.

Over an 18-game stretch he was just 6-for-37 (.162).

“That was a big learning stage for me,” Vavra said before Thursday’s game. “It was easy to get frustrated right away. You know, when you are not getting opportunities, it’s not the easiest to get back into a rhythm, so you kind of have to create that. Luckily, we have some great guys in this clubhouse that helped me with that, as well as some great hitting coaches. Just try to a find a routine and build rhythm with that, so when you do get your chance you can, hopefully, feel more comfortable at the plate.”

Fresh off their 8-1 win Wednesday night over the Detroit Tigers, the Orioles host the Houston Astros tonight at Oriole Park. In late August, the O’s won two of three at Houston, in what may have been one of their most impressive series wins of the year.

Houston (99-51) has already clinched the American League West and comes to Baltimore as a team on a roll. They just swept three in a row from Tampa Bay, pitching two shutouts in that series. Overall they have won four in a row by a combined 25-4 score. Houston has won 10 of 11 and 18 of its last 22 games. They are 49-28 on the road, winning seven straight and 11 of 12 on the road.

But at Minute Maid Park recently, the O’s won the first two games by 2-0 and 3-1 scores, before losing the series finale by 3-1. Their series win was so impressive as Houston entered that series with a 42-18 home record on the year, with seven straight wins at home at the time and with a 27-8 record in their previous 35 at home.

The O’s got incredible pitching that weekend in Houston allowing 14 hits and four runs in three games. Their three starters – Kyle Bradish, Dean Kremer and Austin Voth – combined to pitch 21 2/3 innings allowing seven hits and two runs.

The Orioles (77-71) ended that series just 1.5 games behind the final AL wild card. Now, with 14 games left, they are four games behind Seattle for the final spot and they are 4.5 back of Tampa Bay and 6.5 behind Toronto. The Rays and Blue Jays begin a four-game series tonight in Florida.

The Orioles task tonight does not sound easy. Just beat a red-hot Houston team with potential AL Cy Young winner Justin Verlander (17-3, 1.78 ERA) on the mound.

The Astros are 19-6 in Verlander’s starts this year and his ERA is 1.21 since June 24.

Piece of cake, right?

Houston is 99-51, best record in the AL and have won four in a row, 10 of 11 and 18 of 22 games.

The Orioles, behind great pitching, did take two of three at Houston at the end August. But they failed to sweep, losing the Sunday game in that series that was started by Verlander. But Verlander left that start after allowing three hits in three scoreless innings with right calf discomfort. It led him to the injured list and he just recently returned from the IL to throw five no-run, no-hit innings against Oakland last Friday.

ABERDEEN, Md. – After they had scored 13 runs on 13 hits Tuesday night in a huge win, High-A Aberdeen loaded the bases in the last of the first last night. It looked like they might pick up where they left off the previous game.

But the IronBirds would leave the bases loaded. A big chance ended with no runs. We didn’t know it then, but that would be their best scoring chance of the night as they lost 4-0 to Bowling Green. The Hot Rods won the South Atlantic League championship series in front of 1,548 at Ripken Stadium.

They held Aberdeen to four hits in the shutout win in the third and deciding game of the SAL championship. After they failed to cash in on the early chance, Aberdeen got just one runner to third base, and that was Max Wagner after a two-out triple in the sixth.

And the IronBirds got a tough break on the mound. Right-hander Peter Van Loon was pitching a gem, a one-hitter through four innings on 45 pitches. Then he was out of the game due a blister.

“He developed an issue with his hand, and that was the reason we had to yank him. He was pitching great,” said Aberdeen manager Roberto Mercado. “Trust me, we were going to keep him out there a little longer. But we’re not going to put a guy out there and have that finger be an issue or impact his offseason. He was outstanding as he was for us all year. Phenomenal job today.”

ABERDEEN, Md. – Seeking their first-ever league championship and the first by an O’s farm team in seven years, the high Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds came up short tonight at Ripken Stadium.

