The transaction seemed minor compared to the start of a critical series in Toronto. Alexander Wells hadn’t pitched for the Orioles since April 26 after straining the UCL in his left elbow. But his removal from the 60-day injured list was pending and he didn’t seem likely to get back on the 40-man roster.

The Orioles quietly put him on outright waivers – these things aren’t trumpeted – and he was assigned to Triple-A Norfolk on Friday after clearing.

Wells had returned to Norfolk on Aug. 19 after making rehab starts in the Florida Complex League and with Double-A Bowie. He didn’t pitch for three weeks before his Sept. 9 start with the Tides, and he worked 2 2/3 innings in relief on Tuesday.

Pitchers John Means and Chris Ellis remain on the 60-day injured list after undergoing their respective surgeries - Means on his left elbow, Ellis on his right shoulder. No one on the club is assigned to the 10-day or 15-day lists.

It seems so strange to say that the Orioles avoided injuries in 2022, considering how Means made two starts and underwent ligament-reconstructive surgery. The staff ace didn’t make it to May. He didn’t make it into the third week of April.

TORONTO – For the second day in a row, the Orioles had their frustrations on offense. And for the second day in a row, Toronto got one big swing to produce three runs that proved large in the fifth inning.

Toronto beat the Orioles 6-3 at Rogers Centre to take the first two games in this series. And that is the same score for the second day in a row as well.

With eight losses in 12 games, the Orioles (75-69) drop seven games back of Toronto and, for the moment, five games back of Tampa Bay for the third American League wild-card spot.

With hopes of a series win or even a sweep on Friday night, now the O’s have to win tomorrow or they will be swept three straight in Toronto.

The Orioles lost first baseman Ryan Mountcastle early today and we await further word if the issue will cause him to miss any time. Mountcastle was hit near the left elbow by a José Berríos 94 mph fastball leading off the O’s second. After a long meeting with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel and manager Brandon Hyde, he stayed in the game.

TORONTO – The Orioles are starting four rookies today in Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Terrin Vavra and Kyle Stowers as manager Brandon Hyde looked to add lefty bats to his lineup.

In facing Toronto right-hander José Berríos (10-5, 5.07 ERA), they are facing a righty that yields an opponent OPS of .735 to right-handed hitters and .872 against lefty batters.

“We are pretty young out there. Wanted to put in the left-handers versus Berríos today,” said Hyde in the visitor dugout. “We’re pretty left-handed today. That’s a nice change over the few years I’ve been here, we’ve been pretty right-handed. So got a few lefties in against a tough right-hander. And they’re all young. We’re young, but we’re growing and our guys have been impressive and fun to watch.”

Wanting to get Vavra on the field, Hyde is starting him in left today with Stowers as the designated hitter.

Vavra is batting .255 with a .647 OPS over 26 big league games. He got to a .462 batting average start in his first seven major league games. But now he is 3-for-24 in sporadic playing time since Aug. 12.

The Orioles must rebound quickly from last night’s 6-3 loss in Toronto, which kept them 4 ½ games behind the Rays for the last wild card, but six behind the Blue Jays.

Gunnar Henderson, who hit a home run last night with two outs in the ninth inning, is starting at shortstop. Terrin Vavra is in left field, his first appearance in the lineup since Sept. 1.

Kyle Stowers is the designated hitter, and Anthony Santander is in right field.

Adley Rutschman is catching again. Rutschman hit his first home run last night from the right side of the plate. He was hitting .158 with a .513 OPS against lefties.

Rutschman and Henderson are the youngest pair of Orioles teammates to homer in the same game since Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop on May 8, 2016 versus Oakland.

The 2022 season is winding down, except that the Orioles want to get it cranked up again after the last game on Oct. 5.

Playoffs? Yes, we’re talking playoffs.

Reflection can come later, when bodies sink into recliners and every minute of time spent at ballparks and long flights is felt from head to toe.

But enough about the beat crew.

Here are three more early reflections, as I try to avoid the winter rush:

TORONTO – It took a while, but the Blue Jays showed off their power in the middle innings tonight. Two swings produced five big runs and what was a precarious one-run Orioles lead turned into a deficit that proved too big.

Matt Chapman hit two of Toronto’s three homers tonight and George Springer’s three-run shot put the Jays ahead in the fifth inning as they beat the Orioles 6-3 in the opener of a three-game series at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles (75-66) fall six games behind the Blue Jays in the wild card race. They lost for the seventh time in 11 games and for the fifth time in the last six games between these teams.

On a night the Blue Jays used a bullpen game on the mound, the Orioles didn’t get to either of their first two pitchers. But it was only the fourth inning when they saw lefty Yusei Kikuchi after the Orioles were held hit hitless at the outset by righty Trevor Richards in the first inning and righty Julian Merryweather for the next two.

