The Orioles are off today, flying into Arizona after yesterday’s loss to spend more time enjoying the dry heat. Think of it as a pizza oven except there’s no melted mozzarella.

Their roster expands by a pitcher and a position player on Friday. They’d do it anyway, but teams don’t have the option of staying at 26.

The dog days of August are gone. We’ve moved onto September baseball as a contender, and it’s the home stretch no matter where the schedule takes you.

“This is definitely an exciting time right now for our club,” manager Brandon Hyde said yesterday. “Going back to the West Coast. I feel like we were just there. It’s an important road trip, every game matters right now, every game’s important. And it’s a lot of fun playing in games that matter.”

Can’t flip the pages of the calendar without finding more questions, which isn’t as enjoyable.

The Orioles wrap up their series with the Colorado Rockies today looking for a three-game sweep after back-to-back 5-4 wins. They trailed in each game of this series but took the lead in the eighth inning Friday night and in the sixth inning last night. 

The Orioles (81-48) lead Tampa Bay by three games atop the American League East with Toronto 10 1/2 games back, Boston 12 1/2 out and New York 19 games behind.

This season, the Orioles have three-game series sweeps versus Detroit, at Toronto, versus Kansas City, at Minnesota, at home against Miami, versus the New York Mets and at Oakland. A sweep today would give the Orioles their third sweep in the last seven series.

The Orioles have won four straight by a 22-11 score. Over longer stretches, they have won seven of eight, 10 of 13, 18 of 25 and 32 of their past 45 games.

The Orioles recorded their 40th comeback win Saturday, tied for the MLB lead this season (Cincinnati, 40), and their 76 come-from-behind wins since the start of 2022 are second-most behind Los Angeles-NL (81) entering play yesterday, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

As the Orioles look to sweep the Colorado Rockies today, right-hander Jack Flaherty will return to the mound for the first time since he gave up seven runs in three innings Aug. 15 at San Diego. He is pitching the series finale today on 11 days' rest.

Flaherty is 8-8 with a 4.73 ERA in 23 starts this season and is 1-2 with a 7.07 ERA in three starts and 14 innings as an Oriole.

“I think his command in San Diego was just off, so I don’t think you can put a whole lot of stock into that start. I think the start in Toronto (one run in six innings) is more of who he is. Just couldn’t get anything going in San Diego,” manager Brandon Hyde said before today’s game.

“Jack has a really good pitch, was up to 97 (mph) in Toronto. I like his breaking ball, also. He’s been a starter with a four-pitch mix for a while now. Maybe a little bit of rest will help him and he’ll be pounding the strike zone today.”

This outing has been pushed back by the Orioles as Flaherty said he didn’t “bounce back” well from that San Diego game without getting too much into specifics.

Jack Flaherty is ready to make today’s start, his fourth since joining the Orioles in a deadline trade with the Cardinals.

Flaherty was pushed back after experiencing general soreness and saying he didn’t “bounce back” from his last start and ensuing workout. He’s allowed 10 runs and 10 hits in eight innings in his last two starts.

Today’s opponent seems to suit him. He’s registered a 1.90 ERA and 0.887 WHIP in four career starts against the Rockies in 23 2/3 innings.

Gunnar Henderson, with an 11-game hitting streak, is the third baseman today. Jordan Westburg is playing second.

Cedric Mullins is batting eighth. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter and remains atop the order.

Kyle Bradish is named the starter for tonight’s game against the Rockies, the line moving again while the Orioles wait on Jack Flaherty.

No one who is new to the rotation is anticipated at this point. The same crew, one of the distinct differences from the past.

The Orioles have used only eight starting pitchers this season, the third-lowest total in the majors. And that includes Keegan Akin, who worked one inning as an opener on May 31 against the Guardians. He’s on the 60-day injured list.

The other starters are more memorable: Bradish, Flaherty, Kyle Gibson, Tyler Wells, Dean Kremer, Grayson Rodriguez and Cole Irvin.

The Blue Jays and Nationals were tied for fewest with seven heading into the weekend. The Twins, Brewers, White Sox, Cubs and Angels were ahead of the Orioles with nine.

Backup catcher James McCann isn’t in the Orioles’ lineup despite his impressive numbers against Blue Jays starter José Berríos. He usually sits against a right-hander, but he’s also recovering from the 98 mph fastball that slammed into the side of his left hand during Tuesday night’s game.

