The Orioles needed an effective start out of their rotation. They needed a big swing that might deaden their slump. Perhaps they could regain some authority and quiet a few critics.

Dean Kremer spun 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball tonight and Jackson Holliday marked his return to the lineup with a grand slam. They filled the order.

Heston Kjerstad made a clutch grab to strand two runners, Ramón Laureano and Ryan O'Hearn homered, and the Orioles defeated the Guardians 9-1 before an announced crowd of 13,964 at Camden Yards. The record improved to 7-10 with their fourth win in 12 games and they get another chance to claim their first series.

A four-run eighth, which included O'Hearn's long ball and Kjerstad's two-run single, put the game out of reach. Ramón Urías had a 398-foot sacrifice fly.

Holliday was hitless in his last 17 at-bats and didn’t play last night. He batted with one out in the second inning after Cedric Mullins walked, Ryan Mountcastle singled and Urías walked to load the bases.

The Orioles will try to win tonight for only the fourth time in 12 games and to keep alive their chance to claim their first series.

Jackson Holliday and Heston Kjerstad have returned to the lineup. Kjerstad is in left field and batting sixth. Holliday is at second base and batting eighth ahead of third baseman Ramón Urías.

Jordan Westburg takes a seat. He’s hitless in his last 20 at-bats to lower his average to .196 with a .631 OPS.

Cedric Mullins is batting cleanup. Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter.

Dean Kremer has an 8.16 ERA and 1.674 WHIP in three starts. He’s gone 5 1/3, 4 1/3 and 4 2/3 innings.

Gunnar Henderson batted cleanup last night, relinquishing the leadoff spot to Jordan Westburg in a right-handed heavy order. Cedric Mullins stayed in center field, but Jorge Mateo played second base instead of Jackson Holliday. Ramón Urías, batting .343 with a .410 on-base percentage, sat on the bench.

A decision also was made to withhold Heston Kjerstad against Guardians left-hander Logan Allen and put right-handed hitting Ramón Laureano in left field.

The Orioles played their 16^th game and used a 15^th different lineup. They could blow past the 144 last season.

The evolution of settling on a lineup has carried the process well beyond a manager sitting in his office with the card, a pencil and a hunch. Analytics are a major factor, of course. Where haven’t they infiltrated the sport? And it’s become more of a group effort.

“I am not involved with lineups,” executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said yesterday.

Questions about contract extensions for young players are posed to Elias each time that he speaks to the media. And he’s always provided the stock answer about how it isn’t beneficial for either side to share details and possibly damage the agents’ trust.

The Orioles are the only team in the majors since 2019 that hasn’t signed a player to an extension of four-plus guaranteed years. They aren’t short on candidates with high draft picks Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Colton Cowser on the roster. And they’re under new ownership since billionaire David Rubenstein purchased the team.

“I’m aware of what’s going on and I’m aware of the conversation around us. I guess I’ll be a little more revelatory than I have been,” Elias said.

It wouldn’t be a typical scrum today.

“This is something we’re working on,” Elias said. “There’s guys on this team that we would like to have on this team longer than they’re currently slated for. It’s not a point-and-shoot thing. It’s case by case. There’s different players, different skill levels, different representatives, different philosophies around how to handle players at different age levels. We’ve got some really good ones, and on top of that, we’ve had a very recent ownership change after a kind of protracted thing during a rebuild.

Bench coach Robinson Chirinos made his managerial debut this afternoon after Brandon Hyde was ejected. Ryan Mountcastle lined a ball over the left field wall that used to torment him. Tyler O’Neill almost nailed Mr. Splash with his home run into the Bird Bath section. Gunnar Henderson showed signs of busting out of his slump with three hits in the first four innings. The bullpen couldn’t hold a three-run lead in the eighth, and the Orioles stranded the winning run at second base in the ninth.

Peel back the many layers and the Orioles still don't have a series win.

The Orioles couldn't score in the bottom of the 10th inning, leaving Jordan Westburg at third base, and the Blue Jays prevailed 7-6 before an announced crowd of 27,193 at Kids Opening Day at Camden Yards.

Myles Straw's infield hit off Matt Bowman scored automatic runner Andrés Giménez. Bowman left two on base, but Ramón Laureano took a called third strike from Jeff Hoffman for the final out of the day. Hoffman blew a kiss toward the Orioles' dugout, his response to the contract offer reportedly rescinded after his physical due to concerns about his shoulder. The Braves did the same and he signed with the Blue Jays for $33 million over three years.