But Adley Rutschman’s first major league homer off a left-handed pitcher gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead in the fourth. That was after Richards and Merryweather faced the minimum through three on a combined 42 pitches.

TORONTO – As the Orioles begin a huge weekend series in Toronto tonight, manager Brandon Hyde said yes, it’s a big series, but it doesn’t feel all that different to him and he doesn’t think it will be that way for his team either.

The Orioles (75-67) begin the series five games back of both Seattle and Toronto, the holders of the first two American League wild card spots. The O’s begin the weekend 4 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay for third AL wild card.

“I feel like we’ve been playing these games for about two months,” Hyde said this afternoon in the visitors dugout at Rogers Centre. “It kind of started that last series at Tampa. Didn’t it feel like must-win games in August? I don’t know why it felt that way, but it kind of did. So, I feel like we’ve been playing to try and hang in this thing for a while now.

“Before that Toronto series, we won five series in a row. Two tough series on the road. So I just hope we continue to play that way. I don’t think, because of the games we’ve been playing in so long and the attitude our guys have taken, I don’t think it’s anything different right now.”

Hyde is aware that win or lose, his players, most of them on the younger side, are gaining some great pennant race pressure experience.

Gunnar Henderson is the Orioles designated hitter tonight for the opener of an important three-game series in Toronto.

Henderson has reached base in 13 of his first 14 career games and has recorded a hit in 11 of 13 starts. He’s among five players in Orioles history with at least seven extra-base hits in his first 14 games, joining Trey Mancini, Manny Machado, Curt Blefary and Cedric Mullins.

Second baseman Rougned Odor has returned to the lineup after a two-game absence. Ramón Urías is the third baseman.

Anthony Santander is in right field, and Austin Hays is in left and batting eighth.

The bullpen has tossed 11 consecutive scoreless innings.

The Orioles will have seven representatives on the Scottsdale roster in the Arizona Fall League, including outfielder Heston Kjerstad and infielder César Prieto.

Also playing in the AFL are pitchers Noah Denoyer, Nolan Hoffman, Easton Lucas and Nick Richmond, and outfielder Reed Trimble.

MLB Pipeline ranks Kjerstad as the No. 10 prospect in the organization and Prieto 19^th.

These are important at-bats for Kjerstad after the late start to his professional career following a diagnosis of myocarditis in 2020 and his hamstring injury in March. The second-overall pick in the 2020 draft appeared in 22 games with Single-A Delmarva and 43 with High-A Aberdeen during the regular season.

Kjerstad batted .463/.551/.650 with nine doubles, two home runs and 17 RBIs in 98 plate appearances with Delmarva and .233/.312/.362 with eight doubles, two triples, three home runs and 20 RBIs in 186 plate appearances with the IronBirds.

Each game that Gunnar Henderson plays and each night that he remains in the lineup for a team chasing its playoff dreams, the more fortunate the Orioles must feel that their draft board in 2019 didn’t prove completely accurate. That they would be the organization to select a player who, three years later, grew into baseball’s No. 1 prospect.

Henderson was expected to go in the first round, but he kept tumbling until the Oriole caught a falling star.

That was the first big break.

They still had to sign him, and he already committed to Auburn University, where older brother Jackson played. The choosing was the easy part of the process.

The sides agreed to a $2.3 million bonus, more than $500,000 above the slot value. Henderson was 17 years old when he signed his contract.

As infielder Gunnar Henderson proves that he belongs in the majors and the Orioles didn’t rush him or hinder their playoff chances based on his arrival - he's inflating their optimism like a bicycle tire - there’s one more prospect who could come along for the ride.

The No. 1 pitcher in the minors.

What’s the plan with Grayson Rodriguez?

Unfortunately, there aren’t many details for anyone seeking them except for the more immediate future. But at least it provides some drama beyond the quest for one of the three wild card spots.

Rodriguez is starting Friday night for Triple-A Norfolk against the Charlotte Knights at Harbor Park. He stays on regular rest after Sunday’s injury rehab start at Double-A Bowie.

WASHINGTON – Tyler Wells was stretched a little more tonight in his second start since recovering from an oblique injury. Twelve of 14 batters retired, 50 pitches thrown. A comfortable increase from his previous workload.

The two hits were two-out solo home runs. An uncomfortable result for a team that’s challenged to bust out offensively.

Breathing room often is a sigh of relief when scant support doesn’t cost the Orioles ground in the wild card race.

They gained it tonight. A rookie who's spent two weeks in the majors made certain of it. A breath of fresh air since his arrival.

Stuck on one run and unable to find a clutch hit, the Orioles took advantage of a pitching change by the Nationals in the seventh, got four RBIs from Gunnar Henderson, and swept the series with a 6-2 victory before an announced crowd of 32,497.

WASHINGTON – Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins and second baseman Rougned Odor aren’t in tonight’s lineup, which is explained by the opposing pitcher.

