OAKLAND – Orioles catcher Robinson Chirinos, who had a 92 mph fastball strike his shoulder and glance off his face near the cheek yesterday, could play today in an emergency situation if the Orioles had to use him in the series finale at Oakland.

Catcher Anthony Bemboom will make his fifth start today, batting eighth and catching Tyler Wells against the A’s. Chirinos was hit by a Daulton Jefferies pitch in the second inning of Wednesday’s game. After being looked at by the training staff, he left the field and the game. It was later announced he had a facial contusion. Chirinos has made eight starts this year and is batting  .182/.357/.182/.539 with no homers or RBIs in his first nine games with the club.

“He’s feeling a lot better today,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We dodged a bullet with him yesterday. That was a scary moment. We got lucky a little bit, it hit his shoulder I think first and more kind of glanced off his face. But it’s sore and swollen. He passed all the tests and he feels good and he wants to play. I’m going to try and not play him (today). Woke up this morning and that was a good phone to get that he’s OK. He could probably play today, but I don’t want him to.”

After a day where five O's pitcher combined for the club's third shutout of the year, Hyde had some props for bullpen lefty Paul Fry, a pitcher trying to recapture his previous form. And a pitcher that struggled so badly with his command late last year that he was optioned out to Triple-A.

But since giving up three runs in an outing April 10 versus Tampa Bay, he has thrown scoreless ball over his past three games. That includes a 1-2-3 sixth here yesterday on 11 pitches.

OAKLAND – For the Orioles, it was yet another night of some darn fine pitching. Birdland is not used to seeing those words written in recent seasons. This is not Jim Palmer and Dave McNally, or even Chris Tillman and Zack Britton, but the 2022 Orioles have put together a pretty stunning 12-game run on the mound.

Most of this has happened since John Means got hurt and he could be lost to the team for a long stretch as they await results of further testing. The pitching was supposed to head south without their ace. But they keep throwing (many of them) with mid-to-late 90s gas, making big pitches and piling up zeros.

To say the least, it was unexpected.

But as the Orioles charged out of their first-base dugout Wednesday when Jorge López got the final out, they celebrated their fourth win and their latest strong game on the mound.

The pitchers are doing this without hardly any run support, which is leaving them little margin for error. Or no margin when they win 1-0 as they did yesterday - their first 1-0 win since beating Texas by that score on July 14, 2018.

OAKLAND - It seems quite improbable. But at this early stage of the 2022 season, the Baltimore Orioles' pitching rotation and entire pitching staff is hanging with the best in baseball. And the latest example came on a cool, sunny afternoon in Oakland.

Right-hander Jordan Lyles, coming off a strong outing against the Yankees, had another one today, throwing five scoreless innings as the Orioles blanked Oakland 1-0. Four relievers completed the shutout, which included an impressive five-out save from Jorge López as the Orioles improved to 4-8.

When the game ended, the Orioles charged out of their first-base dugout.

“Our guys were fired up," said manager Brandon Hyde. "In the dugout, we exploded after that last out. What an amazing job by all of our pitchers, especially Lopie coming in there at the end of the game. The first-and-third situation in the eighth and got us out of that, and then an easy ninth. Jordan Lyles set the tone, five great innings."

Baltimore has scored just a single run for three straight games in Oakland, but today they got a victory out of it. 

OAKLAND – The search for offense to match their strong pitching continues for the Orioles today in the third game of this series in Oakland. They’ve lost the first two games, scoring just two runs in the series.

Last night they hit seven balls 100 mph or more that were caught and turned into outs. Since the Statcast era of data began in 2015, just twice have the Orioles hit more. On both Sept. 3, 2017 and Sept, 21, 2019 they had opponents turn eight balls hit 100 mph or more into outs.

Does manager Brandon Hyde have concerns that his hitters will get frustrated that even when they square up balls like they did last night, the results still don’t come?

“I think we have quite a few guys pressing a little bit and they want to see results,” he said ahead of today’s game in the Baltimore dugout. “I was encouraged the way we swung the bats, especially the first half of the game. We drove a bunch of balls into the big part of the field and (center fielder Christian) Pache made a bunch of nice plays. The ball wasn’t really carrying last night.