"When I'm thinking about the games before the games are being played and stuff, yeah, obviously that's definitely in my head. But once I'm in the game, in the moment, I'm focused on making pitches," Hoffman told reporters outside the visiting clubhouse.

The forecast in Kansas City is calling for rain and cold temperatures throughout the day. The Orioles are supposed to start a three-game series and the last time that I checked, Kauffman Stadium isn’t equipped with a retractable roof. Then again, I wasn't invited to the ballpark tour. Maybe there's an upgrade like the Camden Yards sound system.

If not, think warm and dry thoughts.

The mailbag isn’t waterproof and must stay indoors while I’m gone. I decided to dump out some of its contents to prevent an overflow when I get home. Hopefully, I haven’t covered a doubleheader.

You ask, I answer (most times), and we have the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original.

Editor’s note: Some questions have been edited for … well … there was this one time that I … nope, nothing. I’ve just withheld the ones with the words “Roch” and “sucks.” Does that count as editing?

The mysterious uptick in Charlie Morton’s velocity didn’t return in the first inning today. His four-seam fastball was 93.3 to 94.6 mph against leadoff hitter Jarren Duran and topped at 94.7. And his third strikeout came on a curveball to Trevor Story, a pitch that produced only one out in his Orioles debut in Toronto.

If Morton was getting back to normal, he couldn’t enjoy it. Rafael Devers walked with one out in the first and Alex Bregman hit the next pitch, a sinker, to deep left field for a quick Red Sox lead.

Wilyer Abreu led off the second with a full-count walk, Kristian Campbell also worked the count full, and Morton hung a curveball that was launched to left at a distance of 389 feet.

The new dimensions in left aided Campbell. Bregman’s ball traveled 397 feet and didn’t need the benefit of a drawn-in wall. But both swings stung the Orioles in an 8-4 loss to the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 16,656 at Camden Yards that dropped them below .500 heading into their next road trip.

Morton struck out 10 batters in five innings, four short of his career high and the 28^th time that he’s reached double digits, and he exited with his pitch count at 98. He allowed five runs and six hits and walked two batters, and his ERA is 9.72 in two starts with the Orioles.

TORONTO – Heston Kjerstad and Gary Sánchez make their first starts this afternoon against the Blue Jays.

Kjerstad is playing right field and batting sixth. Sánchez is catching and batting seventh.

Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter and Ryan O’Hearn is playing first base. Ryan Mountcastle, Tyler O’Neill and Jorge Mateo are on the bench.

Jordan Westburg is batting cleanup. Jackson Holliday is the shortstop.

Dean Kremer makes his first start today. He has a 4.82 ERA and 1.536 WHIP in 11 career games against the Blue Jays. He’s allowed 10 runs and 24 hits in 22 1/3 innings at Rogers Centre.

TORONTO – Charlie Morton paced back and forth in the dugout, the frustration keeping the veteran starter on his feet. His Orioles debut lasted 80 pitches in only 3 1/3 innings, two inherited runners scored and a lead fell apart like his outing.

There will be better days and nights for Morton. This one was a challenge from the beginning with a barrage of hard-hit balls from a Blue Jays team perhaps still ornery from yesterday’s Opening Day beatdown.

Jackson Holliday homered in the third inning and Tyler O’Neill had a sacrifice fly in the fourth, but the Jays put five runs on the board in the bottom half and won 8-2 at Rogers Centre.

No one’s getting a sweep in this series.

The Orioles raised the bar yesterday with 12 runs and six homers, but the bats calmed tonight. They were held to three hits and committed two errors.

The Orioles couldn’t play baseball yesterday because of the rain in D.C. In hindsight, it wasn’t worth rushing out of North Port on Sunday.

Grayson Rodriguez did some long tossing in the outfield at Nationals Park. Cade Povich told the assembled media that he hasn’t decided between Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” and Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady” for his walk-in song. The roster held at 41 players after the Orioles selected Matt Bowman’s contract over the weekend and put Tyler Wells on the 60-day injured list, then shrank to 36 after Kyle Gibson was optioned to minor league camp yesterday and Maverick Handley, Vimael Machín, Emmanuel Rivera and Luis Vázquez were reassigned.

The two questions hanging heavy in the damp air remained whether Jorge Mateo replaces Gunnar Henderson and which reliever replaces Andrew Kittredge.

