The theories are plentiful and varied, with no expectations that actual evidence is going to surface.

Three Orioles relievers threw pitches that were clocked at 100 mph or more during the first two games of the weekend series against the Yankees. Two experienced their first exposure to triple digits in the majors. Granted membership into the club.

Bryan Baker hit the exact mark Friday night while facing Aaron Judge in the seventh inning. Judge fouled off the fastball and later struck out.

Closer Jorge López topped Baker at 100.6 mph the following night with Gleyber Torres batting in the ninth inning. The All-Star missed his mark with the sinker, then coaxed a fly ball to right field.

Baker’s four-seamer averages 95.7 mph this season, per BrooksBaseball.net. López’s fastball averages 97.4 mph and his sinker 97.8 mph.

The curveball that Dean Kremer fed Aaron Judge in the first inning today made the Yankees slugger look bad. Or at least human.

Judge took his usual mighty cut, caught only air, and walked back to the dugout with a rare strikeout in the series.

Kremer tried the same pitch in the third inning with a runner on base, and Judge destroyed it with the same ferocity.

The bender almost broke a seat in the section behind the left field bleachers, a 456-foot shot to increase a lead that the Yankees held throughout the steamy afternoon in a 6-0 win over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 25,623 at Camden Yards.

All-Star Nestor Cortes Jr. tossed six scoreless innings, and his former team moved below .500 again at 47-48. The Orioles still haven’t won two series against the Yankees in the same season since 2017.

To keep rookie Adley Rutschman in the Orioles’ lineup this afternoon as the designated hitter, manager Brandon Hyde had to sit one of his starters. He chose outfielder Anthony Santander, who moved to the bench for the series finale against the Yankees.

Santander leads the club with 16 home runs. He has five multi-hit games in his last 14. But someone had to step aside.

“It’s just a day off,” Hyde said, clarifying that an injury isn’t in the equation.

“It’s the summer and day game after a night game, we’re going to rotate guys as much as we possibly can and try to keep guys fresh as we can the last couple months.”

Reliever Rico Garcia has warmed during the past two games without leaving the bullpen. He also warmed at Tropicana Field before the break. But his last appearance was July 10.

Trey Mancini is starting in right field today, with Adley Rutschman the designated hitter for the final game of the Orioles’ series against the Yankees at Camden Yards.

Rutschman moves down from second to fifth in the order. He has 16 doubles since June 10.

Tyler Nevin is starting at third base.

Ramón Urías is batting .404/.440/.723 (19-for-47) with three doubles, four home runs, 16 RBIs and 10 runs scored since being reinstated from the 10-day injured list on July 4. He’s the second baseman today.

Dean Kremer made eight starts in the first half and posted a 2.59 ERA and 1.320 WHIP in 41 2/3 innings. He didn’t allow a run in four of his last six starts, but in the others surrendered a total of eight runs and 16 hits in 8 2/3.

Would they dare?

Would the Orioles toss a life raft to a rival’s drowning bullpen rather than offering a glass of water?

OK, the Yankees aren’t in such dire straits, since they still have Clay Holmes closing, but an important bridge to him collapsed Friday night on the mound at Camden Yards. Michael King fractured his right elbow and was lost for the remainder of the season.

Aroldis Chapman retired one of four batters, throwing two wild pitches, surrendering Anthony Santander’s prodigious three-run homer, and hearing more boos from the Yankees’ contingent after his removal. He has a 5.75 ERA and is averaging 7.5 walks per nine innings.

Can’t be trusted.

A series lost to close out the first half was followed by last night’s defeat and an early deficit tonight. Baseball’s surprise team was threatening to slip two games below .500. And the question loomed whether it could tap the brakes and avoid a serious crash.

The competitive nature of the Orioles, the non-stop motor, figures to pull them through some of the most difficult stretches. There’s no rest stop until perhaps Cincinnati – if a team that tied for the worst record last year is granted entrance. They must keep going.

Aaron Judge doubled twice, singled and drove in two runs within the first four innings. Gerrit Cole weathered a fifth-inning storm, when the Orioles scored twice with two outs, came back out for the seventh north of 100 pitches and lost the lead after two batters.

This was going to be typical Orioles. Count them out, watch them rally and wait for the final result, knowing it would be close.

The bottom of the order rose to the occasion again, the bullpen did its usual work, and the Orioles defeated the Yankees 6-3 before an announced crowd of 36,361 at Camden Yards, their largest non-opening day gathering since 2018.

The Orioles have completed the composition of their rotation through the first turn following the All-Star break.

Austin Voth starts Monday against the Rays at Camden Yards and Spenser Watkins starts Tuesday. No changes to the rotation beyond its order.

Tyler Wells and Jordan Lyles are lined up to start the last two games of the series.

Ramón Urías is batting .372/.413/.628 (16-for-43) with two doubles, three home runs, 14 RBIs, three walks and eight runs scored in 13 games since being reinstated from the 10-day injured list on July 4. He has five multi-hit games during that stretch, and the 14 RBIs are tied for fourth in the American League and fifth in the majors.

