For the first time since 2016, the Orioles will have more than one representative at the All-Star Game.

Try four.

Signs of improvement on the field and in the perceptions of fans and the industry are everywhere.

Catcher Adley Rutschman was chosen as an American League reserve behind starter Jonah Heim, who beat him in phase 2 of voting. Austin Hays will be a spare outfielder, and relievers Félix Bautista and Yennier Cano will be in the bullpen.

“How about that? So cool,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

The sweep streak was almost destroyed by bats that couldn’t make solid contact.

The Orioles found other ways to avoid a loss. Some small ball, a slump reprieve and a painful plate appearance.

Twins reliever Jhoan Duran hit Jordan Westburg with two outs in the eighth inning after loading the bases, breaking a tie but no bones. The bullpen tossed four scoreless and the Orioles rallied for a 2-1 win before an announced crowd of 16,299 at Camden Yards.

Sonny Gray held the Orioles to two hits in six scoreless innings and the Twins led 1-0 going into the eighth.

Adley Rutschman reached on a tapper near the mound with one out, and Anthony Santander won a nine-pitch battle with a single into center field. Aaron Hicks tied the game with a single into center on a 102.6 mph fastball, becoming a hero in a game he was watching from the bench.

The Orioles will attempt today to avoid being swept in a three-game series, which hasn’t happened since May 13-15, 2022 in Detroit.

Gunnar Henderson is leading off and playing third base. Cedric Mullins has been lowered to fifth in the order against Twins right-hander Sonny Gray after going 4-for-24 since his reinstatement from the injured list.

Austin Hays is the cleanup hitter today. Ramón Urías gets the start at first base.

Jordan Westburg is playing second base instead of Adam Frazier in the infield carousel. Adley Rutschman is serving as designated hitter.

Ryan O’Hearn has been batting cleanup against right-handers, but he’s 2-for-23 on the homestand. Aaron Hicks is 2-for-24 in his last eight games.

Nick Vespi flipped through his memory cards yesterday and couldn’t find the last date that he pitched three innings in a game. Didn’t know the year or the level. Just that it happened.

Vespi guessed that he was a starter in A ball. Don’t quote him on it. Just seemed to make the most sense.

Researching the topic at his locker wasn’t an option or an interest. Leave it to the professionals.

Prior to tossing three innings in his final appearance with Triple-A Norfolk on June 24 in Nashville, and under special circumstances, Vespi hadn’t reached that total since May 4, 2021 with Double-A Bowie in Altoona.

So, not A ball. But it’s a rarity in his relief days.

The Orioles reached the mathematical halfway point of the 2023 season this afternoon in frustrating fashion. They got a strong pitching performance from starter Kyle Bradish, but for the second day in a row, their offense was shut down.

Minnesota improved to 42-42, blanking the Orioles 1-0 in front of a crowd of 40,012 at Oriole Park that came to get O’s Hawaiian shirts and hoped to see the home team win. They had to settle for 1-for-2 today at the Yard.

The Orioles are 48-33 at the midpoint of the year. That’s a 96-win pace that would likely lead to a playoff berth. But in the short term, they now have their first four-game losing streak of this year.

The Orioles were held to three singles today, going 3-for-30. They were shutout 1-0 for the first time since Sept. 11, 2022 versus Boston. 

They are now 4-6-1 in their past 11 series since May 26, going 15-16 in that span.

The Orioles knew that the bullpen wasn’t equipped to provide length this afternoon. The only decision was which reliever to send down.

Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk this morning, and the Orioles selected Chris Vallimont’s contract.

Nick Vespi was spared after tossing three scoreless innings last night. Zimmermann has pitched three times since Monday, working two innings last night.

Keegan Akin is on the 15-day injured list with lower back discomfort. Cole Irvin is starting Sunday afternoon.

“Definitely needed somebody for the next couple days,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Hopefully, we can get a couple good starts and get some length out of our starters. But wanted to bring a guy who can give us some innings if we need it, and so we brought Chris here for today.”

The bullpen never rests.

The Orioles made another move this morning, selecting Chris Vallimont’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk and optioning left-hander Bruce Zimmermann.

Reliever Mychal Givens was transferred to the 60-day injured list to create room on the 40-man roster. He’s headed down to Sarasota next week and will pitch in the Florida Complex League after the All-Star break.

