The Orioles tweaked the bullpen again this afternoon.

Right-hander Vinny Nittoli had his contract selected from Triple-A Norfolk and rookie starter Cade Povich was optioned after last night’s game.

Left-hander Danny Coulombe was transferred to the 60-day injured list to make room on the 40-man roster.

Nittoli allowed one run and struck out four batters in three innings with Norfolk. The Orioles signed him to a minor league contract on July 2 after the Cubs designated him for assignment.

Nittoli appeared in seven games with the Athletics this season and allowed two runs in eight innings. He appeared in one game with the Mariners in 2021, two with the Phillies in 2022 and three with the Mets last summer. He’s registered a career 3.07 ERA in 14 2/3 innings.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde gave some props to the fans today. The Orioles-Cubs game last night, the series opener that Chicago won 9-2, saw an attendance of 30,373.

According to the Baltimore Sun, that was the largest Tuesday night crowd at Oriole Park since the Orioles and Mets drew 34,068 on Aug. 18, 2015.

“You know, I remember it when we had some 8,000 nights," said Hyde. "So, to have 30,000, wish we would have played better. To have people support us, the fans and the area support us the way they are, it’s a noticeable difference.

“You just feel more of a buzz. More of a buzz in the crowd and you are not hearing individual conversations above your dugout. It’s more of a big baseball feel. You hear the roar of the crowd instead of individual sections.”

At this point there are four Orioles headed to the All-Star Game in Texas: starters Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, along with pitcher Corbin Burnes and infielder Jordan Westburg.

Austin Hays is in the Orioles lineup tonight for the first time since Tuesday. His knee soreness has dissipated and the Rangers are starting left-hander Andrew Heaney. It’s time for him to play.

Left field is back in Hays’ possession.

Ryan Mountcastle is on the bench, where he also began last night’s game before pinch-hitting. An explanation will come later.

Heston Kjerstad, who hit a grand slam last night, is the designated hitter while Ryan O’Hearn plays first base. Jordan Westburg is the cleanup hitter. Colton Cowser is in center field and batting ninth.

Gunnar Henderson’s on-base streak has reached 36 games. He’s leading off against a left-hander, with Adley Rutschman batting second.

The Orioles snapped a five-game losing streak last night and are rewarded with four against the Rangers, who swept them in the Division Series last year and won the World Series.

Heston Kjerstad is in right field tonight and Anthony Santander is on the bench.

Colton Cowser is in left field. Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter. Jorge Mateo starts at second base and Jordan Westburg is at third.

Gunnar Henderson’s on-base streak has reached 33 games. He hit his 26th home run last night. The only shortstop to have more homers before July is Alex Rodriguez with 27 in 1998, per STATS.

Here’s the list of Orioles with 25-plus home runs before July:

The Orioles announced today that they signed first baseman/outfielder Garrett Cooper to a minor league contract. He’ll report to Triple-A Norfolk on Wednesday.

Cooper, 33, appeared in a combined 36 games with the Cubs and Red Sox and batted .206/.267/.299 with five doubles, one triple, one home run and 11 RBIs. He’s played for five teams in the majors beginning in 2017 with the Yankees and hit .265/.333/.427 in 517 games.

Cooper was an All-Star with the Marlins in 2022. Three years earlier, he batted .281 with 16 doubles, 15 home runs, 50 RBIs and a .791 OPS in 107 games.

Last season, Cooper hit a combined 17 home runs with 61 RBIs in 123 games between the Marlins and Padres.

The Red Sox acquired Cooper from the Cubs in April for cash considerations and released him 11 days ago.

The Orioles will try to rebound today from last night’s bizarre 14-11 loss to the Astros in Houston. A win would have moved them into first place because the Yankees also lost.

Colton Cowser is in right field and Ryan O’Hearn is in left again. Austin Hays stays on the bench.

Anthony Santander, who’s homered 11 times this month, is the designated hitter.

O’Hearn is batting .400 against low pitches in June after posting a .125 average entering the month, per STATS.

Adley Rutschman, who had his second career five-hit game last night, is catching Corbin Burnes again.

NEW YORK – Jordan Westburg is leading off tonight and James McCann is catching as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Yankees that could flip-flop the top two positions in the division standings.