“It’s good,” said McCann, who’s 8-for-24 with two doubles and four home runs against Berríos. “Soreness is a lot better today. Now, it’s just an open wound from the blood blister.”

McCann keeps proving his toughness. He’s gone on the injured list twice with oblique strains but has endured lots of punishment and kept playing.

He’s become a master at laying down bunts on fastballs near his face.

“I give thanks to God every day when something like that happens and I come out of it unscathed,” he said. “I guess there’s a little bit of an innate toughness, but other than that, it’s by the grace of God.”

The Orioles aren’t listing starters for Thursday night or the three-game weekend series against the Rockies. The rotation is fluid after the decision to push back Jack Flaherty.

Flaherty said he didn’t bounce back after his last start in San Diego. Specifics are scarce.

“It was decided yesterday pregame to just give him a little bit extra time,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “In his catch play yesterday, there’s a little bit of soreness, and so we just wanted to give him a little bit of a break, and we moved up Dean (Kremer) to today.”

Hyde described it as “general” soreness, which “normally goes away over the course of between starts, and we feel like we want to be a little bit precautionary with him and just let him not make his start today.”

Flaherty was acquired from the Cardinals at the trade deadline to provide a veteran presence and someone who could handle a heavier workload, and a six-man rotation was built to spare the younger arms and make it easier control innings. But Flaherty's return date after three starts with the Orioles isn’t determined.

Jack Flaherty said he was scratched from tonight’s start against the Blue Jays because “sometimes you don’t bounce back the way you want to.”

Flaherty is referring to his Aug. 15 start in San Diego, when he allowed seven runs in three innings and came out after 84 pitches.

“You just try to make the right decision of making sure that you feel right,” Flaherty said. “Sometimes after starts you just don’t bounce back the way you want to.”

Flaherty declined to share any specifics, saying “just in general.”

“Throwing yesterday, just didn’t quite feel like you quite bounced back, and sometimes those are hard decisions to make, especially when you want to take the ball every time out. Just one of those things.”

The Orioles have changed starters tonight, with Jack Flaherty scratched from his assignment.

Dean Kremer is starting against the Blue Jays, and Thursday is now listed as TBA.

A couple breaks in the schedule and a six-man rotation put Kremer on six days’ rest following his outing in San Diego.

No explanation was provided for the switch. Manager Brandon Hyde will address it later today in his media session.

Flaherty was supposed to make his fourth start with the Orioles. He’s allowed 10 runs over eight innings since his one-run debut in Toronto.

SAN DIEGO – Jack Flaherty recorded the last out in the first inning tonight, glanced twice at plate umpire Laz Diaz on his way to the dugout and didn’t break stride.

Diaz didn’t check Flaherty’s hands for a sticky substance until the Orioles were done batting in the top of the second. After Gary Sánchez hit a grand slam as part of a five-run outburst. After Flaherty walked three consecutive batters and threw 34 pitches.  

The Orioles didn’t hold any advantages tonight.

Diaz forgot to do it or yielded to the absurdity.  

Flaherty couldn’t find his command early in his third start since the trade deadline, and the Padres evened the series with a 10-3 victory at Petco Park.

Having allowed just four runs in the past three games, the Orioles have a three-game win streak on their West Coast road trip. The trip began with a 9-2 loss Friday at Seattle, but they have since won 1-0 and 5-3 over the Mariners, both in 10 innings, and by 4-1 last night at San Diego.

The Orioles (74-45) are a season-high 29 games over the .500 mark and lead the Tampa Bay Rays by three games atop the American League East.

Best records in MLB:

.644 - Atlanta (76-42)
.622 – Orioles (74-45)
.607 – Los Angeles Dodgers (71-46)
.597 – Texas (71-48)
.595 – Tampa Bay (72-49)

The Orioles improved to 26-13 in series-opening games with Monday's victory, and to 15-5 when the series opener is on the road.

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.

Jack Flaherty received the ball from catcher Adley Rutschman, flipped it in the air and caught it with his bare hand in a swiping motion. He picked up the rosin bag and spiked it. And he waited for pitching coach Chris Holt.

The frustration was building in the second inning. The pitcher who retired 15 batters in a row in Toronto was unable to slip his start into cruise control.

No serious wreckage, but a rough ride.

And the bullpen lost control again.

Flaherty left the bases loaded after falling behind by three runs in the second inning, and he did it again in the fifth. His follow-up outing with the Orioles, and first career start in Baltimore, was more of a grind, and the Astros prevailed 8-2 before an announced crowd of 25,479 at Camden Yards.