Mateo went from a “no” to “pretty doubtful” to a real possibility for Opening Day. The Orioles won’t bring him to Toronto if they think he needs more swings in Sarasota or if he isn’t ready physically, but the fact that they’re giving him heavy doses of at-bats the next two days is a positive sign. Of course, they’re doing the same with Henderson, but that’s more about limiting how much time he spends on the IL.

Livan Soto remained the favorite if Mateo isn’t on the roster. Machín and Vázquez also were exceptional in camp and they’d have guaranteed jobs in past years when the Orioles weren’t as deep and talented.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles didn’t mean to become a spring training cliché. It just happened. Nothing they could do about it.

Their roster appeared to be mostly set, with few decisions pending. They were proceeding without new injuries. But a team can’t get too comfortable because something always seems to happen.

Or multiple things happen, which is worse.

Imagine being told before pitchers and catchers reported that the Orioles would begin the season with Gunnar Henderson and Grayson Rodriguez on the injured list. Oh yeah, and their new reliever, Andrew Kittredge, would appear in one exhibition game and need surgery on his left knee. How long until panic set in and counseling was recommended?

This isn’t just an Orioles thing, though some locals would argue it. Yankees ace Gerrit Cole underwent Tommy John surgery and won’t pitch this season. Rookie of the Year Luis Gil could miss three months with a lat strain. Giancarlo Stanton had platelet-rich plasma injections in both elbows. The Rays got back their ace, Shane McClanahan, after he missed the 2024 season following Tommy John surgery, and he walked off the mound Saturday with a triceps injury.

NORTH PORT, Fla. – The Orioles aren’t required to set their Opening Day roster until noon Thursday, and a few decisions could bump against the deadline.

Most of mystery has dissolved. Cade Povich is the No. 5 starter, which puts Albert Suárez in a relief role. Félix Bautista had avoided the injured list. Only one spot remains in the bullpen and it could come down to Bryan Baker or Matt Bowman, who had an opt-out in his contract for today. Roansy Contreras is the third in-house consideration.

Jorge Mateo played second base today and will get simulated at-bats Monday and Tuesday before the Orioles determine whether to bring him to Toronto. His availability seems to directly impact Livan Soto, though Luis Vázquez and Vimael Machín also remain on the camp roster.

The shuffling is caused by Gunnar Henderson’s strained right rib cage muscle that is keeping him in Sarasota. Henderson would be eligible to return on April 3 with his IL stint backdated to Monday.

“I mean, it’s unfortunate that he’s going to miss the start of the season, but it is a long season,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “We do feel like we have other options. We have a lot of talented infielders. We’re still kind of finalizing the last position there, but Gunnar’s one of the best players in the league, so it’s hard to replace. Hopefully we can pick up the pieces around him a little bit and play well while he’s gone.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – The penultimate home game of the exhibition season finds Ramón Urías in tonight’s lineup for the Orioles. Gunnar Henderson, however, remains out of it.

Urías is playing third base, Jackson Holliday is at shortstop and Jordan Westburg is at second base.

Tyler O’Neill is in left field, Colton Cowser is in center and Heston Kjerstad is in right.

Cedric Mullins is leading off and serving as designated hitter.

Hot-hitting Ryan Mountcastle is out of the lineup.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles are playing a doubleheader today if you count Spring Breakout, which follows the Grapefruit League game against the Pirates.

The over-hyping makes me break out in a rash, but fans get a chance to see 21 of the top 30 prospects in the organization. Catcher Samuel Basallo leads the way, and outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. will try to build on his one-game hitting streak after last year’s bunt single in Bradenton.

I understand that one game doesn’t constitute a streak. Here are a few other things that we (think we) know:

* OK, this one is confirmed: Zach Eflin will be the Opening Day starter. I pegged him as the favorite when the Orioles arrived for spring training, and Grayson Rodriguez’s elbow inflammation cemented his chances.

Experience and track record gave Eflin an edge. Rodriguez has the higher ceiling but won’t reach it with a sore elbow. Check back next spring.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Zach Eflin entered camp this spring as the favorite to receive the Opening Day start on March 27. Grayson Rodriguez’s injury seemed to make it official.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde did so this afternoon. It’s happening as expected.

Hyde announced that Eflin, 30, will face the Blue Jays on March 27 at Rogers Centre, the right-hander’s second Opening Day assignment in a row after handling the honors for the Rays in 2024.

Eflin threw four innings on a back field recently while the Orioles played the Yankees in Tampa. He’s started twice in the Grapefruit League and allowed four runs in 4 2/3 innings.

