HOUSTON – After a weekend in Houston where O’s pitching gave up just four runs, leading the team to a series win over the club with the best record in the American League, the O’s take some momentum to Cleveland where they open a big series Tuesday night.

They’re all big now, when the club is 1.5 games out of a playoff berth with 35 games remaining.

The Orioles continue to surprise some people around MLB and who could have expected them to head into Houston, win the series with a chance to sweep Sunday? Houston began this weekend with the best AL record at 81-45 which included a seven-game home win streak and home record for the year of 42-18.

But terrific starting pitching led the Orioles to wins by 2-0 Friday and 3-1 Saturday before they lost 3-1 Sunday to end a five-game win streak at Minute Maid Park.

The Orioles continue to show they can play with the AL big boys – both in the AL East and beyond – and outfielder Austin Hays likes their positioning for the stretch run.

HOUSTON – It seemed improbable that the Orioles' run of great starting pitching could last against one of the best hitting teams in the majors on the road.

But it did.

The Orioles were not scoring runs on their end, however, and the game went into the late innings with a 0-0 score at Houston's Minute Maid Park. This after the Orioles had beaten Houston by 2-0 and 3-1 to take the series' first two games. But the Houston bullpen was doing the job after a surprise early exit by Justin Verlander due to injury.

And then the Astros finally broke through and got the big hit they had been waiting for.

Against a drawn-in infield with runners on second and third and one out in the seventh, first baseman Yuli Gurriel poked a two-run single to right field. That put Houston ahead, and they went on to a 3-1 win to avoid getting swept in the three-game series.

HOUSTON – After allowing just one run on eight hits, and despite scoring just five runs themselves, the Orioles can complete a three-game sweep of the Houston Astros today at Minute Maid Park.

This would be quite the achievement for the improved Orioles. Consider this:

* Houston began the series with the best record in the American League at 81-45.

* Houston is still the top team in the AL.

* The Astros had a seven-game home win streak and four-game overall win streak snapped Friday.

HOUSTON – The Orioles' pitching has carried them to two wins at Minute Maid Park. As they go for the three-game sweep today they’d like to generate more offense.

First baseman Ryan Mountcastle, struggling in the second half, showed some signs of breaking out last night, when he hit one ball 102 mph and another 105 mph on line outs. It was a good sign for the Orioles, said manager Brandon Hyde.

“You know the way the three guys ahead of him in the lineup are getting on base, the at-bats they’re taking, you know with Ryan, I was happy with his at-bats last night,” Hyde said. “Had better at-bats, was a little more under control, stayed on the ball better. Hit a couple of balls pretty hard. When he stays with himself, good things happen. Being able to lay off sliders out of the zone and elevated fastballs, you know when he puts swings on strikes, good things happen. So we’re getting on base ahead of him and hopefully he can turn it around here pretty soon.”

In the second half, Mountcastle, who is 0-for-8 this series, is batting .177/.282/.298/.550 after he posted a .786 OPS in the first half.

“Yesterday felt a little better. Hit two balls hard,” Mountcastle said. “Thought I got the second one, but I guess it didn’t want to go out. It is what it is. I’m trying and working hard at it.”

HOUSTON – Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias is with the team, at least to start, on this road trip. He's back in Houston, where he helped turn the Astros into big winners before he got hired by the Orioles.

He’s been very visible on the field the last two days pregame, catching up with old friends from here and he remains, of course, proud of his time here and what was built here, producing lasting success.

“There was just so much good work going on in the Astros organization for the last 10 years, and it’s still rolling with no end in sight. And I’m very proud and fortunate to have been a part of it,” he said during an interview Friday that was well attended by the Houston media.

Now’s he proud of what his staff and players are getting done in Baltimore, contending for a playoff spot a year after losing 110 games.

And he noted that even after the trades of Trey Mancini and Jorge López, the Orioles kept winning and have had a strong month in August.

