PHOENIX – The Orioles have had key injuries just about everywhere. 

Superstar Gunnar Henderson is gearing up to play just his sixth game of the season and has not yet overlapped with Rookie of the Year runner-up Colton Cowser. Jordan Westburg has been dealing with minor injuries and has been given some days off. 

Amid some challenges in finding a rhythm, the lineup has remained solid, posting the seventh-best batting average and fifth-best OPS in the American League. Keeping the ebbs and flows to a minimum remains a hurdle. 

A starting rotation that was supposed to feature Zach Eflin and Grayson Rodriguez now features neither after Eflin’s injury Monday evening. The right-hander now hits the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain, but manager Brandon Hyde did note today that Eflin “feels really good right now.”

Despite Eflin’s excellence, the rotation’s 5.34 ERA through a dozen games is just 12th best in the AL, and their .291 batting average against is fourth-highest. 

The smile probably said the most about Dillon Tate’s right arm.

Tate is encouraged by his health as he waits for other pitchers to report to spring training on Feb. 14. He’s gotten a head start down in Sarasota, taking a break this weekend to attend the Birdland Caravan.

The last pitch thrown by Tate with the Orioles was 15 months ago. He was sidelined by a forearm/flexor strain sustained in November, went on an injury rehab assignment and suffered a stress reaction in his right elbow/forearm area that executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said was unrelated to the previous injury.

Meeting with reporters this morning at Bowlero in Timonium, Tate said he’s “ready to go for camp.” He was working out at the Driveline Baseball facility in Washington, and Brandon Mann, the senior pitching coordinator, posted an Instagram video last month of Tate registering 99.8 mph with a Plyo ball.

“Just excited to be back out there,” Tate said. “In camp a little bit earlier right now, just trying to get acclimated with everything, and I’ll be ready to go by the first workout.”

The Orioles handled some contract business this afternoon, reaching agreement with left-hander Tucker Davidson on a deal for the 2024 season.

Davidson already was in the organization after they claimed him on waivers from the Royals back on Oct. 25. He’s part of 40-man roster that holds 38 players.

Today’s signing sets Davidson’s salary as a pre-arbitration eligible player. These transactions usually happen in January but can be done earlier.

Davidson, who turns 28 in March, used to be a notable prospect in the Braves system after his selection in the 19^th round of the 2016 draft out of Midland College in Texas. He was traded to the Angels on Aug. 2, 2022 and had his contract purchased by the Royals a year later.

Davidson has appeared in 55 major league games over parts of four seasons, making 17 starts, and gone 3-10 with a 5.98 ERA and 1.616 WHIP over 125 innings. He’s registered a 3.06 ERA and 1.287 WHIP in 110 games in the minors and averaged 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings.

The same whistle played and the same video appeared with the flashing ballpark lights. The crowd roared as usual, quick to forgive the previous day’s blown save.

Félix Bautista wanted the ball again Sunday afternoon. He understands the life of a reliever, and how failings are magnified in the ninth.

The memory of the two-out, game-tying home run that he surrendered to Mike Ford disappeared like his first-pitch four-seamer. Bautista recorded back-to-back strikeouts, allowed a single and blew away another hitter to preserve a 3-2 lead.

The tying run stood on second base after a steal. Bautista’s first pitch to Teoscar Hernández was clocked at 103.4 mph, the fastest by an Oriole in the Statcast era that began in 2015.

How did we live without it?

After one comeback from four runs down that led to a win and one from seven behind that fell short, the Orioles (15-8) host the Boston Red Sox (13-12) today in the final game of a three-game series and six-game homestand.

Baltimore is 4-1 this homestand after a series sweep of Detroit followed by Monday’s 5-4 win at Oriole Park and last night’s 8-6 loss. The O’s were behind 7-0 in the third inning to Boston on Tuesday and 8-1 heading to the last of the ninth. But then Gunnar Henderson hit a solo home run, Cedric Mullins added a grand slam, and they pulled within the final two-run margin.

The Orioles are 2-3 this year against Boston. Their pitching staff has allowed 9, 9. 9, 4 and 8 runs in those games, yielding 39 runs with an ERA of 7.42 and 1.626 WHIP. Boston batters are hitting .307 with an OPS of .888 versus O’s pitching in 2023.

"We haven't pitched very well against the Red Sox this year," O's manager Brandon Hyde said this morning. "That is a good offensive club. Always been a big Justin Turner fan, that is a big add for them and (Rafael) Devers is one of the best hitters in our game, top three to five, super dangerous. They have a real balanced lineup with a lot of lefties that makes it challenging. But I just think we haven't pitched very well against them. Won't see them again until September, little different this year."

Baltimore’s starters in this series – Dean Kremer and Kyle Bradish – have combined to allow 15 hits and 11 runs over eight innings. And O’s pitching has allowed eight runs or more six times this season – four times versus Boston.