“I know our guys want to see results and want to see some numbers being put up. We’ve started the season in a bit of an offensive funk and hopefully we get out of it soon. Maybe last night is a good sign that we hit so many balls hard that we’re on our way. We’ve also faced some good pitching, too, at this point. Hopefully, we get it going today.”

OAKLAND – The Orioles have not been able to take much advantage of the outstanding pitching they have been getting with the team scoring so few runs. They are holding the other teams’ offenses down, but right now it’s not translating into wins.

So they hope today will be the day to turn that corner and get into the win column in Oakland, where they have lost 5-1 and 2-1 to begin this four-game series and 10-game road trip.

The last two nights, O’s pitchers have held the A’s to three earned runs on 12 hits, but still no wins. The frustration just grew here on Tuesday when the Orioles hit 10 balls in play at 100 mph or more and yet seven were turned into outs. Right now they’d love to just see a bloop fall with men on base to get something going. The momentum they hoped they had built in Sunday’s win over Yankees is long gone now.

The Orioles (3-8) begin play looking for their first road win of 2022 at 0-5, and they are in fifth in the American League East and three games behind the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Yankees – all tied for first at 6-5.

In this series the O’s have scored just two runs on 15 hits, going 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. They have scored two runs or fewer in eight of their 11 games, with a season high of five runs.

OAKLAND – In their latest night of frustration on offense, at least the Orioles could point to one fact: They smoked some baseballs and likely deserved a much better fate than they got.

But led by center fielder Christian Pache, the Oakland A’s made some outstanding plays on defense and the Orioles were once again on the doorstep of a win but didn’t get it.

They fell to 3-8 for the season and 0-2 on this road trip with a 2-1 loss at Oakland. They were held to eight hits and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

Maybe some of what happened last night will even out sometime soon and several bloops will fall. Because the solid contact Baltimore hitters made often didn’t work on this night.

The Orioles hit 10 balls at least 100 mph in the game and seven of the 10 were turned into outs.

OAKLAND – The theme remained unchanged for Tuesday’s game between the Orioles and Oakland Athletics. For Baltimore, that means yet another low-scoring game where its pitching excelled but the Orioles hitters could not get many clutch hits.

Throw in some exceptional defense by Oakland and this night ended with more frustration and another close loss for the Orioles. 

The O’s did take an early 1-0 lead in the first inning, and great outfield defense robbed them of more in the second. And right-hander Chris Ellis, making his season debut, became the latest O’s starter to give the team a big effort.

But when Seth Brown doubled in two runs in the A's sixth inning, Oakland moved ahead and went on to win 2-1.

The Birds (3-8) have scored just 23 runs for the season and have been held to two or fewer in eight of the 11 games they've played so far in 2022. They are 0-2 to start this road trip and 0-5 in road games.

OAKLAND – The Orioles today designated outfielder DJ Stewart for assignment. Their 2015 first-round pick out of Florida State had shown flashes of power and his first-round potential, but didn’t do that nearly enough. The club needed a 40-man roster spot today for right-hander Chris Ellis to start tonight, and Stewart's was the one he got.

Stewart dealt with a bruised hand in spring training but still made the opening day roster despite limited spring chances. He went 0-for-3 in three pinch-hitting appearances against Tampa Bay and was then optioned to Triple-A, where he went 1-for-5 with the Norfolk Tides.

“DJ is just an outstanding guy and someone that has been around here since I’ve been here. Hard to see a guy you’ve been around a lot go," O’s manager Brandon Hyde said today during his pregame press briefing. "But I’m really hoping for the best with him. He’s a fantastic human being and I really wish him the best.”

Over parts of five years and 195 games with the Orioles, Stewart batted .213/.327/.400 with 21 doubles, 26 home runs and 73 RBIs.