HOUSTON – The Orioles took the field tonight following afternoon losses by the Blue Jays and Rays. They knew if they won this evening, they would gain some ground in the AL wild-card race. Two homers later, they took early control of this game and were on their way to a second straight win against the team with the best record in the league.

Another gem on the mound proved pretty vital as well.

Anthony Santander and Austin Hays homered in the third inning and right-hander Dean Kremer allowed one run over 7 2/3 innings as the Orioles beat the Houston Astros 3-1 in front of 34,526 at Minute Maid Park.

The Orioles (67-59) moved eight games over the .500 mark for the first time since May 21, 2017. They are now 1.5 games out of the last AL wild card spot. 

They have won five of six and eight of 12 games and are 32-15 in their last 47 games. Baltimore has now won five straight games at Houston after a sweep here last year. Before that, the O's were 6-20 all time in Houston.

HOUSTON – After snapping Houston’s seven-game home win streak Friday at Minute Maid Park, the Orioles can win this series with another victory tonight against the Astros.

The Orioles (66-59) have won their last two and four of five games after the 2-0 win, their 11^th shutout coming on a combined four-hitter by Kyle Bradish, Cionel Pérez and Dillon Tate, who got the last out for his third save. Bradish allowed just two singles over eight innings, which was the longest outing by an O’s starter this year. He walked two and fanned six in a 96-pitch outing that included 51 percent sliders.

Bradish is the seventh rookie in O's history to throw eight or more scoreless innings on two or fewer hits on the road and first since Chris Waters on Aug. 5, 2008 at the Los Angeles Angels. Bradish became the eighth rookie in MLB history to do so against the Astros and only the second to do so in Houston since 1962.

The last three O’s starters – Spenser Watkins, Jordan Lyles and Bradish – have all recorded quality starts and allowed three earned runs over 21 innings. While scoring just six runs in winning back-to-back versus the White Sox and Astros, O’s pitchers allowed just two earned runs over 20 innings. The O's rotation has now posted five quality starts in the past 10 games with an ERA of 2.70 in that span. Baltimore's pitching has given up three runs or less seven times the last 11 starts.

Bradish’s outing produced the 30^th quality start of the year by Baltimore pitchers and the Orioles are now 20-10 when they get such an outing.

HOUSTON – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde believes the start by right-hander Kyle Bradish against Houston last night was the best of the year by an O’s starting pitcher. Bradish threw eight scoreless innings, allowing just two singles on 96 pitches in the 2-0 series-opening win.

He gave the Orioles quality and quantity. He shut down a great offense and also went deep into the game. It was the longest outing by an O’s starter in 2022.

“For me it was for sure (the best this year),” said Hyde this afternoon. “How cool is that, one of our young starters being able to do that. Our guys are growing in front of us. They’re developing. They are getting great experiences.”

Now the next step is to get the O’s starters to pitch deeper into games. They have gotten that the last two nights with outings of seven and eight innings back-to-back. Hyde wants and needs more of that and he used the example of tonight’s opponent to show what that can mean.

Houston’s rotation leads the AL in ERA at 3.07 but also in rotation innings at 744 1/3. The O’s are 13^th in innings at 615 and 11^th in rotation ERA at 4.42.

HOUSTON – Behind a pitching staff that seems to be finding a higher gear in recent days, the Orioles have pulled off, on back-to-back days, two of their most impressive wins during a year filled with such games.

The latest surprising result was their 2-0 shutout of Houston Friday night in front of 31,035 at Minute Maid Park. The Astros were held to four singles. The same Astros that began the night with the best record in the American League at 81-45 and with a seven-game home win streak. The same team that is 42-18 at home this year and 27-8 in their last 35 at home.

The Orioles (66-59) moved seven games over the .500 mark for the first time since May 22, 2017. 

