In the big picture and in one sense, outfielder Austin Hays’ offense is not far off where it was last year. In 2021, he posted an OPS+ of 106, six percent over American League average. Right now, he is at 103 in OPS+.

But Hays has struggled since the All-Star break. He went 1-for-8 in the series against Toronto and is 3-for-25 (.120) with a .314 OPS his last seven games. He is batting .197 in 37 games since the break.

Over the year in 122 games, Hays is batting .249 with 15 homers, 54 RBIs and an OPS of .721. He has been dropped to eighth in the batting order for tonight’s series opener with Boston at Camden Yards.

“I would say lately I’ve been doing a better job of staying inside the ball,” Hays said of his recent offense this afternoon. “I just haven’t been making as much consistent hard contact as I would like to. Hit a lot of stuff off the end or just down off the barrel a little bit.

"But I’m hitting the ball to all fields. Staying through the middle and not striking out a whole lot. It’s just a matter of really trying to barrel up the middle through the middle part of the field. Not getting around stuff as much as I was for a couple of weeks when it was just smothering a lot of ground balls pull side.

The Orioles resume their homestand tonight with Gunnar Henderson starting at shortstop against the Red Sox, Austin Hays batting eighth and playing left field, and Kyle Stowers batting ninth and starting in right.

Ramón Urías is the third baseman and batting sixth behind Henderson.

Jorge Mateo is on the bench.

Catcher Adley Rutschman is 10-for-24 during a six-game hitting streak, with three doubles, two home runs, six RBIs, three walks and five runs scored. His 29 doubles this year lead major league rookies and are tied for second-most among Orioles catchers in club history with Matt Wieters in 2013 and Ramón Hernández in 2006.

His 29 doubles also are tied with Hall of Famers Eddie Murray (1977) and Cal Ripken Jr. (1982) for most by an Orioles rookie in franchise history.

This is where the Orioles get up, brush off the dirt and go back to work.

The first two steps probably were completed before today. Otherwise, an off-day was wasted.

The last-place Red Sox are in town for three games, an unexpected 5 ½ behind the Orioles in the division standings. They lost three in a row, won five straight and just got swept in a three-game series at Tropicana Field.

The Orioles are 7-5 against the Red Sox this season, going 4-2 at home. They took two of three on April 29-May 1, and on Aug. 19-21.

The last game was played in Williamsport, Pa. for the annual Little League Classic, but it counts on the home side of the ledger.

The regular season is down to 25 games. Six against the Blue Jays, who lead them by 4 1/2 in the wild card race.

What the Orioles do over these last four weeks will be an entertaining watch.

It’s about more than results on the field, though, who isn’t dying to find out what happens? Baseball really matters in Baltimore while the Ravens get set for their opener on Sunday. Hasn’t been like this in a while.

Also fascinating is how the games and rosters are handled in the heat of a pennant race. How the organization reacts to it while venturing into an area that’s been restricted since the teardown started.

Brandon Hyde managed with his hands tied in Monday’s doubleheader, unable to use veteran Jordan Lyles and seeking volunteers for Game 2. Mike Baumann’s first major league start was scheduled for the nightcap, but he got bumped up to Game 1. Keegan Akin sprinted to the bullpen to warm after Lyles was scratched, with the short notice preventing Bruce Zimmermann from taking the assignment.

The plan was devised late last night or early this morning, depending on whether the clock struck midnight. Manager Brandon Hyde called Dean Kremer into his office to inform the right-hander of the club’s decision to use him in relief tonight behind Tyler Wells, who learned that he’d be removed from his rehab assignment, activated from the injured list and start against the Blue Jays.

Building up a starter’s pitches and innings is hard to do in the majors, but so is catching a team in the wild card chase and completing the improbable run from 110 losses to the playoffs.

The leash was transparent. Hyde said he wouldn’t extend Wells much past the 31 pitches thrown at High-A Aberdeen. Too soon for it.

Wells backloaded them tonight, with four in the first and 30 in the second before Kremer was tagged into the match.  

The wrinkle in an otherwise smooth plan was the Blue Jays breaking a tie in the fifth inning and winning the series with a 4-1 victory over the Orioles at Camden Yards.

The Orioles are building up Tyler Wells to be a starter again.

But they’re doing it in the majors.

The decision was made late last night to activate Wells from the 15-day injured list and start him tonight against the Blue Jays. The alternative was to keep him on a rehab assignment in the minors.

A few more important points:

* Dean Kremer is pitching in relief tonight, but it’s a one-and-done. He goes back into the rotation. This isn’t a piggyback situation because Wells isn’t stretched out to do it, and the club wants Kremer starting again.

