SEATTLE - After the Cedric Mullins heroics - the incredible catch to rob a homer in the ninth and the go-ahead two-run homer in the tenth - there was still work to do.

There was the matter of getting three more big outs in the bottom of the tenth to produce perhaps the O's best series win of the year. Félix Bautista was unavailable, the O's had already used four other relievers and the Orioles called on Japanese right-hander Shintaro Fujinami.

His brief O's career has produced both lights out outings and a few with command meltdowns as well.

This was not going to be boring.

Fuji, with a placed runner at second and the O's leading 5-3, fell behind Dylan Moore 3-0, before he came back to strike him out and then get the next two outs. He came up big. It was his first career save - Japan or MLB.

SEATTLE – He entered the game in the last of the sixth today. The Orioles were thrilled Cedric Mullins was there - especially in the ninth and 10th this afternoon at Seattle.

Mullins made a remarkable catch to rob a homer in the ninth and then hit the go-ahead two-run homer in the 10th as the Orioles beat Seattle 5-3 in 10 innings front of 44,818 at T-Mobile Park.

The O's (73-45) won a series from a club that had an eight-game win streak after Friday's series-opening win. They found a way against the top ERA club in the American League and they expanded their American League East lead to three games over Tampa Bay.

Adley Rutschman’s grounder to the first base side of the side of the mound scored speedy pinch-runner Jorge Mateo from third base as the O’s broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth and led 3-2.

Immediately after Mullins made what at the time appeared to be a game-saving robbery of a Ty France drive to deep center in the ninth inning for the second out, Dominic Canzone homered to right off Mike Baumann to tie the contest 3-3.

SEATTLE - After their thrilling 1-0 win in 10 innings at T-Mobile Park on Saturday night, the Orioles return today with a chance to win this series against a red-hot Mariners club.

A club that had an eight-game win streak snapped last night. Despite the loss, the Mariners (63-53) have still won 10 of 12 and 16 of the last 21 games. Seattle is 25-11 since July 1.

The Orioles (72-45) needed to win to end last night with a two-game lead atop the American League East and they did. They are now 7-5 in extra-inning games while Seattle is 5-10.

The Orioles are 18-10 in the second half and 36-22 on the road.

They have won six of nine, nine of 13, 13 of 20 and 23 of their past 33 games.

SEATTLE – The Orioles today reinstated reliever Mychal Givens from the 60-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation and then designated him for assignment.

Signed as a free agent on Dec. 21, Givens pitched in just four games this year for Orioles. He gave up five earned runs over four innings for an ERA of 11.25. He has not pitched for the Orioles since May 31.

“Well, it’s this time of year," manager Brandon Hyde said of Givens' designation. "We’re trying to win every game we can and we are coming down the stretch and we need guys that are durable, and able to win some games down the stretch. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for Mike, but we have some other guys here that have thrown the ball extremely well and just want to finish the season strong."

Givens had a 6.60 ERA in 15 minor league games, and just last night allowed three runs while getting just one out for Triple-A Norfolk.

More on the six-man rotation: The Orioles have embarked, at least for now, on a six-man rotation, with Cole Irvin entering the mix last night. Kyle Gibson and Irvin pitched in this series, and Kyle Bradish goes today.

SEATTLE – The Orioles will go sweepless in Seattle. They got hammered on Friday night but, even when shutout over nine innings Saturday night, they pulled out a 1-0 win in 10 innings.

The Orioles ended Seattle’s eight-game win streak, maintained a two-game lead atop the AL East and stretched their series run without being swept to 77.

Seattle right-hander George Kirby held Baltimore to three hits over a career-high nine innings on a season-high 103 pitches. The O’s have scored three runs in two days, yet they can win this series this afternoon.

“That was the best-pitched game against us all season. That was four pitches, elite command. They’ve got a really good rotation,” O’s manager Brandon Hyde said of Kirby and the M’s staff.

The last time a Mariners pitcher threw nine or more innings in a team loss was Félix Hernández on July 26, 2013 against Minnesota in a 3-2 loss in 13 innings. And it was Hernández’s Mariners Hall of Fame Induction Night Saturday in front of a sellout crowd at T-Mobile Park.

SEATTLE – Locked in a remarkable pitcher's duel for nine innings and held to just three hits in nine innings by Seattle starter George Kirby, the Orioles still pulled out a win tonight to end the Mariners' eight-game win streak.

Ryan Mountcastle's single to center broke the 0-0 tie in the top of the 10th and O's closer Félix Bautista pitched two innings and struck out the side in the last of the 10th to get the win.

The Orioles (72-45) improved to 7-5 in extra innings and remained two games ahead of Tampa Bay atop the American League East.

Placed runner Cedric Mullins stole third base in the 10th and scored on Mountcastle's single to center that produced the lead along with an exit velocity of 109.5 mph. 