O’s starting pitchers have their first back-to-back outings of seven innings or more all year, and right-hander Kyle Bradish threw an O’s season-high eight innings, allowing two hits on 96 pitches. He did that against one of the best offenses in baseball, and when the coaches checked on him when he was at 85 pitches after seven innings, he told them he wanted to keep going.

“They asked how I felt and I was like, ‘I’m just getting started,'" Bradish said. "Felt really good, velo was still there. Means a lot showcasing my ability against the best team."

HOUSTON – For an Orioles team searching many nights for offense recently, one swing can make a big difference. It did on Thursday night and Kyle Stowers was the hitter then. It did Friday night in the series opener at Houston and Ramón Urías had the huge swing.

The Orioles third baseman broke up a 0-0 tie and ended a night of mostly frustration on offense for his squad when he blasted a two-run homer to left. The sixth-inning blast helped lead the Orioles to 2-0 win over Houston behind a gem from right-hander Kyle Bradish.

Making his 16^th big league start, Bradish had one spectacular night on the mound for the Orioles.

The rookie had a 4.21 ERA in five starts since coming off the injured list. His strong outing tonight came against the team that ranks third in the league in runs, second in homers, third in slugging and OPS and with the second fewest strikeouts at bat.

Bradish spun eight scoreless innings at the Astros, allowing just two hits: a single in the fourth by Kyle Tucker and another in the seventh by Alex Bregman.

HOUSTON – The Orioles begin a tough two-city road trip tonight when they play the Houston Astros in the first of three games at Minute Maid Park. Houston holds the best record in the American League, and after three games there the Orioles play three at Cleveland against the American League Central leading Guardians.

The Orioles return home a week from tonight for a long homestand against Oakland, Toronto and Boston.

But after their remarkable win last night by 4-3 over the Chicago White Sox, the Orioles take a series victory and some momentum into this series. Kyle Stowers homered with two outs on an 0-2 pitch to tie the game in the ninth, and Anthony Santander’s single to deep center field produced the walk-off win in the 11^th.

The win marked their ninth walk-off win of the year and the Orioles are now 8-4 in extra innings, 18-21 in one-run games, and 3-51 when trailing after eight innings. They earned their 29th comeback win of the season, the most by the O’s since 2017 (34). Entering yesterday, their 29 comeback wins ranked tied for third in the AL. And the Orioles finished 5-2 (.714) against the White Sox this year, their best winning percentage in a single season against Chicago-AL since going 5-1 (.833) in 2014.

Houston beat Minnesota 6-3 Thursday to complete a three-game sweep, and Houston (81-45) has won four games in a row by a combined eight runs. Houston is leading the AL West by 12.5 games over Seattle and holds the best record in the AL by 3.5 games over the New York Yankees.

HOUSTON – Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias is on this road trip with the Orioles and told reporters today in the Orioles dugout that no decision has been made yet as to whether Gunnar Henderson, ranked as the No. 1 prospect in the sport by Baseball America, will be called up to the Orioles.

“We are watching everything he is doing carefully,” Elias said. “And having ongoing conversations about when and how he might factor into that in 2022, but no decisions have been made. But it’s obviously something we are monitoring and very pleased where he is at as a 21-year-old that started the year in Double-A.

“We do (see rosters) expand on Sept. 1. We are, obviously, going to be adding one position player and one pitcher. I don’t know who those are. Everything changes day to day in baseball. Somebody could get hurt. We’re just going to have to see. He’s put himself in a spot to be considered but he’s still having ups and downs in Triple-A on a nightly basis, and we’re watching that too.”

Henderson, in 108 games between Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk, has batted .292/.415/.531/.946 with 19 homers and 75 RBIs.

Elias was asked what Henderson still needs to show to get his shot with the Orioles.

The transaction date was Aug. 5, 2021 and it probably didn’t register big around Birdland at that time. But the Orioles had claimed a one-time top 100 prospect, infielder Jorge Mateo on waivers from San Diego. He had a lot of speed but the promise he once showed had not materialized yet at the big-league level.

