HOUSTON – It’s a bit of a family affair in the dugouts in Houston this weekend as the Astros host the Orioles for a three-game series. Two good friends, who are now also brothers-in-law, will manage against each other in the O’s Brandon Hyde and Houston’s Joe Espada.

Their friendship goes back many years and they married sisters.

Espada was Houston’s bench coach since 2018 and took over as skipper last November after Dusty Baker’s retirement.

“It’s going to be definitely a great experience and a great thing for our family,” said Hyde this afternoon at Minute Maid Park to a crowd of reporters that cover each team. “Me and Joe go way, way back. He was my hitting coach (with Greensboro in the South Atlantic League) when I was managing in 2006. We’ve known each other a long time and I’m really proud of him and happy he got this opportunity. Going to be cool to see him in the dugout in a little bit different seat this year. Going to be a lot of fun.”

Hyde and Espada were candidates for the same big league managing job several times as they both worked their way toward getting the jobs they have today.

The Orioles begin their three-game series in Houston with Colton Cowser out of the lineup for the second consecutive day.

Ryan O’Hearn is making his second start in left field, with Cedric Mullins in center and Anthony Santander in right.

Jordan Westburg is the third baseman. Adley Rutschman is serving as designated hitter.  

Texas native Grayson Rodriguez is making his first career start in Houston. He faced the Astros last season at Camden Yards and allowed two runs in six innings.

Rodriguez has made three starts this month and allowed five earned runs in 19 1/3 innings. He’s walked two batters and struck out 16.

NEW YORK - The wise and accomplished veteran is an Oriole for reasons beyond his awards and ace status.

Corbin Burnes can teach. He can mentor. And man, is he needed right now.

The rotation is crumbling at Burnes’ feet. John Means, Tyler Wells and now Kyle Bradish underwent surgery on their right elbows. Reconstructive, repairs, whatever. It’s all bad. And Dean Kremer can’t help because he’s on a rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk.

The other starters behind Burnes include Grayson Rodriguez, who hasn’t pitched a full season in the majors, and Cade Povich, who’s made a grand total of three starts. Albert Suárez hadn’t appeared in a major league game since 2017 prior to this season.

Burnes spoke to Rodriguez recently and also Bradish before news of his Tommy John surgery. The advice wasn’t complicated but the urgency rang loud and clear.

NEW YORK – Ryan Mountcastle pulled into second base, turned to the visiting dugout and pumped his fist with such force that he could have flattened a bull.

A punch was finally thrown in the series. It landed flush.

The Orioles held their composure for three games. They got hit and took their base. Couldn’t be lured into a fight or a war of words but wouldn’t back down from the first-place team in their division in a hostile environment.

They sent 12 batters to the plate in the second inning and scored six runs to build on their early lead. The pummeling was done to Luis Gil, who began the day with the lowest ERA in the American League. No one is immune.

A 17-5 victory allowed the Orioles to move within a half-game of the Yankees. They set a major league record by going 22 division series in a row with a win or split.

NEW YORK - Jordan Westburg was on the field early today to perform agility drills and test his bruised left hip. He did fine and is starting at second base this afternoon in the series finale against the Yankees.

Left-hander Cole Irvin is 6-3 with a 3.03 ERA and 1.229 WHIP in 13 games (11 starts). He’s made three career appearances against New York, including two starts, and gone 0-2 with an 8.31 ERA and 1.615 WHIP in only 13 innings. He’s allowed 12 runs and 15 hits and walked six batters.

Irvin has allowed a .329 average against this month after he held opponents to a .212 average in May. Opponents are hitting .314 on his fastball this month compared to .200 in May.

DJ LeMahieu is 4-for-7 with a double. Giancarlo Stanton is 3-for-6 with a home run. Aaron Judge, who sat out last night’s game with a sore left hand, is 2-for-4 with a homer.

The Orioles haven’t lost a division series in the last 21, tying the major league record. They need a win today to maintain the streak.

NEW YORK – The Orioles are two-thirds into a series hyped by media as a do-or-die matchup. Lose two games or get swept and don’t bothering playing out the rest of the season.

The club tried to downplay it after the last homestand. Manager Brandon Hyde and his players can read the standings. They also can read a calendar.

If you’re still reading this, here are a few thoughts and opinions about what’s transpired at Yankee Stadium.

* The fuss over the hit-by-pitches in the first game was over the top.

Not unexpected, mind you. Just way over the top.

NEW YORK – The intense atmosphere didn’t get to rookie Cade Povich. He wasn’t rattled. But he didn’t know how long he could stay in it.

Four walks in the first two innings and a pitch count of 56 didn’t align for a long outing. But Povich settled down and retired nine batters in a row in his third major league start, coming within an out of qualifying for his first win.

The Orioles entered the bottom of the ninth with a chance to get one for themselves after leaving the bases loaded in the top half, but Anthony Volpe led off with a double against Craig Kimbrel and scored with one out on Giancarlo Stanton's game-tying single.

No wonder manager Brandon Hyde began his postgame media session by exhaling and shaking his head. Somehow it had worked out in their favor. The roughest terrain doesn't topple them.