Outfielder Austin Hays, drafted one year after Stewart, has spent a lot of time as his teammate in both the majors and minors. During an interview with reporters today, and with the news about Stewart already out, Hays was asked about Stewart. He had not yet heard the news of the move.

OAKLAND – After falling 5-1 last night and allowing four unearned runs in the series opener, the Orioles play at Oakland again tonight. It’s the second of a four-game series and 10-game road trip.

The Orioles took two of three at home versus the Yankees, but are now 2-2 in series openers and they are looking for their first road win tonight at 0-4 away from Oriole Park.

While Orioles pitching has been stellar to start the season, the Baltimore offense continues to struggle, with multiple players and the team overall not getting much going yet with the bats.

The Orioles have scored 22 runs for the season and 12 over the last five games. They have hit just four home runs, the fewest in the major leagues, and have just one over the last five games. The O’s have scored two runs or fewer seven times, going 2-5 in those games. The five runs they scored Sunday were the most they've had in a game so far this year. The nine hits they got in that game also marked a season high.

Hitter notes:

OAKLAND – When I talked with Trey Mancini before Monday's road trip opener, he - like much of Birdland - was hopeful that the eighth inning on Sunday would be a turning point for the Orioles offense.

They scored five runs and got three big hits with runners in scoring position in beating the Yankees 5-0. But whatever good was created there didn’t make it to the West Coast, at least for the series opener. The Orioles lost 5-1 at Oakland and were held to seven hits and went 1-for-7 with RISP. They have yet to have hits in double digits in a game in 2022.

On the plus side, the O’s pitching has obviously far exceeded expectations at this early stage. But we are seeing some quality stuff from several arms - in both velocity and secondary assortments - and the Orioles are executing their pitching game plans extremely well through 10 games.

The staff ERA went down Monday night, to 2.86, which is fifth-best in the majors and a far cry from the 5.85 team ERA for the 2021 season.

Mancini is, of course, impressed with the pitchers, including one he noted that pitched last night and continued to get noticed.

OAKLAND – For the Orioles, the opening game of this long road trip in Oakland had a familiar look.

For five innings it was close and low-scoring. The Baltimore offense was scuffling for runs again but the Baltimore pitching was getting the job done. Yet again they were.

On a night when the Orioles reduced their team ERA from an impressive 3.04 to an even better 2.86, they still lost. Four unearned runs in the last of the sixth doomed them to a 5-1 defeat at Oakland.

But right-hander Spenser Watkins was the latest O’s starter to throw well. He allowed two hits and one run over five innings on 67 pitches. He made a bid to stay in the rotation.

“That is always up to Skip on those (rotation) decisions,” Watkins said in the Orioles clubhouse. “But, I’m ready to take the ball whenever they give it to me and I’m going to compete.”

OAKLAND – In the first game of a 10-game road trip, right-hander Spenser Watkins, trying to hold onto the fifth starter’s spot, gave the Orioles a big effort.

Watkins allowed a first-inning run and nothing after that. He got rolling in the middle innings behind a frequency to throw a lot of first-pitch strikes. He did that to 10 of the first 13 batters he faced.

Watkins would go five innings, allowing two hits and one run with two walks and one strikeout. He threw 67 pitches, 44 for strikes. He threw 30 sliders or cutters among his pitches, and his fastball, which averaged 90.8 mph last year, was at 92.2 mph tonight.

Meanwhile, would the O’s offense and defense be able to back him?

The hitters once again could not get much going and the O’s infield defense unraveled when Oakland produced a big four-run inning in the last of the sixth.

OAKLAND – The Orioles begin their second road trip of the 2022 season tonight a long way from home and it’s the first trip featuring multiple series. The Orioles (3-6) play at Oakland (5-5) to start a four-game series and 10-game trip that also takes them to Anaheim to play the Angels and to New York to once again face the Yankees.

The Orioles' 5-0 win Sunday gave the team its first series victory of the year and first at home over the Yankees since Sept. 4-6, 2020, when they took three of four.