Bautista got the game to extras with a scoreless last of the ninth.

SEATTLE – After Friday’s 9-2 loss in the series and road trip opener, the Orioles have lost three of four games, allowing 28 runs. Seattle hit three homers in opening a 7-1 lead after four innings and posted an eighth straight win.

The O’s (71-45) will try to even this series and slow the hot Mariners in Game 2 of this three-game set tonight at T-Mobile Park.

It’s a big night for the Mariners, who are inducting right-hander Félix Hernández into their team Hall of Fame. He is one of five pitchers with 2,500+ strikeouts and 2,500+ innings with the same team. He joins Hall of Famers Walter Johnson (Washington), Bob Gibson (St. Louis), Bob Feller (Cleveland) and likely future Hall of Famer Clayton Kershaw (Los Angeles Dodgers).

Friday’s O’s starter Kyle Gibson allowed a career-high nine runs in 5 1/3 innings in the series opener. He had allowed five or six runs in just four of his 2023 starts before the Mariners hit him hard last night. In two starts against Seattle this year, he has allowed 14 runs in 8 1/3 innings.

The Orioles are now 25-13 in series-opening games and 14-5 in road series openers.

SEATTLE – The Orioles will be on hand tonight for a big night in Seattle as former Mariners pitcher Félix Hernández goes into the team’s Hall of Fame. He was a six-time All-Star and the 2010 American League Cy Young Award winner. He pitched a perfect game for Seattle against Tampa Bay on Aug. 15, 2012.

He tried to make it back to the bigs with the Orioles in the spring of 2021, but arm issues kept that from happening. He eventually opted out of his O's minor league deal and was officially released by the club in late March.

“We came here in 2011 and they were down the stretch, and he pitched a game that was sold out and we saw the King’s Court (fans section in the stands) when he was in his prime,” O’s manager Brandon Hyde recalled today. “He punched out, like, 15 and he was great in his prime. This place was absolutely going bananas. We saw at that time what he meant to the city and how big a deal he was.

“Being able to meet him (in spring of 2021) and spend some time with him, really enjoyed that. I’m excited to watch the (pregame) ceremony tonight.”

The Orioles have transitioned into a six-man rotation, at least temporarily, as left-hander Cole Irvin (1-3, 5.44 ERA) re-enters the rotation tonight. Hyde said that Irvin would likely be expected to go just four or five innings after his last five appearances were two innings or less.

SEATTLE – After being held to one run on two hits over six innings by right-hander Luis Castillo last night, the O’s face another tough righty tonight. George Kirby (10-8, 3.32 ERA) will make his 23^rd start for Seattle.

The Mariners hit three homers off Kyle Gibson in last night’s 9-2 win. Seattle (63-52) is now just half a game out of the final wild card spot in the American League.

Adley Rutschman, batting .314 in 13 games atop the batting order, is batting leadoff again tonight. Cedric Mullins, who hit fifth last night, bats second tonight. Jorge Mateo is starting at shortstop and Gunnar Henderson is not starting. 

Kirby ranks ninth in the American League in ERA and first in walks per nine innings (0.9) and first in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 8.86. On June 25 he gave up three runs (two earned) in 6 1/3 versus the Orioles.

Seattle has won eight in a row and 10 of 11 games and is 16-4 in the last 20. The M’s pitching has given up just seven runs the last five games, and 20 in the past eight.

SEATTLE – The story of the first game of an important O’s road trip was not hard to put a finger on. Right-hander Kyle Gibson, who had been on a six-start roll, hit a brick wall and that roll was stopped.

As the Seattle Mariners hit three homers off him and extended their winning streak to eight, Gibson and the Orioles got beat 9-2 in Seattle. Their AL East lead is now down to two games over Tampa Bay.

“First game of a long road trip, an important road trip for us. And I just didn’t give the team a chance to win,” said Gibson, who had an ERA of 3.86 in his previous six games with five quality starts.

He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed 12 hits to tie his career high. Gibson gave up nine runs to set a career high. He had only given up five runs or more four times this year out of 24 games. And for his career, he had never given up more than eight runs in any of his previous 285 career starts.

But a five-run fourth gave Seattle a 7-1 lead and they were on their way to a comfortable win. Gibson allowed a two-run homer in the first to Cal Raleigh, a three-run shot in the fourth to Julio Rodríguez and a solo blast in the fifth by Ty France. Each homer was hit 100 mph+ with Raleigh’s shot having a 112.6 mph exit velocity.

SEATTLE – When O’s right-hander Kyle Gibson faced the Seattle Mariners on June 23 in Baltimore, he had one of his toughest nights of the year. He had another tough one against the same team on Friday night.

Seattle scored twice in the first and five times in the fourth and hit three homers off Gibson as they beat the Orioles 9-2 to start the three-game series and to start the O’s nine-game West Coast road trip.