Manager Brandon Hyde is going with a predominantly right-handed lineup against Nationals lefty Patrick Corbin. Ryan McKenna gets the start in center field and Ramón Urías stays at second base.

The only left-handed bat belongs to rookie Gunnar Henderson, who starts at third base.

Odor’s right hand wasn’t wrapped today. Mullins was hit on the right hand last night and stayed in the game.

“There’s a pretty good chance you’ll see them both in there at some point,” Hyde said.

WASHINGTON – The Orioles will attempt to complete their two-game sweep of the Nationals tonight after losing back-to-back series. They’re five games behind the Rays and Mariners for the last wild card.

Their 74 wins are the most for any team in the modern era (since 1900) after losing at least 110 games the previous season.

Cedric Mullins and Rougned Odor are on the bench against left-hander Patrick Corbin.

Austin Hays is leading off and playing left field. Ryan McKenna is in center field and batting seventh.

Jesús Aguilar is batting sixth as the designated hitter.

If it wasn’t such an overused and clichéd phrase, the series between the Orioles and Nationals could be touted as a prime example of two teams heading in opposite directions.

You can think it. Just don’t print it.

The Orioles are contending in 2022 after beginning their teardown under the previous regime by trading away their best players in July 2018. The farm system under the new front office is ranked No. 1 in baseball.

A scout from another organization fussed over it during a recent conversation, marveling at how far the organization has come under executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias. And how the Orioles nailed the most recent draft, beginning with shortstop Jackson Holliday and continuing with outfielder Dylan Beavers, third baseman Max Wagner and outfielder Jud Fabian.

He was especially high on Beavers, saying the former University of California standout, the 33^rd overall selection, could be better than 2021 first-rounder Colton Cowser.

WASHINGTON – The televisions inside the visiting clubhouse today were tuned to Game 1 of a doubleheader between the Blue Jays and Rays. It wasn’t just background noise. Players didn’t walk past and glance at the screen.

They sat in chairs and on sofas and tracked every pitch as the Jays tried to rally in the ninth inning. Two teams ahead of them in the wild card race. The indoor version of scoreboard watching.

What does manager Brandon Hyde root for in this instance?

“A ton of bullpen usage,” he said.

“I think you hope that they kind of beat each other or split or whatever. But we’ve got to take care of what we do. None of that’s going to matter if we’re losing series.”

WASHINGTON – Orioles second baseman Rougned Odor has his right hand wrapped after being hit by a pitch Sunday and leaving the game. However, Odor said he probably could pinch-hit tonight and expects to be in Wednesday's lineup.

Odor still has some soreness in the hand. Ramón Urías is starting at second base.

“A lot better today,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “When he came out of the game a couple days ago, it was really swollen, but a lot of treatment on it today, an off-day yesterday was really helpful, and should be available off the bench tonight.”

Austin Voth won’t start against his former team in this two-game series, but he’s available out of the bullpen.

Off-days yesterday and Thursday enable Hyde to adjust his rotation, and Voth is being skipped. Voth will jump back into it for his next turn.

WASHINGTON – The Orioles begin a two-game series tonight against the Nationals with Gunnar Henderson playing third base, Kyle Stowers in left field and Austin Hays in right.

Rougned Odor, who left Sunday’s game with a bruised right hand, is on the bench. Ramón Urías is playing second base.

Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

Hays had his first multi-hit game Sunday since Aug. 27 in Houston.

Dean Kremer has never faced the Nationals.

The Orioles are coming out of yesterday’s break in the schedule and hoping that their offense, which got a head start on it, shows up tonight in D.C.

They were shut out Sunday on three hits, the only slice of good news being how Austin Hays accounted for two of them.

Six of the last eight games ended in defeat, and the last two series have been lost. The Orioles started out 2-0 on the homestand and finished 4-6. They're going in the wrong direction - much like myself later today trying to find the parking garage.

Much of the blame lies with the bats. The Orioles struck out 14 times Sunday and suffered their ninth shutout. They’ve been held to three hits in two of their last four games. They're putting way too much pressure on the pitching staff to be perfect or darn close.

“We have really big swings and we need to get back to staying in the middle of the field,” manager Brandon Hyde said after the game, adding that his club is prone to getting into bad counts.

The Orioles are off today and again on Thursday, and they don’t return home until next Monday. They’re 5 ½ games behind for the last wild card after losing back-to-back series.

We live in the present, think ahead to what’s coming and occasionally glance back at the past.

I’m doing all of it simultaneously, which can be dizzying.

There will be two drives into D.C. this week that I dread. The traffic, the 10-mile walk from the parking garage, where media pays over $40, to the ballpark. Followed by the 10-mile walk to the press box, which sits so high that I spend nine innings watching the game on a monitor and dodging airplanes.

At least I’ll get my steps.