The Orioles pitching staff, which posted an ERA of 5.84 to rank last in the majors in 2021, is off to a stunning start that included allowing just six runs in the Yankees series and pitching the club’s second shutout of the year. The only three teams in the majors with more than one shutout already are the Orioles and Yankees with two each and the Mets, who have three.

More pitching notes:

* O’s team ERA is 3.04 (second in AL, fifth in MLB)

OAKLAND – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is not ready yet to name his starting pitcher for tomorrow’s game at Oakland. Right-hander Spenser Watkins (0-0, 3.00 ERA) will get the ball tonight in the series and road trip opener.

The starter could very well come from two pitchers who are here on the Orioles' taxi squad in right-hander Chris Ellis and lefty Alexander Wells, who are joined by catcher Beau Taylor.

Wells was just optioned out after Friday's game, so he could not come back to the active roster before 10 days without replacing an injured player, but the same does not apply to Ellis.

Ellis made one start this year for Triple-A Norfolk, throwing four scoreless innings without allowing a hit last Wednesday. He pitched to an ERA of 2.49 in six games for the Orioles last year. If needed tomorrow, he would be working on five days’ rest.

“We have a few options, but I’m going to wait until tomorrow to give it out,” Hyde said this afternoon in the visitor’s dugout at the Oakland Coliseum.

OAKLAND – While we are awaiting first pitch between the Orioles and Athletics tonight for Oakland’s home opener to start the road trip, here are a few minor league notes around Birdland.

The Triple-A Norfolk Tides are off to an 8-4 start, their best mark after 12 games during their time as a Baltimore affiliate since 2007.

Norfolk has scored 76 runs in the 12 games and has a run differential of plus-27, which is third-best in the International League that features 20 teams. The Tides lost via a 1-0 walk-off in Game 2 of Sunday’s doubleheader at Scranton to snap a five-game winning streak.

Right-hander Kyle Bradish was the winning pitcher in Norfolk’s Game 1 5-1 win, when he allowed just two hits and one run over five innings. Nick Vespi and Cole Uvila each threw a scoreless inning to complete the combined two-hitter.

Bradish is 1-0 with an ERA of 1.00 in two starts to begin his season. He is doing his part to get noticed for a call-up to the Orioles roster. Over nine innings, he’s allowed four hits and the one run with two walks, nine strikeouts and a WHIP of 0.67.

OAKLAND – The Orioles will play in Oakland tonight to start a 10-game road trip that will take them to both coasts and produce series against the Athletics, Angels and Yankees. It will be challenging, but at least they start it on a high note after Sunday’s 5-0 shutout win over the Yankees in Baltimore.

If you were among the large number of fans wondering how much longer they could go without getting clutch hits, the answer was seven more innings as Sunday’s game began. But after going 3-for-30 in the three games before yesterday with runners in scoring position and 7-for-77 for the year through eight games, they finally came through.

And it was the oft-criticized Rougned Odor whose two-run single opened the floodgates, so to speak, and the Orioles got three straight hits with RISP after being 7-for-83 for the year as Odor stood in to pinch-hit in the eighth of a 0-0 tie.

The Orioles beat the Yankees in the series, also winning in 11 innings Friday night. Who knows what might have happened this weekend at the Yard without the hail on Saturday night, which altered the O’s pitching plans.

Speaking of pitching, since Friday, when we pretty much found out lefty John Means would be out for a significant period of time, O’s starters have allowed one earned run. So far – yes, in the smallest of samples – they stepped up.

The Orioles and New York Yankees have exchanged wins at Camden Yards this weekend. The Orioles won 2-1 in 11 innings Friday night in a four hour, 15-minute game. And the Yankees won 5-2 last night in a game twice delayed by rain.

The Orioles (2-6) continue to struggle to produce offense. They have scored two runs or fewer six times in eight games and scored just 16 runs for the year. They are 2-3 on this homestand that ends today and have scored 12 runs in those games. The O’s season high for runs in a game is the four they scored in the second game of the Milwaukee series, in a 5-4 loss.

