NEW YORK – Austin Hays is in left field tonight and Anthony Santander is in right, as the Orioles open a three-game series against the Yankees.

Jorge Mateo is the shortstop and Ramón Urías is playing third base.

Jordan Lyles is making his fourth start. He’s allowed six runs and 18 hits with six walks in 15 1/3 innings, but only one run in his last two starts over 10 1/3 innings.

Lyles held the Yankees to one run in 5 1/3 innings at Camden Yards.

Right-hander Luis Severino has made three starts for the Yankees this season and allowed only three runs in 13 innings. He’s surrendered 14 hits, walked four batters and struck out 14.

The Orioles are in New York for a three-game series that wraps up a long road trip. Three cities, one terrible piece of news regarding ace John Means and one significant update on catcher Adley Rutschman.

Rutschman is in Aberdeen tonight, where the high Single-A IronBirds open a six-game series against the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. The usual Monday off-day is followed by six more home games against the Brooklyn Cyclones.

It’s highly unlikely that Rutschman sticks around for a dozen games, but the Orioles aren’t laying out an exact plan. He’s going to dictate how quickly he moves through his injury rehab assignment.

DL Hall also is reporting to Aberdeen this afternoon, but he isn’t returning from a recent injury. The Orioles have him on a progression after he made only seven starts last summer with Double-A Bowie due to a stress reaction his left elbow.

Hall already proved that he made a full recovery by firing fastballs at 98-100 mph in Clearwater while retiring the Phillies in order with two strikeouts. He’ll get back to Double-A Bowie, eventually pitch at Triple-A Norfolk and, assuming he stays healthy, debut with the Orioles this summer.

Given the stretch of injuries that are hitting the Orioles at practically every turn, on their own roster and especially in the minors, they must have braced for the worst when a pitch ran in on Hudson Haskin’s hands during his first at-bat of an April 13 game in Binghamton.

Haskin was hit and headed to the clubhouse. Lineups posted for Double-A Bowie excluded him until six days later, with one exception – when a separate health issue caused him to be scratched.

In what’s started out as a special 2022 season for the Baysox outfielder, Haskin singled twice before the errant pitch and went 3-for-5 with a home run and six RBIs immediately upon his return.

Haskin, 23, collected two more hits the following night and his average dropped. That’s a hot start.

The ball that sidelined Haskin struck him on the bottom of the left hand, “that little fragile area,” said Baysox manager Kyle Moore. No broken bones, but some anxiety that ran through the organization.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde praised his bullpen before today’s game in Anaheim. He noted how the staff stepped up collectively as the club lost ace John Means and bulk reliever Dean Kremer to injuries. Miss your teammates, but not a beat.

Hyde didn’t intend to grab the phone so early this afternoon, or to talk about another physical issue that struck his rotation.

Chris Ellis faced five Angels batters, retired none and left the mound with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel. The team announced later that Ellis had right shoulder discomfort.

Ellis walked three batters, hit one and surrendered a two-run single to Jared Walsh – leaving after only 21 pitches, six for strikes.

Travis Lakins Sr. inherited a bases-loaded jam and served up a grand slam to Jo Adell for a six-run deficit, the Orioles battled back to tie the game in the seventh, and fell behind again in a 7-6 loss after Félix Bautista walked Taylor Ward with the bases full in the bottom half of the inning.

In parts of his five major league seasons, Orioles outfielder Anthony Santander hasn’t been able to post an on-base percentage higher than .315, a level attained in only 37 games in 2020.

Santander played in 110 games last summer and accumulated 438 plate appearances, missing a month with a sprained ankle and being shut down after Sept. 26 with a left knee sprain. He finished with a .286 OBP that again drew attention to his poor pitch recognition and struggles to stay patient in the box.

The Orioles are closing out their series in Anaheim this afternoon, and Santander has reached base in the first 15 games of the season to draw within three of his record. He ranks third in the American League and seventh in the majors with a .452 OBP.

Santander has walked 13 times to rank second in the league behind Seattle’s Jesse Winker. Ten more and he’ll match his total for last season.

The 21 percent walk rate puts Santander in the top two percent in the majors, according to Statcast data. He’s seeing 4.40 pitches per plate appearance, 10^th in the league, and his 273 total pitches seen put him second in the AL behind the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani (276).

The Orioles are owed some good news on the health front, and it’s arriving from the minors.