Gunnar Henderson is batting cleaneup. The Orioles are 43-10 when Henderson homers in his major league career.

Austin Hays is in left field and Colton Cowser is in center. Hays, Cowser and Cedric Mullins took early batting practice this afternoon.

Anthony Santander is batting .295/.353/.721 this month with two doubles, eight home runs and 14 RBIs in 16 games. He hit .207/.294/.415 in May.

The Orioles have homered in 16 consecutive games, the longest streak in the majors this season and their longest since going deep in 18 straight from Sept. 6-24, 2019.

The Orioles will try for back-to-back sweeps this afternoon, raising their total to six, as they close out their series against the Braves at Camden Yards.

Ryan Mountcastle is out of the lineup. Ryan O’Hearn gets the start at first base and Kyle Stowers is the designated hitter. Stowers hasn’t played since Saturday due to soreness in his right wrist.

Cedric Mullins is in center field. He has two multi-hit games in his last four. The Orioles are 7-0 when he has multiple hits.

Colton Cowser is the left fielder after last night’s tie-breaking two-run homer. Jordan Westburg is at third base. Adley Rutschman is catching a day game after a night game.

Gunnar Henderson extended his career-high on-base streak to 20 straight games, the longest by an Oriole since Mountcastle’s 28 games from July 21-Aug. 23, 2023.

Austin Hays is in left field again tonight after collecting three hits in the series opener against the Braves.

Hays is slashing .347/.377/.592 (17-for-49) since returning from the injured list on May 13. He has 10 hits in his last 21 at-bats.

Jorge Mateo is batting .353 when ahead in the count this season. He’s at second base again and Ramón Urías is at third. Jordan Westburg goes to the bench.

Cedric Mullins is in center field, putting Colton Cowser on the bench. Ryan O’Hearn is in right field and batting cleanup.

Anthony Santander is serving as the designated hitter.

Connor Norby stays at second base tonight and moves up to eighth in the order as the Orioles try to guarantee at least a split of their four-game series in Toronto.

James McCann is catching and batting ninth.

Colton Cowser remains in center field, putting Cedric Mullins on the bench. Austin Hays stays in left field.

Hays hit his first two home runs last night since Sept. 19.

Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter. Ryan O’Hearn moves to the bench.

WASHINGTON – Kyle Bradish makes his second start tonight since his reinstatement from the injured list, and the Orioles are attempting to avoid being swept in a regular season series for the first time since May 2022.

The streak of 102 series is on the line.

Bradish allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings Thursday against the Yankees in his 2024 debut. He’s started twice against the Nationals and racked up 14 scoreless innings.

Keibert Ruiz is 3-for-5 against Bradish.

Cedric Mullins moves down to ninth in the lineup tonight against the latest opposing left-handed starter. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter while James McCann catches.

WASHINGTON – Ramón Urías gets the start tonight at third base with Jordan Westburg at second to begin a two-game series against the Nationals in D.C.

Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter. Colton Cowser is in left field, with Heston Kjerstad on the bench.

Cedric Mullins is batting eighth.

Corbin Burnes suffered his first loss with the Orioles in his last start after allowing two runs in six innings against the Yankees. He has a 2.61 ERA and 0.919 WHIP in seven games.

Burnes has made five career appearances against the Nats but only two starts, and he’s allowed six runs and 11 hits in 14 2/3 innings. He started in D.C. on July 31, 2023 and surrendered two runs in six innings, and again Sept. 16 in Milwaukee and allowed four runs with nine strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

The Orioles are trying for the sweep this afternoon in Cincinnati and Dean Kremer is hoping to keep the pitching staff on its roll.

The team ERA is 1.17 in the last six games and 2.23 in 13. John Means notched the rotation’s seventh scoreless start last night.

The Reds have scored one run in the first two games of the series, and it came against Craig Kimbrel last night in the ninth inning before Yennier Cano recorded the two-out save.

Kremer has registered a 4.19 ERA and 1.078 WHIP in six outings. His eight home runs surrendered are tied for most in the American League.

Kremer tied his season high with seven innings in his last start against the Yankees, with both runs scoring on solo homers. He faced the Reds in 2022 in Cincinnati and allowed six runs and 10 hits in 4 1/3 innings.  