Urías leads the Orioles in hard-hit percentage (50 percent) and ranks second in average exit velocity at 90.8 mph, according to Statcast. His hard-hit rate places him in the top seven percent in the majors.

Adley Rutschman is batting second again tonight as the Orioles try to win their first game after the All-Star break.

Rutschman is catching, which puts him on the bench or makes him the designated hitter Sunday afternoon.

Manager Brandon Hyde posted the same lineup as last night.

Jordan Lyles is working on an extra day of rest following the All-Star break. This is his fifth start against New York in 2022, posting a 4.56 ERA in 23 2/3 innings.

The last two starts have been quality by definition, with two earned runs in seven innings and three in 6 2/3. He struck out a combined 16 batters.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde hasn’t confirmed his second-half rotation beyond Tyler Wells, Jordan Lyles and Dean Kremer for the Yankees series, which began last night with a 7-6 loss.

Unless there’s a late intruder, the first two games of the Rays series next week should feature Spenser Watkins and Austin Voth in whatever order.

The process of elimination is at work here. But also some suspicion.

DL Hall started last night for Triple-A Norfolk and came out after one inning, a planned removal to shorten up the young pitchers coming out of the break. Didn’t necessarily mean anything more than that, but it stirred up the local media for a few minutes.

There’s shortening and then there’s really shortening. One inning and 17 pitches?

The Orioles burst into the unofficial second half of the season with four days’ rest and a streak of 11 wins in their last 13 games. They were energized, and they were playing at home. A perfect pairing on a sweltering night.

The Yankees were swept yesterday in a day-night doubleheader in Houston, boarded their charter flight and arrived in Baltimore this morning. Losers of seven of their last 10 games. They were tired and perhaps a bit irritable.

Holders of the best record in baseball, tormentors of teams below them in the standings, put in an unenviable position.

“Doesn’t matter at all,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said before heading outdoors for batting practice. “It’s the New York Yankees. It’s a really good team, it’s a huge payroll, superstars up and down. They’re pros. They’ll be ready to play.”

All of it true. Nothing that the Orioles could do about it, no matter how hard they fought.

The All-Star break did wonders for the Orioles’ collective health.

Outfielder Austin Hays needed to rest a sore right wrist, and reliever Félix Bautista is available tonight after the exercise band mishap at Tropicana Field last weekend that bruised his right hand.

Tyler Wells, who’s starting tonight, has a restriction on his innings this season, a task made easier with him idle since last Friday against the Rays.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Hays "rehabbed" the wrist for four days, exactly what needed to happen to reduce the level of discomfort.

"He played banged up at the end of the break," Hyde said. "Saw him last night, it felt better. It feels great today, so the break came at the right time."

The Orioles are 92 games into the season and resume it tonight after a brief pause for the All-Star break, the first seven against the top two teams in their division. Twenty of the next 30 played within the American League East.

Bad news in the past. Nothing to celebrate in 2022. But the Orioles are 16-21 versus the East after going 20-56 last year, 24-52 in 2019, 23-53 in 2018.

The 2017 team that remained in contention at the beginning of September finished two games below .500 in the division.

You must go back to the 2016 season to find the Orioles above .500, when they went 40-36. The current division record is more impressive when placed alongside the others.

The Orioles are 12-12 versus three teams in the East. The 4-9 record comes against the Yankees, who arrive tonight after the Astros swept them yesterday in a doubleheader.

Maxwell Costes has no memories of the old Memorial Stadium, the site just a couple of miles from where he grew up. But the trips to Camden Yards are priceless to Costes. So vivid. And far too many to count.

His membership in the junior fans club. Throwing out the ceremonial first pitch after his freshman season at the University of Maryland, where he batted .266/.397/.547 with 15 doubles, 15 home runs and 49 RBIs and earned first-team All-Big 10 honors, and after his Orioles 16-18 RBI team won its regional tournament and moved on the first-ever World Series for that age group.

Did he throw a strike?

“I did not, but it’s OK,” he said, laughing. “There was a lot of pressure. I’m not going to lie.”

The story of how Costes made his way from his Pen Lucy neighborhood in northern Baltimore City to Gilman School to four-year starter with the Terps – where he hit .298/.458/.560 with 37 doubles, 40 home runs and 145 RBIs - would provide a wonderful read, but the local kid keeps making good. And there’s more to him than the sport he plays.

The Orioles have an agreement in place with prep shortstop Jackson Holliday, the first-overall pick in the MLB Draft. The next step before his official signing.

Holliday is getting a record deal for a high school player, slightly more than the $8.185 million bonus that outfielder Druw Jones received from the Diamondbacks as the second-overall selection, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman.

The first selection is slotted at $8,842,200. The Orioles are holding $16,924,000 in their bonus pool.

The left-handed hitting Holliday 18, set a national record with 89 hits in 41 games at Stillwater High School in Oklahoma, passing J.T. Realmuto, while batting .685 with 29 doubles, six triples, 17 home runs, 79 RBIs, 74 runs scored, a .749 on-base percentage and a 1.392 slugging percentage.

Holliday was the No. 2 overall draft prospect by MLB.com and No. 3 by Baseball America. The four-year starter batted .500 (62-for-124) with 16 doubles, six triples, six home runs, 57 RBIs, 54 runs scored and 19 stolen bases in 37 games as a junior and was named to USA Baseball’s 18U National Team in 2021.