Of course, he had never gotten an extended chance really to show what he can do, getting just 121 plate appearances in 79 games with San Diego. He was already 25 when he broke in there during the 2020 season.

But now the player that once was ranked as high as No. 26 by Baseball America in its 2016 top 100 is thriving finally on the Orioles watch. He made a good first impression late last season, batting .280 with a .748 OPS in 32 games and that meant he might get a real chance this year.

He has and he’s run with it.

In the first half it was solid and steady defense at short that he showed along with that blinding speed. But in the second half, his bat has come to life. And while his overall numbers heading into last night’s game with a .233 average and .690 OPS, are below big-league average, it’s his recent hitting that now has him ranked among the top shortstops in the American League per FanGraphs.com Wins Above Replacement.

After they have exchanged 5-3 wins – with the Orioles winning by that margin on Tuesday night and the White Sox doing so last night – the Birds and ChiSox play their series-deciding game tonight at Camden Yards.

The Orioles (64-59) are 8-9 in rubber match games this season and won the last one they played, beating the Red Sox in Williamsport, Pa., on Sunday night in the Little League Classic.

The Orioles have allowed two runs in each first inning of the two games in this series. The first inning has been their worst inning this season, one where they have been outscored by 26 runs 66-40. The next worst inning for the Orioles is the fifth, where they have been outscored 75-68. The team has a first-inning ERA of 4.68.

The O’s offense has produced eight runs and 11 hits (going 11-for-59, .186) in this series with two doubles and two homers while going 3-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

The Orioles are now 36-24 at home and are 18-7 their past 25 home games.

At 38, catcher Robinson Chirinos is the oldest Oriole and the third oldest catcher in Major League Baseball. He brings experience to his job but also a real enthusiasm about being part of a larger group of players that truly make up a team. There are times in baseball when a veteran impacts a team even without playing a lot.

Chirinos is doing that now for the 2022 Orioles.

Manager Brandon Hyde has praised him often this year: early in the season for his play on the field before Adley Rutschman arrived and bumped him to the No. 2 catcher job, and lately for his leadership and ability to root on and support teammates in a role that he has come to completely embrace.

Chirinos remains a big part of the O’s winning ways, even though the kid sent him to the bench when he arrived in May.

“I thought at some point during the season it was going to happen and knew that when I signed here in the offseason. Knew Adley was coming up and it was a matter of time,” Chirinos said before Wednesday’s game. “I was trying to do everything I could to help the team when I was playing every day. But now in my role, do the same thing, just different. I’m not in the field every day but I know I can impact this ballclub every single day.

After winning three of their last four games and now with a 13-7 record in August, the O's need just one more win to clinch a third straight winning month. That is something the Orioles have not done in six years.

They need one win in the next seven games to clinch another winning month, after going 16-9 in July and 14-12 in June. The Orioles have not had three straight winning months since April (14-9), May (14-13), and June (19-9) of 2016.

The Orioles took a 3-2 lead last night on Ryan Mountcastle’s 18^th homer in the last of the first inning. They never trailed in a 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox, which was wrapped up when right-hander Félix Bautista recorded a five-out save. Tonight the Orioles host Chicago in the second game of this three-game series.

The Orioles (64-58) moved six games over the .500 mark last night for the fourth time this season. They are 3-2 on this seven-game homestand, with both losses coming by one run and with their past two wins coming by the same 5-3 score. The Orioles are 36-23 at home for the year and are 18-6 in their past 24 home games.

The Orioles are 18-12 in the second half, and their 40-23 record since June 11 is one of the best in the majors in that span. They are winning at a .635 clip in that time frame, which would produce 103 wins over a full year.

By at least one measure, the Orioles' Jorge Mateo is among the best shortstops right now in the American League. When it comes to FanGraphs.com Wins Above Replacement (fWAR), he ranks third right now ahead of players like Carlos Correa, Bo Bichette, Amed Rosario and Bobby Witt Jr.