Catcher Adley Rutschman and pitchers DL Hall and Rico Garcia are joining the high Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds this week, with the first game played Tuesday night against Jersey Shore at Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.

Rutschman, the No. 1 or 2 prospect in baseball depending on which outlet is posting the rankings, and Garcia are on minor league injury rehab assignments. Hall, the Orioles’ No. 3 prospect, is continuing his progression.  

Most of the attention falls upon Rutschman, who recovered from a strained right triceps sustained early in camp. His major league debut is fast approaching, but he’ll need to stop at a few other affiliates.

Garcia underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021 before signing a minor league deal with the Orioles.

Nothing that’s happened since John Means experienced tightness in his left forearm should be categorized as totally unexpected beyond perhaps the staff ace breaking his own news on social media.

The injury being to his elbow. The multiple MRIs and opinions. Confirmation that the ligament must be reconstructed and the 2022 season ends for him after two starts.

Additional tests aren’t usually run if the initial diagnosis is positive.

Means wanted to reach 200 innings this year. Of course he did. What starter aims low? It’s what 300 innings used to be back in the day.

Reaching that total seemed overly ambitious with the shorter leash in April, but stalling at eight is an unforeseen circumstance. And the surgery is expected to deny him a chance to be anointed the opening day starter for a fourth consecutive season – though he couldn’t fulfill it in 2020 due to shoulder fatigue.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – It was another night where an Orioles starter kept his team in the game and another night where that pitcher allowed two earned runs or fewer. That is an ongoing O’s team record.

But one pitching stat did take a hit tonight: the O’s staff had allowed just six homers in the first 14 games – tied for fewest in MLB with San Francisco. But they yielded three tonight – including a tie-breaking shot by Brandon Marsh in the sixth – as the Los Angeles Angels took a 4-2 lead.

But on this night, the Orioles had a comeback in them.

They scored three times in the top of the seventh off the Angels bullpen and won 5-4 in front of 43,883 at Angel Stadium. They improved to 6-9 overall and 5-4 in their past nine games.

The Orioles have won three of four and have won a series for the second time this season.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The news of Orioles left-hander John Means needing Tommy John surgery became official today as announced by the pitcher himself via Twitter. But in the Orioles clubhouse, it’s clear some, maybe most of his teammates had advance warning.

Still that doesn’t make it easier to take when someone they see as not only the best pitcher on the staff but a leader too and a valued close friend is going to miss the rest of the season.

“It’s something that, it’s obviously a blow,” manager Brandon Hyde said in the Orioles dugout. “It’s a blow to John, to our club. Not going to have John for a while and John’s a big part of our pitching staff, a big part of our team. Injuries happen but I feel bad for John. Not only what he brings on the field, on the mound, but the leadership he brings to our clubhouse. It’s going to be tough without him. But we have to have guys step and take different roles.”

Hyde said there was no reason to have a team meeting or anything of that nature about this news or to try and have any special words for his players.

“No, I think we all are professionals and these things happen. Injuries are part of the game. You know we lost our opening day starter and that hurts and I think we’re all aware too that it was going to be an extended time he would be out. We need to get John healthy and ready for 2023.”

An Orioles rotation that must proceed without ace John Means, who’s undergoing Tommy John surgery next week, finds Spenser Watkins back on the mound in the continuation of a road trip that’s produced two wins in five games.

Watkins earned another turn after holding the Athletics to one run and two hits in five innings.

The right-hander’s first major league appearance came in Anaheim on July 2, 2021, when he retired all three batters he faced in relief. He started against the Angels on Aug. 24 in Baltimore and surrendered eight runs in two innings.

Orioles starters have allowed two earned runs or fewer in 11 consecutive games.

Trey Mancini is in right field tonight and Anthony Santander is the designated hitter. Santander is the only player in the majors to reach base in each of the first 14 games.

One day short of his 29^th birthday, Orioles starter John Means confirmed today that he won’t pitch again in 2022.

Means tweeted that he’s undergoing ligament-reconstructive surgery on his left elbow, an expected outcome after the Orioles placed him on the injured list retroactive to April 14, transferred him to the 60-day IL and clarified the injury as a sprain. He left his April 13 start after four innings with forearm tightness.

With a recovery time that can exceed a full year, Means likely won’t return to the mound until he’s 30.