Bowling Green, a Tampa Bay affiliate, got the lead on a bases-loaded balk call and later added three more runs as they beat Aberdeen 4-0 to win the South Atlantic League championship series, two wins to one.

The IronBirds had a strong regular season, going 78-54 and then beat Brooklyn in three games in a semifinal playoff series. But they lost tonight’s third and deciding game to the Hot Rods for the SAL championship.

Aberdeen was searching for its first title since becoming an O’s farm club in 2002 and first by a Baltimore affiliate since Double-A Bowie won the Eastern League in 2015.

The balk call came in the top of the fifth with two outs and the bases loaded. Right-hander Connor Gillispie started the inning for Aberdeen and Logan Driscoll drilled a leadoff double. After a pop out, Bowling Green loaded the bases with a single and walk. Then Aberdeen manager Roberto Mercado called for righty Kade Strowd to try and pitch out of the jam. He just about did.

To say the least, the Orioles have had their struggles with the last-place Detroit Tigers this year. In May, right after the Orioles had impressively taken two of three at St. Louis, they lost three straight at Comerica Park by a combined 12-3 score. Then they came home Monday night, after Sunday’s ninth-inning comeback win at Toronto and lost 11-0. They lost to the same team 3-2 last night.

Tonight the Tigers (57-91) can sweep this three-game series and their season series against the Orioles with another win at Oriole Park. The O’s, outscored 26-5 this season by Detroit, need to get back in the win column tonight.

The Orioles (76-71) need to go 6-9 or better in their remaining 15 games to post a winning record for the first time since 2016. In the wild card race, Baltimore is five games behind Seattle for the final wild card spot in the AL and are 5.5 back of Tampa Bay and 7.5 games back of Toronto.

The Orioles continue to have problems putting up consistent offense. They have just two runs and one extra-base hit, a homer, in this series, going 8-for-61 (.131) at-bat and going 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

The Birds have scored three runs or less in 14 of their past 23 games. They’ve scored just 10 runs in their past six home games, getting two or less four times.

ABERDEEN, Md. – In the minor leagues it’s like the equivalent of playing a Game 7 of the World Series. For the O’s high Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds affiliate tonight, it’s the final game of a series and the season.

Aberdeen hosts Bowling Green, a Tampa Bay Rays farm club, in Game 3 of the best-of-three South Atlantic League championship series at 7:05 p.m. Bowling Green won 5-3 Sunday and Aberdeen won at Ripken Stadium 13-6 last night. Tonight’s winner will be the 2022 SAL champions.

The last two O’s farm teams to win championships were the Single-A Frederick Keys in 2011 with Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop in the Carolina League and the Double-A Bowie Baysox in 2015. With a team that included Trey Mancini and Mike Yastrzemski, the Baysox won the Eastern League title.

Aberdeen, an O’s affiliate since 2002, had never even won a single playoff series until this year.

Ahead of tonight’s winner-take-all game, some notes and quotes from Aberdeen.

ABERDEEN, Md. – It was certainly much more than a three-man show. But on a night when high Single-A Aberdeen had to win to save its season, the Orioles' second, third and fourth selections in the 2022 MLB Draft came up big.

Dylan Beavers, taken No. 33 overall from Cal, Max Wager, drafted No. 42 from Clemson and Jud Fabian, taken No. 67 overall from Florida, combined to go 6-for-11 with two doubles, a homer, five runs and seven RBIs as Aberdeen beat Bowling Green 13-6.

The win evens the South Atlantic League best-of-three championship series at one win each. The teams play at 7:05 p.m. tonight at Ripken Stadium in a winner-take-all game. The game 3 winner will be SAL champs.

The last farm team for the Orioles to win a league championship was Double-A Bowie in the Eastern League in 2015. Seven years later, Aberdeen can join them.

The IronBirds offense was cooking early and often.