Catcher Cal Raleigh hit a two-run shot in the first, 2022 American League Rookie of the Year Julio Rodríguez hit a three-run shot in the fourth and Ty France hit a solo blast in the fifth.

Gibson had another tough night facing Seattle. Over 5 1/3 innings he gave up 12 hits to tie his career-high and allowed a career-high nine runs. His previous most in a start was eight done five times. He had not allowed more than six runs in any start this year.

Seattle was hitting hard from the star tonight. Through five innings, the Mariners had hit seven balls in play over 100 mph and 10 balls at 99 mph or more.

SEATTLE – The Orioles begin a three-city, nine-game West Coast road trip tonight with the first of three games against the Seattle Mariners. The trip later takes them on to San Diego and Oakland before they return home on Aug. 22 versus Toronto.

The Orioles (71-44) began today leading the AL East by three games over Tampa Bay after they won Thursday while the Rays lost. The Orioles avoided being swept yet again with a 5-4 win over Houston.

It was the sixth time this year they lost the first two games of a three-game series but won the third game. They also did that versus Texas, at Milwaukee, at the Chicago Cubs, versus Minnesota and against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oriole Park.

So the Orioles have now gone 76 consecutive series without being swept since May 13-15, 2022 when they went 0-3 at Detroit. This is the fifth-longest streak in MLB history. The next team to catch on that list would be the New York Yankees from 1922-24, who went 83 consecutive series without being swept.

The Orioles have now won five of seven, eight of 11, 12 of 18 and 22 of their past 31 games. They are 17-9 in the second half.

SEATTLE – The Orioles got their center fielder back today. Limited to 69 games this year with two stints on the injured list, now they want to keep Cedric Mullins back on the field and in the lineup.

Mullins first went on the IL in late May with a right groin strain and returned June 24.  But on July 19 he was back on the 10-day IL with a right adductor groin strain. He played four rehab games this week for Double-A Bowie, going 3-for-20 and tonight rejoins the O’s batting fifth in center.

"We're excited to have him back," manager Brandon Hyde said. "He feels good and joined us on the trip last night. He's had a couple of stints on the IL and we are hoping to he can stay healthy for us the rest of the year. He's a big part of our club and makes a huge impact for us offensively and defensively." 

“I’m very ready,” Mullins said this afternoon in the visitor’s clubhouse. “During the rehab assignment was watching the guys do their thing out there. Just seeing a lot of guys have some fun and I’m ready to get back in it.

“Injuries are never fun to deal with, but this time around my confidence when it came to running when I started back up was a lot smoother than the first time. So I felt like in terms of the recovery, what we did this time has definitely been beneficial to keep me around.”

SEATTLE – Two right-handers that could prove very important for the Orioles will be pitching this weekend. But while right-hander Kyle Gibson will seek a fifth straight quality start tonight at Seattle, Tyler Wells will take the mound in Richmond tomorrow night, making his second start since he was optioned to Double-A Bowie.

Wells headed for the minors after matching and then exceeding his 2022 season innings total and going thru a three-start stretch for the Orioles where he gave up 11 runs over nine innings.

Earlier this year Gibson, the veteran leader of the O’s staff at age 35, had some words of wisdom for rookie Grayson Rodriguez when he was sent back to the minors. Gibson said he and Wells had a similar talk the day after Wells was optioned to the Baysox.

“Had a really good conversation with him,” said Gibson. “I think his head is in a really good place. I’ve been to the spot where I’ve reached a career-high in innings and I’ve been to the spot where I’ve thrown in September for the first time in my career. And I was tired.

“I know that this organization has a plan for him to be a big part of this team. Here toward the end or whatever it is. Not just Tyler, but some of these bullpen guys and our young starters, who have never played a six-month and now hopefully a seven-month season.

The Orioles have not been swept in a series this year and will need a win this afternoon at Oriole Park to avoid that fate against the Houston Astros.

Houston rallied in the ninth to beat the Orioles 7-6 Tuesday night. Last night they scored three early runs and five late for an 8-2 win. 

In 18 innings this series, the Orioles staff has allowed 21 hits and 15 runs with nine walks and 20 strikeouts.

Coming into this series the O's team ERA was 2.15 during a 7-1 run. And it was 3.23 as they had won 21 of the previous 28 games.

But Houston has put up seven runs and eight runs in winning the first two games, and the Astros scored 10 runs in seven innings of work by the Baltimore bullpen.

The Houston Astros were averaging 4.76 runs per game to rank sixth in the American League as this series began. But the O’s have seen the best from their lineup as they rallied to win in the ninth Tuesday and pulled away late in the game last night to win 8-2.

That is 15 runs over two games against a Baltimore staff that came into this series on a good roll. Heading into this series, the O’s were 7-1 their past eight games with a 2.15 team ERA and 21-7 the previous 28 games with an ERA of 3.23.