Selecting pitcher Jared Beck in the 13^th round on the final day of the MLB Draft wasn’t a reach for the Orioles. And that’s just one of the many references to his height that will accompany his journey through the minors if he signs a professional contract.

Beck must be used to it. There’s no hiding at 7 feet tall.

The Orioles chose 12 pitchers. Only one is left-handed. And only one can clean out the gutters without a ladder.

The Saint Leo University baseball website includes a note on Beck transferring from Illinois State and also spending time at Heartland Community College and Eastern Iowa Community College. A long road traveled to the Division II University near Tampa.

Yes, long. Can’t escape it.

Today feels like an actual break in the 2022 baseball season.

The MLB Draft is over, the All-Star Game was played last night and there’s only Trey Mancini’s inevitable – I’m calling it, anyway – ESPY tonight for Best Comeback Athlete.

WNBA player Diamond DeShields, the daughter of former Orioles infielder Delino DeShields, had a tumor removed from her spine in December 2019 that threatened to leave her paralyzed, and she later suffered tremors and spasms that led to months of rehabilitation. She didn’t share her ordeal until two months ago. In any other year, I’d say she was the runaway favorite.

The Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson has returned from a torn ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals and torn Achilles leading into the 2020-21 season. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee during his rookie season and played in this year’s Super Bowl.

Impressive comebacks, but I can’t place them ahead of Mancini’s colon cancer and DeShields’ spinal tumor. Fear of death or paralysis is hard to beat, as it were.

Jorge López’s first All-Star Game experience was brief. Took him longer to warm up than to pitch. But it was perfection.

López faced two batters in the bottom of the seventh inning and retired them on two ground balls.

Total number of pitches: Three.

One blink and you risked missing it.

Replacing former Orioles Rule 5 pick Nestor Cortes Jr., López made Kyle Schwarber ground to shortstop Corey Seager on a first-pitch, 98 mph sinker.

The MLB Draft has concluded with the Orioles taking 20 college players and two high school players.

The final count is 11 right-handers, one left-hander, two catchers, four infielders and four outfielders.

“As I mentioned yesterday, we really liked our options as far as the pitching, especially on Day 2 and Day 3 of the draft,” said Orioles director of draft operations Brad Ciolek. “Our scouting and analyst team did a fantastic job did a fantastic job of identifying guys and having unique traits, as far as the arsenal that we’re looking for. Really excited about the crop that we got today and yesterday, and really looking forward to getting them down to Sarasota and working with our player development staff.”

The streak of consecutive college players, following Oklahoma prep shortstop Jackson Holliday at first overall, ended at 11 today with 11^th-round prep pitcher Zachary Showalter.

Twenty-two players were selected over three days, including 10 this afternoon with rounds 11-20. These players can sign for up to $125,000 without counting against the bonus pool.

Reasons why the 2022 version of the Orioles bears little or no resemblance to models of the recent past have been articulated inside the clubhouse and during manager Brandon Hyde’s media sessions. The confidence, the unity, and most of all, the improved pitching.

Another example played out in the 11^th inning of Saturday afternoon’s game against the Rays, on a field with fake grass and real complications for the Orioles, who had lost 10 straight under the dome.

Rougned Odor, the automatic runner, broke late for third base as Jorge Mateo missed on a bunt attempt, and he was thrown out. An absolute back-breaker on previous teams during the rebuild. A game they certainly would have lost.

Mateo tripled into left-center field, the bunt no longer in play. Cedric Mullins drew a seven-pitch walk and stole second base. Ryan Mountcastle fell behind 1-2 with two outs, fouled off a curveball to stay alive and punched a 95 mph inside fastball into right field for a two-run single.

Not your same rebuild Orioles.

The Orioles began the second day of the draft and selected Oklahoma State pitcher Nolan McLean. He becomes the highest pitcher selected by the club under Mike Elias. The previous highest had been in the fifth rounds in 2020 with Carter Baumler and 2021 with Carlos Tavera.

McLean, who also was a position player as an infielder for Oklahoma State, went 2-1 with a 4.97 ERA and five saves out of the bullpen. In 25 1/3 innings he allowed 20 hits with 13 walks, 39 strikeouts and a .206 batting average against. In 64 games as a hitter he batted .285/.397/.595 with 16 doubles, 19 homers and 47 RBIs. 

He is a right-handed hitter and thrower and was a draft-eligible sophomore. MLB.com rated him No. 115 in this draft class.

The Orioles are making selections today through round 10, and they have eight picks over the eight rounds through the 10^th. The slot amount for the third-rounder at No. 81 is $793,600 of a total O’s draft pool of $16.924 million. The slot amount for their No. 1 pick is $8,842,200, and it is $2,313,900 for their second selection, No. 33 overall.

In Round 4: The O’s drafted University of Texas catcher Silas Ardoin, a redshirt sophomore. In 69 games for the Longhorns he batted .271/.391/.513 with 20 doubles, a triple, 12 homers and 50 RBIs. He walked 39 times and fanned 54.