They scored their runs last night on one swing. Cedric Mullins absolutely crushed a two-run homer to right against New York right-hander Jameson Taillon in the O’s third inning to produce a 2-0 lead. Mullins drilled No. 2 on the year and it went 433 feet with an exit velocity of 107 mph. The blast came on a 3-0 pitch.

Right-hander Tyler Wells gave the O’s a good start last night before the pitch count got him lifted. He threw four scoreless innings on three hits with two walks and three strikeouts. He threw 64 pitches and lowered his ERA to 6.35.

Lefty Bruce Zimmermann, who was on the mound when this homestand began Monday, will be on the mound when it ends this afternoon.

O’s left-hander Keegan Akin had a poor spring training, but when the bell rang and he was on the Orioles' opening day roster, things quickly took a turn for the better.

So I had a simple question for Akin earlier on this homestand: What happened? What made the difference between his previous struggles and his throwing so well in his first two games of 2022, against Tampa Bay and Milwaukee?

Akin allowed five runs and six walks in 5 1/3 innings in spring training. But in his first two regular season outings he threw 5 2/3 scoreless on just two hits with no walks and four strikeouts. His WHIP right now is 0.35. Big difference.

Akin relates that he continues to become healthier the longer he is removed from the core surgery he had early in the offseason after last season. And since this season started he has been in attack mode, going right at hitters. Easy to say, harder to do. He’s doing it. And with success to date.

“A little bit of it was just trying to get over the hump, get back into things coming off the injury in the offseason,” Akin said. “I knew I had to get over that hump, getting back into game speed. And we knew there would be some discomfort to start, the nature of the beast, you can’t get that adrenaline going in the offseason. It was moreso, my main goal was to come out of spring healthy. Obviously, the numbers were not what I wanted and it was a poor showing the first two outings. I put one good one together there at the end.

The Orioles won their series opener on Monday against the Milwaukee Brewers. But they lost the next two games to lose that series. They won the series opener at Camden Yards last night against the New York Yankees and now need one win the next two days to win their first series of 2022.

For the fourth straight game, there was a low-scoring contest at Oriole Park as the Birds won 2-1 in 11 innings. Neither team homered and the Yankees had seven hits, going 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position. The O’s had six hits and went 1-for-15 with RISP. But when Ramón Urías drew a two-out, bases loaded walk in the 11^th from Aroldis Chapman, the O’s got a walk-off victory.

Speaking of walks, the O’s drew 10 last night. That included six from the No. 8 and No. 9 spots in the batting order. Those last two spots went a combined 2-for-4 with six walks. It is the first time the O’s have drawn three walks from the nine spot in the order since Andrew Velazquez drew three on Sept. 14, 2020 against Atlanta.

The Orioles drew 10 walks for the first time since May 6, 2012 at Boston and for the first time at home since May 7, 2011 versus Tampa Bay. The Orioles now rank second in the American League with 34 walks, behind only Seattle with 39. They are sixth in walks in the major leagues. The club drew just four walks in the season’s first two games, but has 30 over the last five games. They were 13^th in walks in the American League last season.

The Orioles have not given up a home run in four straight games at Oriole Park, marking the first time the Orioles have not allowed a homer in four in a row at OPACY in a single season since July 10, 2016 versus the Los Angeles Angels and July 22-24, 2016 against Cleveland.

Sometimes you don’t need the hit with runners in scoring position. Sometimes a walk will do. It did for the Orioles late last night.

We’ve seen many games at Oriole Park over the years that were close between the Orioles and Yankees, games when New York made the key play late to beat the Orioles. Friday was not that night.

The Orioles' unheralded bullpen was sensational and it was Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman who cracked, issuing the bases-loaded walk to Ramón Urías as the O’s beat the Yankees 2-1 in 11 innings.

Chapman is the seven-time All-Star who has record 30 or more saves the last three full seasons. The power lefty with a career ERA of 0.54 and WHIP of 0.690 in 34 career games versus the Orioles. His K rate against the O’s is 18.6.

Yep, it was that pitcher who cracked to the delight of most of a crowd of 32,197. This time Camden Yards didn’t sound like Yankee Stadium south at the end of the night.