Hyde doesn't always understand how they do it, but he'll just enjoy the ride as much as he can, even if it leaves him exhausted.

NEW YORK – The list of injured Orioles pitchers keeps growing, along with the worries over how the team will move forward and stay upright.

Kyle Bradish underwent Tommy John surgery this morning in Arlington, Texas, with an internal brace part of the reconstructive procedure. And high-leverage reliever Danny Coulombe had bone chips removed from his left elbow yesterday in Los Angeles, with an optimistic return date of September.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias met with media at Yankee Stadium earlier today to provide the updates.

Dr. Keith Meister handled Bradish’s procedure, which is a little more complex than his work with John Means and Tyler Wells. It’s reconstructive rather than a repair, which likely leads to the usual 12-to-18 month recovery, but the brace brings additional support and makes in a hybrid.

Bradish was diagnosed in January with a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and received a platelet-rich plasma injection. He made eight starts after his reinstatement from the injured list and posted a 2.75 ERA and 1.068 WHIP with 53 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings.

NEW YORK – The Orioles optioned outfielder Kyle Stowers to Triple-A Norfolk this afternoon and selected the contract of infielder Nick Maton.

Pitcher Tyler Wells was transferred to the 60-day injured list to create room on the 40-man roster.

Stowers is 10-for-35 with four doubles, a home run, nine RBIs, no walks and 13 strikeouts in 17 games. He’s started only four times this month, with the bulk of the left-handed at-bats reserved for Colton Cowser.

Stowers is 3-for-17 in June.

The Orioles want an extra infielder while Jordan Westburg is day-to-day with a bruised left hip. Maton is batting .294 with an .869 OPS in 41 games with Norfolk. He has six doubles, seven home runs and 28 RBIs.

NEW YORK – If Cade Povich made a previous trip to New York, the memory isn’t sharp enough to cut through the fog.

“Maybe one time for like a night,” he said, “but other than that, no.”

Povich isn’t a tourist this week. His third major league start is coming tonight and he’s facing the team that’s blocking the Orioles from first place.

“It’s definitely going to be cool,” he said, certain that he hadn’t stepped inside Yankee Stadium before yesterday. “Knowing from watching games and growing up around baseball, it’s probably going to be a rowdy atmosphere, but at the same time probably pretty fun.

“We played in Regionals at Arkansas and it was pretty rowdy there, and I had a blast pitching there. Honestly, just real excited for it.”

NEW YORK – Albert Suárez walked into the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium this afternoon, turned left and stopped. His eyes did a quick scan of the lockers. His name was nowhere to be found.

Suárez casually spun in the other direction and smiled. He was in a row straight ahead with a bunch of the other pitchers.

He had worked through his first jam.

More would come later, and controlling the Yankees was much harder than locating his uniform.

Suárez didn’t make it out of the fourth inning, Jordan Westburg injured his left hip and the Orioles lost to the Yankees 4-0 before an announced sellout crowd of 47,429. Exactly how they did not want to begin an important series.

NEW YORK – Dean Kremer rejoined his Orioles teammates and made the trip to New York but currently remains on his injury rehab assignment.

Kremer pitched Sunday for Triple-A Norfolk and allowed two earned runs and five total in 3 2/3 innings, with four hits, one walk and three strikeouts. He threw 59 pitches, 37 for strikes.

Norfolk is in Lehigh Valley on Friday. Double-A Bowie is home against Altoona.

The Orioles will be in Houston.

“We’re actually still talking about that right now,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Whether he makes another start or joins us, we’re discussing.”

NEW YORK – Jordan Westburg is leading off tonight and James McCann is catching as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Yankees that could flip-flop the top two positions in the division standings.

Gunnar Henderson is batting cleaneup. The Orioles are 43-10 when Henderson homers in his major league career.

Austin Hays is in left field and Colton Cowser is in center. Hays, Cowser and Cedric Mullins took early batting practice this afternoon.

Anthony Santander is batting .295/.353/.721 this month with two doubles, eight home runs and 14 RBIs in 16 games. He hit .207/.294/.415 in May.

The Orioles have homered in 16 consecutive games, the longest streak in the majors this season and their longest since going deep in 18 straight from Sept. 6-24, 2019.

The Orioles’ bats hadn’t even cooled Sunday afternoon and manager Brandon Hyde already was asked about the upcoming series against the Yankees. Fans hadn’t cleared the parking lots. Players hadn’t finished their showers and meals. Kids still ran the bases with music playing from “Frozen” and “The Little Mermaid.”

(If you have young children or grandkids, you know.)

Under the sea is fun. Being under the Yankees is not. But the gap has closed to 1 ½ games with the Orioles going 4-2 on their homestand.

The Orioles are 22-12 against teams currently above .500. The Yankees hold the best record in baseball at 50-24 despite losing back-to-back games in Boston. The matchup in the Bronx comes on the heels of a series against a Phillies team that has the best record in the National League.

"We get a day off first, which is well deserved and needed for a lot of our guys," said manager Brandon Hyde, his immediate response to a question about going to New York.