Givens hasn’t pitched for the Orioles since making his sixth appearance on May 31. He won’t join them before August.

Vallimont, 26, is waiting to make his major league debut. He’s posted a 5.02 ERA in 22 games with Norfolk, including eight starts.

Cedric Mullins’ status as one of the longest tenured players on the Orioles roster brings a responsibility that he embraces. Counseling the young prospects who could learn from his own experiences. Good and bad.

Mullins wrapped his arms around Kyle Stowers’ situation while they were at the spring training complex in Sarasota.

Stowers was trying to return from a shoulder injury, the inflammation and recovery period keeping him out of games with Triple-A Norfolk for more than a month. Mullins was immersed in a running progression after straining his right groin.

They had more in common than health.

Stowers broke camp with the Orioles, was optioned April 9 after four at-bats, returned to the club and was sent down again May 15 after a four-strikeout game against the Pirates. He was 2-for-30 with 12 strikeouts.

The players-only meeting held by the Twins after Wednesday’s game in Atlanta must have lit a fire under the team. Or perhaps the searing words from their manager.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde predicted before tonight’s game that the Twins would get hot. His words rang true.

Dean Kremer surrendered two more home runs to increase his season total to 19 in 17 starts, and Minnesota maintained its hold on the Orioles with an 8-1 victory before an announced crowd of 34,792 at Camden Yards.

Fans came for the baseball, but also the floppy hats and “DJ Diesel.” The popular giveaway item and musical entertainment from NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal would have to carry the night.

Kremer was down 5-0 after three innings and didn’t record an out in the fourth before leaving with two runners on base. Joey Gallo homered in the second inning, Max Kepler hit a two-run shot in the third, and the Orioles fell to 48-32. They’ve dropped eight of their last 14 games, and their three-game streak matches the longest of the season.

Orioles reliever Dillon Tate is getting a second opinion on his right elbow after undergoing further testing this week.

Tate is on the 60-day injured list with a flexor strain. He hasn’t pitched this season.

“We’re hoping that everything is clear and he’s able to start a rehab assignment following that,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

Tate was removed from his first rehab assignment after allowing 18 earned runs (20 total) and 21 hits with 11 walks in 10 2/3 innings between High-A Aberdeen, Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. Eight of his 13 appearances came with the Tides, and he surrendered 10 runs and 12 hits in 6 2/3 innings against International League batters before returning to Baltimore.

A right forearm/flexor strain kept Tate off the Opening Day roster, with the discomfort beginning in November.

Jordan Westburg is on the bench tonight, as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Twins at Camden Yards. Gunnar Henderson is the shortstop, Ramón Urías is the third baseman and Adam Frazier is the second baseman.

Westburg and Brian Roberts (2001) are the only Orioles middle infielders to record at least five hits in their first three career games, according to STATS.

Adley Rutschman is serving as the designated hitter tonight, with Anthony Bemboom behind the plate.

Ryan O’Hearn remains in the cleanup spot.

Dean Kremer is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in his last three starts after allowing six earned runs in five innings in Milwaukee on June 7. Kremer has received 20 runs over those three starts and is averaging 6.24 per nine innings this season, the fifth-highest total among American League qualifiers.

The Orioles placed left-handed reliever Keegan Akin on the 15-day injured list this afternoon with lower back discomfort, a move that’s retroactive to yesterday. Lefty Nick Vespi was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.

Akin has allowed 10 earned runs (13 total) and 12 hits in his last four appearances over four innings. He was charged with two earned runs and four total in the 10^th inning Wednesday against the Reds and couldn’t record the final out.

The appearance left Akin with a 6.85 ERA.

The Orioles optioned Akin on May 9 and recalled him three weeks later. The media will find out later today if his absence could extend beyond 15 days.

Vespi has registered a 1.71 ERA and 0.987 WHIP in 23 games with Norfolk. His last appearance was Saturday.

The Orioles begin their final homestand tonight before the All-Star break.

Sneaked up on you, didn’t it?

There was movement in the standings yesterday, with the Orioles idle and the Rays winning in Arizona to extend its division lead to 5 ½ games. The Yankees won in Oakland and crept within four of the Orioles.

Two straight losses to the Reds have left the Orioles 17 games above .500. They’re 6-7 since winning five in a row.