Baltimore had allowed just seven runs during a four-game win streak. The O’s staff gave up 10 runs total in taking three of four from Toronto and just six runs in a three-game sweep of the New York Mets.

But Houston was playing good baseball coming into Baltimore and it’s continued over two days and now they can sweep this three-game series this afternoon.

Five times this year the Orioles have lost the first two games of a three-game series, but they won the last one to avoid being swept. It happened against Texas, Milwaukee, the Chicago Cubs, Minnesota and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Orioles led their series-opening game with Houston 2-0 after one inning last night and 5-0 after the second. They led 6-2 after seven and 6-3 after eight. But they lost it in the ninth, 7-6, as Houston took the opener of a three-game series. 

The Orioles had been 61-3 this season when leading after eight frames. And right-hander Félix Bautista had converted 10 straight save chances and was 19-for-20 in his past 20 save opportunities. But he could not hold the 6-3 lead Tuesday night.

Bautista suffered his sixth blown save and first since June 24 versus Seattle. The 19-for-20 run dated back to May 24. He gave up four runs, tying a career high. 

So the O’s try to bounce back tonight behind right-hander Jack Flaherty (8-6, 4.28 ERA). He is 1-0 with an ERA of 1.50 in his one Orioles start.

Last Thursday at Toronto he gave up four hits and one run over six innings with two walks and eight strikeouts on 92 pitches. He also had a shutout on 58 pitches through five innings. His fastball touched 97 in the first inning – the fastest pitch he has thrown this year.

Claimed on waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Monday, right-hander Jacob Webb is the newest member of the Orioles bullpen. He is at Camden Yards today after being activated for tonight's game as right-hander Joey Krehbiel was optioned back to Triple-A after Tuesday’s loss to Houston.

Webb was DFA by the Angels over the weekend after going 1-1 with a 3.98 ERA over 31 2/3 innings and 29 games. He gave up 23 hits with 20 walks and 34 strikeouts, recording a 1.358 WHIP with a 5.7 walk rate and 9.7 K rate.

“I’m very happy. From a fourth-place team to a first-place team,” Webb said of joining the Orioles. “Obviously, pretty good scenario. Just trying to come in here and do what I do. Help the team as best I can.

“Yeah, kind of (the DFA was surprising). Situation over there – I was the odd man out in that scenario. But coming here is a nice little surprise. Ready to get to work.”

Webb is pleased for the most part with his season numbers. In his last game for the Angels on Friday against Seattle he pitched a scoreless inning. 

Now that he got his first Orioles start out of the way – and it was a good one last Thursday at Toronto’s Rogers Centre – tonight right-hander Jack Flaherty will make his Oriole Park debut for his new team. 

Acquired just minutes before the trade deadline from the St. Louis Cardinals, the 27-year-old Flaherty, a free agent at the end of this season, got the win at Toronto in his O’s debut. He had a shutout going through five on 58 pitches and gave up one run but pitched out of a jam in the Toronto sixth.

It was a solid six-inning outing where he gave up just four hits and a run with two walks and eight strikeouts on 92 pitches. He was getting whiffs on all his pitches and his 19 swings and misses were his second-highest total in 21 starts between two teams. The eight strikeouts was a total he has produced just four times this year and he allowed one run or less for the eighth time between the Cardinals and Orioles.

The day he pitched against the Blue Jays, right-hander Kyle Gibson talked about his new rotation mate.

“When you can bring in a veteran starter that has that kind of track record of getting deep into games and having swing and miss stuff (it's great),” he said. “Being a guy that has playoff experience and has pitched at the highest level of the game. I think he can bring a lot. He’s still really young."

The Orioles will host the 2022 World Series champion Houston Astros tonight to start a three-game series as their homestand continues. Houston is the only American League club the Orioles have yet to play.

The O’s swept the New York Mets over the weekend and lead Tampa Bay by three games atop the AL East. The Orioles (70-42) have outscored their opponents 25-7 during a four-game win streak. They have won seven of eight games and 11 of 15, and are 21-7 in the last 28 games.

O’s pitching has an ERA of 2.15 while allowing 19 runs the last eight games. Their ERA in the past 28 games is 3.23.

In the series versus the Mets, the O’s staff gave up just six runs (five earned) over 27 innings, allowing 15 hits with 11 walks and 26 strikeouts. The Orioles pitched their sixth shutout of the year Sunday with a 2-0 win over the Mets as Kyle Bradish, Cionel Pérez, Cole Irvin, Shintaro Fujinami and Félix Bautista teamed up for a four-hitter.

The Orioles bullpen combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings Sunday and threw 10 innings in the series without allowing an earned run. Over the past eight games, the O’s ‘pen has allowed one earned run in 25 1/3 innings. Their bullpen ERA for the year is down to 3.53, which ranks third-best in the AL.