"I told him today," said Hyde, who was joined by pitching coach Drew French, pitching strategy coach Ryan Klimek and bench coach Robinson Chirinos. "He's very appreciative and he understands how much it means, so that was a very cool moment.

SARASOTA, Fla. - The reprogramming of baseball’s former No. 1 prospect easily fits as one of the most interesting developments in Orioles camp.

There’s no need to go over Jackson Holliday’s numbers again in 2024. They weren’t good. He was a 20 year old tackling the challenges that the majors present. Expectations shot through the roof, and that’s Holliday’s fault for being such an exceptional young talent.

“I think that when you’re 20 years old and you get to the big leagues, the hype that you get, and you put up the minor league numbers that you do, people are expecting you to do the same thing when you get to the big leagues,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “And a lot of times that’s just unrealistic.”

Holliday replaced the leg lift timing mechanism with a toe tap and went 7-for-18 to close out September. The Orioles had specific instructions for him after the season – focus on reaching base and being disruptive. Bunt more, run more, be aggressive. The club would reel him in if necessary.

The former first-overall draft pick is 3-for-5 in stolen base attempts after swiping second base during Sunday afternoon’s game against the Twins. He was instrumental in an inning that Hyde described later as his favorite of the spring, with three runs manufactured in small-ball fashion. Putting the ball in play with runners in scoring position and with shortened swings, and creating flashbacks to 2023.

BRADENTON, Fla. – The Orioles remain hopeful that Gunnar Henderson is on their Opening Day roster, but they know the importance of a good contingency plan.

Jackson Holliday made his first spring start at shortstop tonight against the Pirates, hitting a double and single to left field and committing an error on his first and only chance.

“With Gunnar out right now, unsure of the timetable, but he’s doing really well,” manager Brandon Hyde said this afternoon. “He’s progressing well, but we’re not sure when we can get him back into game action. Jackson’s going to be playing shortstop here periodically the rest of camp.”

Henderson’s strained rib cage muscle led the Orioles down an alternate path with Holliday. They wanted him to get more comfortable at second base. Guest instructor Brian Roberts corrected his footwork, trying to strip him of a shortstop’s approach to fielding the ball and making feeds. But he could do more switching to the left side.

“It’s definitely different,” Holliday said. “It’s one thing to practice it, but to play it in a game and read the ball off the bat, kind of the angle that it comes in, it’s obviously very different, but I should make that play every single time. But hopefully I don’t have to play both. Hopefully, Gunnar gets healthy real quick and I can just stick over at second until they tell me they need me. But if that is the case, I’m up to the challenge.”

BRADENTON, Fla. – Jackson Holliday is starting at shortstop tonight, as the Orioles head to LECOM Park for another game against the Pirates.

Manager Brandon Hyde indicated that Holliday could make a start at short with Gunnar Henderson unable to play since Feb. 27 due to a strained right intercostal. This is one of them.

Holliday made three appearances (one start) at short with the Orioles last season.

Jordan Westburg is playing third base. Ramón Urías sliders over to second base. Ryan O’Hearn is at first.

Samuel Basallo is catching. Heston Kjerstad is the right fielder.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles won’t pinch-hit for Adley Rutschman during the regular season, but the many differences and oddities in spring training sent Vimael Machín to the plate for the All-Star catcher in the fourth inning of Thursday night’s game against the Pirates.

Machín struck out, which also seemed unusual because he’s been on fire.

A second at-bat produced a fly ball to the center field fence, an extremely long out influenced perhaps by the wind, and a third resulted in a line drive single to right.

Last night’s game in Lakeland began with Machín batting .500 (9-for-18) with a double, home run, five RBIs, two walks and a 1.272 OPS. No one had more hits, a higher average and OPS, or appeared in more games than Machín’s 10.

Coming off the bench late, Machín singled in the ninth inning to start a three-run rally. He’s 10-for-19 and one of the most impressive players in camp.

LAKELAND, Fla. – Félix Bautista is making his second spring training appearance tonight, as the Orioles hit the road to face the Tigers.

Bautista retired the Red Sox in order Monday afternoon in Sarasota.

Jordan Westburg is out of the lineup after returning to it last night. Gunnar Henderson remains out with a strained right intercostal, and manager Brandon Hyde will provide an update later.

Jackson Holliday is leading off tonight, followed by Ramón Urías at third base. Heston Kjerstad is in right field, Coby Mayo is the designated hitter and Samuel Basallo is catching.

Liván Soto is the shortstop.