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.

The Orioles optioned reliever Joey Krehbiel to Triple-A Norfolk after last night’s game and activated reliever Jacob Webb, who was a waiver claim Monday from the Angels.

Krehbiel made two appearances with the Orioles and retired all five batters he faced.

Webb, who’s wearing No. 66, was designated for assignment Saturday after posting a 3.98 ERA and 1.358 WHIP in 29 relief appearances. He walked 20 batters and struck out 34 in 31 2/3 innings.

The Braves drafted Webb in the 18^th round in 2014 out of Tabor College in Kansas. Prior to this season, he had appeared in 78 games over three seasons and had a 2.47 ERA and 1.304 WHIP in 76 2/3 innings.

Reliever Reed Garrett wore No. 66 earlier this season. It previously belonged to Tanner Scott and T.J. McFarland.

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 enjoyed their trek to Toronto, taking three of four from a Blue Jays team that had won 21 of 28 games heading into that series. The Orioles outscored the Blue Jays 24-10 in the series. 

They left Canada with a 67-42 record and have now won four of five, eight of 12 and 18 of the last 25 games. They are 13-7 in the second half.

Tonight the Orioles play the New York Mets, and the Birds have lost their past two series against National League teams. They went 1-2 versus the Dodgers and Phillies, but they began the second half with a three-game sweep of Miami.

The Orioles are just 15-14 (.517) against NL teams but they are 52-28 (.650) against American League teams.

The Orioles pitched well at Rogers Centre, with their starting pitchers recording a 2.92 ERA in the four-game series while the bullpen allowed just one run in 10 1/3 innings. Over 35 innings at Toronto, Baltimore pitchers allowed 18 hits and 10 runs with 13 walks and 41 strikeouts.

TORONTO – You only get one chance to make a first impression. Right-hander Jack Flaherty, who had made 118 starts for the St. Louis Cardinals since the 2017 season, made a good one on his new Orioles teammates and fans throughout Birdland.

He was rolling, getting through the fifth in Toronto Thursday afternoon on 58 pitches. He had retired 15 in a row. But he got in trouble in the sixth and Vlad Guerrero Jr.’s single made it a 3-1 O’s lead and he walked a man to load the bases. But given a chance to pitch out of that big jam, he did, getting Matt Chapman swinging on a big breaking curveball and Alejandro Kirk to fly out on a breaking ball.

His new manager had the confidence to let him try and get out of that jam.

“Means a lot,” Flaherty said of that trust. “Go out and make pitches and let me get through that. Walked (George) Springer but made some good pitches and was able to execute with Chapman and Kirk there. Nice to have that trust and my job is to continue to make pitches until he takes the ball from me.”

Allowing just one run over six innings on 92 pitches, Flaherty seems fired up to be an Oriole so far. He had not touched 97 mph with his fastball all year and then he did that in his first inning.

The Orioles’ posted lineup yesterday had Ryan McKenna in center field instead of Colton Cowser for the third game in a row. Three out of the four played at Rogers Centre.

Facing left-handers Hyun Jin Ryu and Yusei Kikuchi provided a built-in explanation. Sitting Cowser yesterday against right-hander Kevin Gausman required one.

Manager Brandon Hyde cited Gausman’s career reverse splits during his pregame session with the assembled media. But he also explained how a few days of extra work and batting practice could benefit Cowser, along with a chance to “relax.”

This is one way for a contender to handle a rookie’s struggles. The other, of course, would be to option him.

If wins weren’t as important in the grand scheme, like over the past four years, the Orioles could keep starting Cowser and view it as part of his development. But that won’t work in 2023.

TORONTO – Jack Flaherty’s Orioles debut got off to a rocky start today. But it quickly got better. And it mostly stayed that way, especially thanks to some clutch pitching from the right-hander in the last of the sixth. 

Flaherty allowed one run and four hits over six innings on 92 pitches as the Orioles beat Toronto 6-1 to win three of four in this series at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles (67-42) are 8-2 this year versus Toronto. Their AL East lead grows to two games over idle Tampa Bay.

Since July 20, the Orioles have gone 3-1 in both four-game series against their closest pursuers in the Rays and Jays. They also went 2-1 against the Yankees in that span. They are now 22-10 in their past 32 games over the last 10 AL East series, going 8-0-2 in those series.

“Complete team," Flaherty said of the Orioles. "You kind of new that coming in and you get around them and see what they’re about. They are a complete team. Offense, defense, pitching – they can do it all.”