Means sought multiple opinions following his first MRI. He’ll have surgery on Wednesday in Texas, with Dr. Keith Meister handling the procedure. Meister performed the same surgery on Orioles 2020 fifth-round draft pick Carter Baumler.

“I’m obviously disappointed, but more motivated than ever,” Means tweeted. “In the meantime, I’m looking forward to watching what this team can do this year. I’ll be back, Go O’s.”

BOWIE – Adam Hall walked into the home clubhouse at Prince George’s Stadium Wednesday afternoon, glanced at the Bowie Baysox’s lineup card posted on the wall to his left, saw his name atop the order as the designated hitter and decided to have some fun with it.

“Are you sure you got that right?” he asked Kyle Moore, manager of the Orioles’ Double-A affiliate.

Moore hadn’t made a mistake. He’s tasked each day with rotating infielders at different positions and roles, perhaps his biggest challenge on the job.

Too many prospects on a roster won’t bring much chirping from his office, but it’s stressful.

The Orioles created a formula of sorts for Moore to ensure that Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and Joey Ortiz get consecutive starts at shortstop and then bounce to other spots. Keeping it warm for the next guy. Keeping the developmental process churning and also flashing some creativity.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – He was getting ahead of hitters. He had their timing disrupted with his changeup. His fastball was hitting spots and his secondaries were on point. Lefty Bruce Zimmermann, whose season began with two scoreless outings, threw a third straight strong game tonight.

It was some impressive pitching.

And the Orioles offense, which came to life yesterday after Trey Mancini’s ejection, tonight matched their season high in runs.

The Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-3 to start a three-game weekend series. They improved to 5-9 overall, to 2-3 on this road trip and to 2-6 in road games.

How good was Zimmermann tonight?

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Two nights ago, he was walking off the field in the second inning at Oakland after a scary moment, but Orioles catcher Robinson Chirinos is back in the lineup tonight when the O's open a series at Angels Stadium. He will catch and bat seventh.

Chirinos was thrown a 92 mph fastball by A’s right-hander Daulton Jefferies, and the ball was high and tight. It hit his shoulder and then his face in the cheek area, and Chirinos had to leave the game.

But by the end of the game the team felt they had dodged a bullet – as Chirinos had barely dodged a direct blow to his face - and their starting catcher was going to be okay.

Chirinos wanted to play yesterday in Oakland, but manager Brandon Hyde wanted to hold him out. But he’s back in there tonight.

“I’m thankful to be back in the lineup today,” Chirinos said this afternoon in the Orioles clubhouse. “If you go back and look at that replay, maybe by an inch we would be having a different story today. So thank God protected me from that hit by pitch. It was a scary moment for me and my family.

The Orioles flew into Anaheim last night after losing three of four games in Oakland, and they’re starting left-hander Bruce Zimmermann in the series opener against the Angels.

Zimmermann hasn’t allowed a run in nine innings. He’s never faced the Angels.

Catcher Robinson Chirinos returns to the lineup after being hit by a pitch Wednesday that struck his shoulder and the side of his face.

Trey Mancini, ejected yesterday for the first time in his career, is batting second as the designated hitter. Anthony Santander is the left fielder and cleanup hitter.

Ramón Urías starts at second base, Jorge Mateo at shortstop and Kelvin Gutiérrez at third.

ANAHEIM, Calif. – Orioles veteran lefty Paul Fry has been with the team for five seasons now. He’s been in bullpens with the likes of Zack Britton, Darren O’ Day, Brad Brach, Mychal Givens and Richard Bleier.

Now he is part of this new-look rebuilt Orioles bullpen that is off to such a great start. For a team with an overall staff ERA of 2.87, which ranks sixth-best in baseball, the bullpen has sure been doing its part. The ‘pen ERA is 2.83 and that is ninth-best in the majors. The bullpen pitchers have allowed just two homers in 13 games, tied for the best mark in the majors.

Did Fry see this coming? What potential did he see in his teammates in the ‘pen heading into the year?

“Lot of guys with a lot of talent,” he said during a pregame interview in Oakland. “So we are going out there trying to pick each other up every outing. We’ve said it before, you pass the baton to the next guy. We are subtlety kind of competing with each other there, trying to one up each other, who has the better outing just like the starters do. You know all these close ballgames is really bringing us closer. We are all finding new roles here and there. So I’ve been impressed so far.”

Every year the bullpen is like a team within a team, developing its own collective personality.