The Orioles are tied with the Phillies for the second-best record in baseball after winning 101 games last season, and they’re getting noticed again by fans.

The first update in All-Star Game voting finds Adley Rutschman leading all catchers in the American League and Gunnar Henderson leading the shortstops. They were the Orioles’ first two selections in the 2019 draft.

Ryan Mountcastle is second to Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. among first basemen and Jordan Westburg is second to Cleveland’s José Ramirez among third basemen. Jorge Mateo and Ryan O’Hearn are fourth among second basemen and designated hitters, respectively.

Three Orioles outfielders show up in the results, as well: Anthony Santander is fifth, Colton Cowser is seventh and Cedric Mullins is 11^th.

In addition, Corbin Burnes has an excellent chance of making the AL team and could be named the starter.

The baseball industry won’t experience a shortage of theories on why the amount of healthy pitchers is declining. On why elbow pain is on the rise and the injured list is getting more crowded than a Memorial Day beach.

Pitchers are throwing too hard at a young age. The pitch clock is rushing them. Banning sticky substances puts more pressure on arms, whether by tightening grips or forcing spin action.

That’s just a sampling. Other theories are floated, with players and management often shooting them down.

The harder question is, what can be done to minimize the damage?

The Orioles just lost Kyle Bradish again to a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. John Means underwent his second Tommy John surgery on June 3, and Tyler Wells is approaching his own reconstructive procedure. Danny Coulombe has inflammation in his left elbow.

Though it’s true that Corbin Burnes warms up to the Garth Brooks tune “Friends in Low Places,” the ace right-hander also keeps gaining admirers with every start. And some of them are high in the ranks in the Orioles organization.

He’s become so popular that teammates are willing to beat up Zack Wheeler for him.

Burnes registered his 10^th quality start in a row, Gunnar Henderson hit his eighth leadoff home run of the season, and Colton Cowser, Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg also went deep within the first five innings in a 8-3 win over the Phillies before an announced sellout crowd of 44,525 that pushed the weekend total at Camden Yards to 133,067.

Burnes allowed two runs in six innings and the Orioles headed into their lone off-day of the month at 47-24 and two games behind the first-place Yankees, who play tonight in Boston. They lost the series opener in the 11th and won back-to-back games against the team with the best record in the National League.

Henderson has 22 home runs on the season, and he really had to work for today’s. He got the count full against Wheeler, fouled off three pitches and dropped a sinker into the Orioles’ bullpen at 419 feet – the ninth pitch of the at-bat producing his 10^th career leadoff shot. His most recent before today came Monday at Tropicana Field.

A marquee pitching matchup closes out the weekend series between the Orioles and Phillies at Camden Yards.

Corbin Burnes, the National League’s Cy Young Award winner in 2021 and a top eight finisher in three other seasons, is 7-2 with a 2.08 ERA and 1.004 WHIP in 14 starts. He’s surrendered eight home runs in 86 2/3 innings.

Burnes has registered nine quality starts in a row, three short of Jim Palmer’s club record set in 1975. He’s made four career appearances against the Phillies, including two starts, and allowed only one earned run (four total) and seven hits with 24 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings.

Kyle Schwarber is 2-for-13 with a home run, four walks and seven strikeouts against him. Bryce Harper is 0-for-8 with five strikeouts. Nick Castellanos is 3-for-9 with a home run.

Phillies right-hander Zack Wheeler, who finished second in Cy Young voting in the National League in 2021 and sixth last year, is 8-3 with a 2.16 ERA and 0.935 WHIP in 14 starts. He’s surrendered only six home runs in 87 2/3 frames and is allowing only 5.6 hits per nine innings.

The Orioles live by the next-man-up credo. Outfielder Austin Hays referred to it Friday night as a “mentality.” Manager Brandon Hyde and starter Cole Irvin used the phrase multiple times yesterday.

“We just rally together, we stick together,” Hays said, “and guys continue to just step up for one another.”

How many steps on the ladder before a hard fall?

The attitude is admirable but eventually can be overwhelmed by the reality of the situation. We didn’t know the severity of Kyle Bradish’s elbow injury until yesterday. Some soreness would have been the best news, though still a reason to put him back on the 15-day injured list and let it calm down.

The fan base would do the same.

Reliever Jacob Webb mulled the latest injury that threatens to derail the Orioles, the sprained elbow ligament that might lead to surgery for Kyle Bradish, and pointed to a clubhouse full of players who rally in these situations.

“We’re pretty good at picking each other up,” he said.

Can be a starter or reliever. Can be a hitter. Brush it off and go play.

Grayson Rodriguez was the starter, allowing two runs in a season-high seven innings. Anthony Santander was the hitter, homering twice and finishing with four RBIs in the Orioles' 6-2 victory over the Phillies before an announced sellout crowd of 44,555 at Camden Yards.

Bryan Baker retired the side in order in the eighth and Craig Kimbrel struck out three batters in the ninth to improve the Orioles’ record to 46-24 and prevent a three-game losing streak that would have tied their longest of the season.