Boston’s Xander Bogaerts leads all AL shortstops in fWAR at 4.2, and next is Corey Seager of Texas at 3.9 and then Mateo at 2.8.

“I think it’s always really good to hear that you are in those types of conversations. That is something I want to be a part of," Mateo said today with the help of team translator Brandon Quinones. "To hear your name come up like that and to hear you are doing a good job and you are up there among the best is something I am really proud of and take a lot of pride in.”

In 44 games since July 1, Mateo is batting .294/.342/.538 (42-for-143) with nine doubles, four triples, six home runs, 27 runs scored, 25 RBIs, nine walks and nine stolen bases. On Sunday night his three-run double in the eighth broke a 2-2 tie with Boston. Last night his RBI single in the seventh extended the O’s lead over the Chicago White Sox to 5-3.

Since the All-Star break, he is batting .317/.355/.574 (32-for-101) with seven doubles, two triples, five home runs, 20 runs scored, 20 RBIs, five walks and six stolen bases in 29 games. And his .929 OPS since the break ranks 11th in the AL.

The latest save for rookie right-hander Félix Bautista was among his greatest saves of this year. He got save No. 9 last night as the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 in the series opener.

This one required heavy lifting and more blazing fastballs.

Bautista needed to get five big outs and pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. He threw one fastball 103.1 mph, making him one of eight pitchers in the Statcast era (since 2015) to throw a pitch at least 103.0 mph.

Since the O's traded closer Jorge Lopez to Minnesota, Bautista is 6-for-6 in save chances with an ERA of 1.74 and 15 strikeouts in 10 1/3.

Before Tuesday's game, O’s manager Brandon Hyde said that since that trade, he’s been quite impressed with how the inexperienced Bautista has both done in the closer’s role and how he has handled the ninth inning challenge.

The Orioles have eight games left in August and 41 remaining in the regular season as they host the Chicago White Sox tonight to continue their homestand, which took a detour Sunday night to Williamsport, Pa.

The Orioles (63-58) won that game 5-2 over the Boston Red Sox to win another series. The Orioles are 19-17-4 in series play in 2022. They have lost five of nine games, but over longer stretches have won 12 of 19 and 28 of the last 42 games. They are 35-23 at home.

The Orioles begin play tonight 2.5 games behind for the final American League wild card playoff spot. Minnesota is three games back of that spot, and the White Sox (62-60) are four games behind.

Of the 41 games the O's have left, 26 are against current winning teams and 15 are against teams with losing records. Of the 26 games with the winning clubs, they will play Toronto 10 times, Houston seven times and three each against the White Sox, Guardians and Yankees. Of the games against opponents now under .500, they will play Boston seven times, meet Oakland and Detroit for three games each, and go to Washington for two.

Of those 41 games, they will play 23 at home and 18 on the road. They have 20 games remaining against AL East opponents and actually more (21) outside of the division. Their next 12 games are versus non-AL East opponents.

Coming off an uplifting win Sunday that provided the Orioles a series victory, for their next test tonight they open a series against the Chicago White Sox and face one of the best pitchers in the sport.

Sox righty Dylan Cease (12-5, 2.09 ERA), 26, ranks second in the American League and the major leagues in ERA to Houston’s Justin Verlander at 1.95. Cease ranks first in the AL in strikeouts per nine innings at 12.0, third in opponent average at .200 and 12^th in WHIP at 1.167.

He faced the Orioles June 26 and was the winning pitcher, going seven innings while allowing one run and four hits and notching a season-high 13 strikeouts.

“It’s always exciting to face the best,” O’s center fielder Cedric Mullins said. “If you are able to come out on top it puts a chip on your shoulder for the next guy you face.”

As he's leading off, Mullins will get the first chance to see Cease tonight. And first chance to start a rally.