The Orioles conclude their four-game series tonight with the Blue Jays by starting Kyle Stowers in left field and using Gunnar Henderson as the designated hitter.

Austin Hays is on the bench.

Tyler Wells was reinstated from the 15-day injured list and gets the start instead of Dean Kremer. This is Wells’ first game with the Orioles since straining his left oblique on July 27.

No word on what happens to Kremer.

Wells has made seven career appearance against Toronto, the first six in relief last summer, and allowed nine runs and 16 hits in 12 2/3 innings. He held the Jays to one run in six innings in a June start at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles are making more changes to the rotation, this one based on a pitcher’s good health.

Tyler Wells has been reinstated from the 15-day injured list and is handling tonight’s start against the Blue Jays to conclude a four-game series at Camden Yards.

Spenser Watkins has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to create room on the active roster. He was scheduled to start Saturday afternoon against the Red Sox at Camden Yards.

Additional details on the rotation haven’t been announced, but Dean Kremer was supposed to start tonight.

Jordan Lyles is recovering from flu-like symptoms that knocked him out of Monday’s doubleheader. His status has been day-to-day, and it’s unknown whether he’s an option for the weekend.

Dillon Tate wasn’t expecting to make his earliest appearance in a game in more than a year last night. The bullpen phone rang with no outs in the fourth inning and two runners on base, and he grabbed his glove and a ball.

This wasn’t playoff baseball, but it sure felt and sounded like it.

“It’s just part of the job to be ready when your name is called,” said Tate, who earned the win after allowing one run in 1 2/3 innings in the Orioles’ 9-6 victory over the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.

Manager Brandon Hyde needed to keep the deficit at three runs and turned to one of his high-leverage relievers. Tate inherited runners on the corners, didn’t let the Blue Jays expand their lead by performing a nifty escape act, and watched the Orioles score five times in the bottom half.

The bullpen covered the last six innings and the Orioles moved within 3 1/2 games of the last wild card spot.

Manager Brandon Hyde has seen the many examples this season, when his club appeared on the verge of spiraling and instead dug in its heels and pushed upward. Being swept in yesterday’s doubleheader tested its resolve again, its sense of direction.

The Orioles regained their balance. When they absolutely, positively had to do it.

Down by three runs early, they fought back rather than folding and gave themselves a chance to split the series by scrambling the usual bullpen pattern and defeating the Blue Jays 9-6 at Camden Yards.

Bo Bichette hit his fourth home run in two nights and came within a triple of the cycle, but the Orioles scored five times in the bottom of the third inning and used four relievers to reach the finish line in front. Gasping for air while crossing it but strong enough to defend themselves.

"It's a big win just because of where we are in the standings and the team we're playing," Hyde said. "Real excited about how we came back tonight. Kind of pieced it together, bullpen-wise and a couple nice rallies."

The Orioles kept Jordan Lyles at home today while he recovers from his flu-like symptoms. His status hasn’t changed and the club won’t predict his next start.

Lyles was pushed back from Game 1 to Game 2 yesterday, then scratched after attempting to warm in the bullpen.

“He’s feeling a little bit better today,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Still feeling sick, so not here, and hopefully he gets better soon.”

Hyde said Lyles is “day-to-day right now.” Dean Kremer is starting Wednesday’s series finale against the Blue Jays, and the Orioles are off Thursday before hosting the Red Sox in a weekend series.

The Orioles are listing Austin Voth, Spenser Watkins and Kyle Bradish as starters against the Red Sox, who are countering with Brayan Bello, Michael Wacha and Rich Hill.

Gunnar Henderson is the Orioles’ designated hitter tonight for the third game of their series against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.

Henderson played second base and shortstop in yesterday’s doubleheader.

The rest of the lineup should look familiar.

Ramón Urías is the third baseman and Rougned Odor is playing second.

Austin Hays is in left field and Anthony Santander is in right.

The Orioles made the anticipated roster move today to reinforce their bullpen, optioning left-hander Bruce Zimmermann to Triple-A Norfolk after he worked six innings yesterday in Game 2 of the doubleheader and adding right-hander Jake Reed to the active roster.

There was more.

Left-hander Nick Vespi also was optioned after appearing on three consecutive days, and right-hander Yennier Cano was recalled from Norfolk.

Reed, 29, was claimed off waivers yesterday from the Dodgers. He allowed one run and six hits in 4 2/3 innings after Los Angeles selected him off waivers from the Mets in July.

Reed, drafted by the Twins in the fifth round in 2014 out of the University of Oregon, has registered a 5.57 ERA and 1.381 WHIP in 20 games over two seasons.

Anthony Santander admits that he knows nothing about Bobby Bonilla’s playing days and how their Orioles careers intersected over the weekend.