I’m away from the Orioles while they play on the West Coast, but my mailbag never leaves my side.

This is actually a lie. I’ve gone on vacation without it.

This is also a lie. I’ve sat in the exit row and strapped the bag to a seat in the back of the plane.

Anyway, I’m sorting through the questions and counting how many are fresh, how many are repeats, and how many are real. Put them together and we have our latest sequel to the original mailbag.

There is no editing for length, style or clarity. We welcome brevity with open arms. We invite it to dinner and insist that it bring only an appetite.

OAKLAND – Trey Mancini believes first base umpire Rob Drake made the wrong call. When he was called out on the play in the top of the fourth today, it led to his first career ejection in the bottom half. It also – and these two may have been related – led to the Orioles scoring in three of their next four at-bats.

And while they lost to the Athletics 6-4 today, Mancini hoped his ejection not only may have lit a fire under his teammates on offense today, but that the fire keeps burning this weekend for the next series against the Angels.

With two outs and none on in the fourth, and the O’s down 2-0, Mancini’s grounder up the middle bounced off pitcher Paul Blackburn toward second base. It was fielded by the A’s Nick Allen, but his low throw went behind first baseman Seth Brown. But not far enough for Mancini to take another base on a play scored E4. Mancini had one small sort of jab step where he was just inside fair territory. As he strolled back to first after running through the bag, catcher Sean Murphy grabbed the ball and tagged him.

Drake called Mancini out for apparently attempting to go to second base. Two pitches into the last of the fourth, Mancini was jawing at Drake from the dugout and was ejected. Moments later, so was O’s manager Brandon Hyde.

The O’s offense, which to that point in the series had produced three runs in 31 innings, then produced four in the next four innings, but they lost to fall to 4-9, going 1-3 in this series while scoring seven total runs.

OAKLAND – For the Orioles today, having almost as many ejections as runs scored was not a winning formula. While they may have had a good argument with first base umpire Rob Drake, the O’s hitters produced just four runs today, one more than the first three games of this series combined.

When Oakland scored late runs, a close game morphed into a two-run A's win, as the Athletics beat the Orioles 6-4 to take three of four in this series. The Orioles (4-9) head now to play the Angels at 1-3 on this trip and 1-6 in road games.

They scored just seven runs in this series, the first leg of a three-city road trip.

The ejections came after the top of the fourth. What looked like a routine 1-4-3 groundout in the O's fourth, on a ball Trey Mancini hit back to the box that caromed to second, instead turned into a play leading to two O’s ejections. Both Mancini and manager Brandon Hyde were tossed by Drake.

Mancini would reach first on what was later scored E4. But when the throw got away a bit from the first baseman, he was called out when tagged by the catcher Sean Murphy backing up the play. Mancini was apparently ruled to have made a move toward second base after crossing the first base bag. He may have had a step with a slight lean in that direction at most, but the umpire made the out call.

OAKLAND – Orioles catcher Robinson Chirinos, who had a 92 mph fastball strike his shoulder and glance off his face near the cheek yesterday, could play today in an emergency situation if the Orioles had to use him in the series finale at Oakland.

Catcher Anthony Bemboom will make his fifth start today, batting eighth and catching Tyler Wells against the A’s. Chirinos was hit by a Daulton Jefferies pitch in the second inning of Wednesday’s game. After being looked at by the training staff, he left the field and the game. It was later announced he had a facial contusion. Chirinos has made eight starts this year and is batting  .182/.357/.182/.539 with no homers or RBIs in his first nine games with the club.

“He’s feeling a lot better today,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We dodged a bullet with him yesterday. That was a scary moment. We got lucky a little bit, it hit his shoulder I think first and more kind of glanced off his face. But it’s sore and swollen. He passed all the tests and he feels good and he wants to play. I’m going to try and not play him (today). Woke up this morning and that was a good phone to get that he’s OK. He could probably play today, but I don’t want him to.”

After a day where five O's pitcher combined for the club's third shutout of the year, Hyde had some props for bullpen lefty Paul Fry, a pitcher trying to recapture his previous form. And a pitcher that struggled so badly with his command late last year that he was optioned out to Triple-A.

But since giving up three runs in an outing April 10 versus Tampa Bay, he has thrown scoreless ball over his past three games. That includes a 1-2-3 sixth here yesterday on 11 pitches.