No team in the American League ranks higher than the Orioles in the wild card standings. The top three reside in their division.

Perhaps it will work out anyway.

A team selects a player first in the draft, a generational talent, and makes him the key component in a rebuild. Expects him to move quickly through the farm system coming out of college. Expects him to be impactful.

To be an All-Star.

Catcher Adley Rutschman will need some help from players and the commissioner’s office after losing to the Rangers’ Jonah Heim in phase two of fan voting in the American League. The announcement came tonight on ESPN.

Rutschman is vying for a spot on the bench, with his stiffest competition likely Kansas City veteran Salvador Pérez, who finished third in phase one. Every team must be represented.

Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman will learn tonight whether he’s the starting catcher for the American League in the 93^rd All-Star Game, played July 11 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.

Rutschman and the Rangers’ Jonah Heim are the finalists in phase 2 of voting, which concludes today at noon. The announcement is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN.

The most recent update yesterday showed Heim leading with 52 percent of the votes. The gap narrowed.

Rutschman tried to block the media’s questions this week like a spiked curveball. He fielded three Tuesday afternoon, showing no emotion, and got back to preparing for the game.

The spotlight should be turned on the club, where his teammates can feel it, too. He’d rather not stand alone under it. That’s just the way he’s wired.

Kyle Gibson lasted only three innings in his previous start, the shortest of his Orioles career, in a 13-1 loss to Seattle. He threw 35 and 34 pitches in the last two frames and followed up tonight with a 30-pitch first.

And he was better than Luke Weaver for a while.

Rain didn’t slow tonight’s game. The teams did it.

The first inning lasted 38 minutes and featured 18 batters, 70 pitches and seven runs.  The Reds scored three in the top half and the Orioles answered with Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI single and Gunnar Henderson’s bases-loaded triple.

Just as storms blew past the last two nights, the offense suddenly went away after the Reds reclaimed the lead in the second. The Orioles didn’t score again and were held to one hit entering the eighth, and Buck Farmer retired the first two batters.

The choices are plentiful and create nice problems for Orioles manager Brandon Hyde.

His Gold Glove third baseman and Fielding Bible Award winning shortstop aren’t in tonight’s lineup. Instead, Ramón Urías and Jorge Mateo are in the dugout for the final game of the series against the Reds at Camden Yards.

The decision to option Joey Ortiz to make room for Jordan Westburg didn’t solve every roster issue.

Ortiz appeared in only four games this month and didn’t start after June 17. Westburg, meanwhile, is here to play.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t an even swap.

The latest Orioles lineup tonight, in a game that concludes the series against the Reds, has Gunnar Henderson playing shortstop and Jordan Westburg at third base.

Westburg has three hits in his first two major league games.

Adam Frazier is starting at second base tonight.

Jorge Mateo and Ramón Urías move to the bench.

Aaron Hicks is serving as the designated hitter. He batted .201 against right-handers with the Yankees in 2022 and 2023 but has posted a .276 average against them with the Orioles.

The noise created by Jordan Westburg’s major league debut, in the pouring rain at Camden Yards, drowned out everything else. However, a stat from another infielder shouldn’t go ignored.

Jorge Mateo walked twice.

Not a big deal?

Mateo has played in 330 major league games, accumulated 1,004 plate appearances, and never drawn more than one walk except for Monday night.

“I’ve been trying to work on not chasing, trying to focus on hitting pitches that are in the zone, and trying to find pitches that I can do harder contact with,” he said yesterday via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “So, it’s just a matter of continuing to work on those things and trying not to swing at pitches outside the zone.”

Tyler Wells wouldn’t let the Reds put the ball on the ground tonight until the sixth inning, with the Orioles defense recording its first assist on his 99^th and final pitch.

Strikeouts, fly balls and popups were the items on his menu. He walked off the mound for the last time unsure whether he’d have to stomach a loss.

The Orioles followed their 10-run outburst last night by settling for a sacrifice fly in the second inning and wasting a quality start from Wells in a 3-1 loss to the Reds before an announced crowd of 14,057 at Camden Yards.

The teams made it through seven innings before another storm arrived. The third delay in two nights lasted one hour and 43 minutes.

Austin Hays took a called third strike from reliever Lucas Sims to strand two runners in the bottom of the seventh. It began to pour, and fans cleared the lower section.