“I just heard about his contract,” Santander said, laughing. “I want his agent.”

The Mets owe Bonilla $1,193,248.20 every July 1 through 2035, when he’s 72-years-old, as part of their agreement on deferred money after releasing him following the 1999 season. Bonilla’s agent, Dennis Gilbert, possessed the contract until it sold at auction last month.

Bonilla played for the Orioles for 1 ½ seasons, beginning on July 28, 1995 when they acquired him from the Mets for outfielders Damon Buford and Alex Ochoa. He amassed 28 home runs in 1996, and no Orioles switch-hitter reached 25 since then until Santander on Saturday.

This is where they are joined together. Santander took my word for it.

Jordan Lyles began to warm in the bullpen in preparation for his Game 2 start, stopped early and headed back inside the clubhouse covered in sweat. The veteran who prides himself on eating innings didn’t have the stomach for it today.

He tried. The Orioles pushed back Lyles from Game 1, hoping the extra hours would let him recover. He put on his glove, grabbed a ball and threw.

Pretty much anything that could go wrong for the Orioles injected itself into their doubleheader.

Left-hander Keegan Akin made the start and lasted 2 1/3 innings and 42 pitches. Nick Vespi replaced him with two runners on base and Bo Bichette homered to left field.

Bichette hit two more home runs off left-hander Bruce Zimmermann, who covered the last six innings, and the Orioles lost to the Blue Jays 8-4 at Camden Yards.

Mike Baumann was the first Orioles starter today but the fourth player out of the dugout to begin Game 1, turning sideways and skipping over the line before jogging to the mound.

The first time he’s entered from the bench rather than the bullpen in 12 major league appearances. The first time he’s been tasked with quieting the Blue Jays and their raucous lineup while the Orioles were 2 ½ games behind them in the wild card chase.

Baumann gave the Orioles five innings of three-run ball, some soft hits and defensive lapses hurting him. Length that manager Brandon Hyde appreciated in a doubleheader.

But how long until the Orioles rallied for a hugely important win?

Hyde waited and waited. They twice got within a run. The crowd got louder. Anthony Santander hit two home runs. But there wouldn’t be a comeback, with the Orioles now hoping for a split after losing 7-3.

The Orioles intended to start veteran Jordan Lyles in Game 1 of today’s doubleheader against the Blue Jays, with Mike Baumann making his first major league start in Game 2. However, Lyles woke up feeling a little under the weather and was pushed back.

Manager Brandon Hyde called executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias early this morning to pass along the news.

“We decided to give him a few extra hours and we flip-flopped,” Hyde said.

There’s the obvious concern that Lyles will be scratched later today. The Orioles must cover at least 18 innings.

“I’m fairly confident that he’ll be able to start Game 2,” Hyde said, “but we’re keeping our fingers crossed. We’re hopeful.”

The Orioles optioned reliever Rico Garcia after yesterday’s 5-0 loss to the Athletics and recalled Beau Sulser from Triple-A Norfolk. A new arm for the bullpen in today’s makeup doubleheader with the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.

Garcia pitched yesterday and retired all four batters he faced.

Mike Baumann is on the mound for Game 1, his first major league start and 12^th appearance.  He faced the Blue Jays on Sept. 12, 2021 in Baltimore and allowed six runs in three innings. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a two-run homer.

In Baumann’s last three starts with Norfolk, he held opponents to two earned runs and three total over 16 innings.

Gunnar Henderson is playing second base again in Game 1. Jesús Aguilar is the designated hitter.

The Orioles aren’t in a place in their collective lives when they can take an opponent lightly. Consecutive 100-loss seasons ruin that privilege.

However, they were vulnerable to a letdown after winning back-to-back series in Houston and Cleveland, and with the Blue Jays in town starting today for a huge four-game series.

In the middle were the lowly Oakland Athletics, who won three of four against the Orioles in April but are a disaster. This is a bad team because it was constructed that way. The sympathy runs deep in Baltimore.

“This is a young team that we’re playing against,” said manager Brandon Hyde, choosing more delicate words. “We’ve been in that situation before, also.”

Hyde emphasized the importance of winning yesterday, saying it was “extremely important” to finish what they started.

The writing seemed to appear on the wall early today. Not the one in left field that robs home runs. The proverbial wall with clues to the game’s outcome.

Gunnar Henderson registered the first two outs by charging a bunt and throwing across his body, and diving to his left to corral a ground ball. Two batters, two more reasons to believe that Henderson is going to be special.

That part was accurate.

The Orioles immediately staged a rally in the bottom of the first inning but failed to score. And they failed to take a lead today or complete the series sweep against a team with the worst record in the American League.

Don’t always trust the wall.