Albert Suárez makes his third start for the Orioles today as they close out their series against the Athletics, and tries to maintain his 0.00 ERA.

Suárez hasn’t allowed a run in 11 1/3 innings since the Orioles selected his contract. And he’s fighting to stay in the rotation with Kyle Bradish and John Means nearing their returns.

Means starts this afternoon at Triple-A Norfolk in the last appearance on his rehab assignment.

Suárez has made two career appearances against the Athletics, including one start, and allowed five runs with 10 strikeouts in 8 2/3 innings. The relief appearance was Aug. 2, 2017, and the start was June 28, 2016.

Ryan O’Hearn is playing right field today, with Anthony Santander the designated hitter.

Ramón Urías is starting at third base tonight with Jordan Westburg at second following the Orioles’ decision to option Jackson Holliday to Triple-A Norfolk.

Urías is batting ninth and Westburg is slotted seventh. Colton Cowser is in left field and batting eighth.

Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter.

Corbin Burnes is 3-0 with a 2.76 ERA and 0.920 WHIP in five starts. He’s never faced the Athletics.

Right-handed and left-handed hitters have registered a .208 average against Burnes in his career. Right-handers have a .612 OPS and left-handers have a .602 OPS.

After playing in 10 games this season for Triple-A Norfolk and in his first three games after his call-up Wednesday in Boston, Jackson Holliday got a day off Saturday. But he returns to the lineup today, batting ninth versus Milwaukee in the series finale.

Holliday is 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts, two runs scored and an RBI thus far. He went 0-for-8 in two games at Boston and was 0-for-3 with three strikeouts on Friday night.

Holliday played in 15 games at spring training for the Orioles, batting .311/.354/.600/.954 with three doubles, two triples, two homers and six RBIs.

The Orioles have lost by scores of 11-1 and 11-5 in this series. Before this series began their first four losses of the season had come by eight total runs.

The Orioles lost 1 1/2 games in the standings to the first-place New York Yankees yesterday as New York swept a doubleheader at Cleveland.

The Orioles return home after a 4-2 road trip to Pittsburgh and Boston, sweeping the Red Sox and increasing their run total to 70, the second-most in the American League behind the Royals’ 72.

Jackson Holliday makes his home debut tonight and waits for his first major league hit. He’s playing second base and batting eighth.

Colton Cowser is in right field and batting second in a drastically different lineup.

Austin Hays is in left field after failing to start in Boston. James McCann is catching. Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle are on the bench.

Cowser has a .917 slugging percentage through 11 games. According to STATS, the only Orioles left-handed hitter with a higher percentage through 11 games in a season is Chris Davis at 1.000 in 2013 (minimum 25 plate appearances.)

The Orioles will attempt today to win back-to-back series before embarking on their first road trip of the young season.

They’re at the mercy of the weather. Rain continues to fall at Camden Yards and manager Brandon Hyde said the club is in “wait-and-see” mode.

Asked what he’s hearing about a window, Hyde said, “That they close, also.”

“It doesn’t look great,” he said.

Jorge Mateo is starting in center field today. Jordan Westburg is in the lineup for the sixth consecutive game, moving up to fifth in the order.

Jordan Westburg stays in the lineup tonight at second base as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Royals.

Ramón Urías is playing third base. Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter.

It’s Jorge Mateo’s turn to sit again.

Gunnar Henderson continues to sit atop the order. He recorded his 10^th career multi-walk game Sunday and first since July 7, 2023.

Henderson posted a 1.646 OPS against the Royals last season, and his three home runs tied Manny Machado for most by an Orioles rookie versus Kansas City, per STATS.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Gunnar Henderson will make his spring training debut today as the Orioles host the Minnesota Twins at 1:05 p.m. at Ed Smith Stadium.

The 2023 American League Rookie of the Year has not played in a game to this point due to left oblique soreness that appeared when he was long-tossing during workouts at home before camp began.

Henderson has been taking batting practice and doing pregame work for several days, and now comes his first game and plenty of time to be fully ready for Opening Day on March 28.

“Everything has been fine,” he said this morning of the work he has put in to get to this point.

“Felt really good the last week and my progression allows me to be in the game today,” he said.