MILWAUKEE – Kyle Gibson struck out Brice Turang on a curveball to end the bottom of the first inning and didn’t break stride on his way back to the dugout. He blew past catcher Adley Rutschman, who tried to meet him along the third base line and had to reach out to give him an encouraging pat.

The 35 pitches thrown and two runs allowed didn’t give Gibson much incentive to linger on the field.

With two outs in the eighth inning, reliever Yennier Cano snared a comebacker with an exaggerated snap of his glove, threw to first base and shook his head in disgust. Cano had his own frustrations, unable to hold onto a one-run lead.

By the end, players were filing into the clubhouse with a few heads bowed.

The Orioles couldn’t score against Peter Strzelecki in the top of the 10^th, with pinch-hitter Josh Lester striking out to leave two on base, and Joey Wiemer singled off Austin Voth with two outs to bring home Andruw Monasterio and give the Brewers a 4-3 victory before an announced crowd of 22,535.

MILWAUKEE – Gunnar Henderson took batting practice this afternoon and fielded ground balls to test his lower back.

Henderson remains out of the lineup but said earlier that he should be in the lineup Wednesday night.

“It’s getting better,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

“We’re hoping he’s going to be back in there in the next day or two.”

Ramón Urías is starting at third base and batting seventh. Younger brother Luis is starting at second base for Milwaukee and also batting seventh.

MILWAUKEE – Orioles third baseman Gunnar Henderson said he expects to be in Wednesday night’s lineup against the Brewers.

Henderson was removed from Saturday’s game in San Francisco with lower-back soreness and he didn’t play Sunday. Ramón Urías is playing third base tonight.

“It’s actually feeling pretty good today,” Henderson said. “It was just getting really tight and didn’t feel great bending forward, but doing activities today, just doing half the reps to see how it feels, and hopefully be in there tomorrow.”

Henderson figured he would be day-to-day and nothing more serious.

“It just progressively got worse after that train ride back from New York and just kept getting tight on me,” he said. “And then it got pretty unbearable the last game, and I was probably going to hurt the team more than help it at that point.”

MILWAUKEE - Left-hander Danny Coulombe is back in the Orioles bullpen tonight after his reinstatement from the bereavement list. Infielder Terrin Vavera was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk as the corresponding move.

The roster has returned to the usual alignment of 13 pitchers and 13 position players for the series opener against the Brewers.

Coulombe missed two games in San Francisco. Vavra is batting .245/.315/.245 (12-for-49) with no extra-base hits in 27 games.

The Orioles chose to hold onto Josh Lester, who collected his first major league hit and two RBIs Sunday. They selected his contract to replace Coulombe.

Lester can play the corner infield and outfield positions, offering versatility similar to Vavra's.

The Orioles probably welcomed another reset yesterday before beginning a three-game series in Milwaukee, though they won two of three games in San Francisco. Step back, take a breath, assess your own situation, maybe look around the majors and remember how good you have it and that everyone is dealing with something.

Every team in the American League East is .500 or better, with the Red Sox dropping their third in a row yesterday to leave their record at 30-30. Only the first-place Twins are above .500 in the AL Central. The defending World Series champion Astros are in second place in the AL West. The wild card Mariners began yesterday in fourth.

The Mets spent a lot of money in the offseason and are in third place in the NL East, ahead of the pennant-winning Phillies. The rebuilding Nationals are last, but only nine games below .500.

I’ve seen worse.

What are the Cardinals doing in last place in the NL Central? Is it stranger than the Pirates moving into first last night?

The Orioles might get spoiled with all of these off-days. Two since finishing their homestand on Wednesday.

They left San Francisco yesterday and continue their rare-visit tour with a stop in Milwaukee.

The Brewers swept the Orioles in a three-game set at Miller Park in July 2017, and if you remember that Jayson Aquino started in the series finale, my level of concern for you has grown to the size of Félix Bautista.

More concerning, perhaps, is that Seth Smith led off for the Orioles in the first two games.

This team was in contention going into September?

As the Orioles braced for the extended loss of center fielder Cedric Mullins to a strained groin muscle, knowing that further tests would confirm his placement on the injured list but relieved that the news wasn’t worse, they pondered their options for replacing him on the active roster.

They couldn’t consider Triple-A outfielders Colton Cowser and Kyle Stowers, who were on the injured list. They could recall an infielder to provide depth while others offered support in the outfield corners, leaving center to Austin Hays and Ryan McKenna, but shortstop Joey Ortiz wasn’t available due to some sort of illness that’s kept him from playing since his last demotion.

Aaron Hicks was a free agent after the Yankees designated him for assignment and released him, and executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias expressed interest prior to Mullins’ injury. And the price certainly was right, with the Orioles paying on the prorated major league minimum.

But beware of accepting the role of center fielder with the Orioles. Mullins strained his groin. Hays was out of Wednesday’s lineup because of an illness, which showed in his face later as he shuffled to his locker with one of the athletic trainers. Hicks made his debut with the club, reached base three times and exited with left calf cramps.

One scenario that the Orioles didn’t consider, of course, was promoting Heston Kjerstad from Double-A Bowie. Many fans wanted it. I’m guessing that a few thought it could happen.

The Orioles placed left-handed reliever Danny Coulombe on the bereavement list today and selected infielder Josh Lester’s contract from Triple-A Norfolk.

Reliever Dillon Tate was moved to the 60-day injured list with a right elbow flexor strain to create room for Lester on the 40-man roster.

Coulombe struck out the side last night in the seventh inning to lower his ERA to 2.08.

An off-day on Monday could limit Coulombe’s absence from the Orioles to two games. They’re carrying 12 pitchers tonight and 14 position players.

Lester, signed to a minor league deal on Dec. 6, was batting .282/.339/.549 with nine doubles, two triples, 14 home runs and 50 RBIs in 52 games with Norfolk. His second and last major league game was Sept. 6, 2022 with the Tigers in Anaheim.

Mike Devereaux spent 12 years in the majors and played everywhere in the outfield, with center his most dominant position. He climbed fences and crashed the late-night highlights after arriving in Baltimore in 1989, when the Orioles shocked the industry by going from historically worst to contending until the final weekend.

Devereaux worked as a guest instructor at spring training in February and was struck by some similarities with this year’s club, which began its series in San Francisco last night with the third-best record in baseball and serious intent to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016.

“I got to meet these guys and I can see the confidence within them, and I can obviously see the talent,” he said this week. “They’re a young team, kind of like in ’89, and you see the drive. I had a feeling, and I told them, when Mike (Elias) said this is not a rebuilding year anymore, it changed everything. It’s like, ‘we’re ready to start winning.’”

The Orioles must keep it going while Cedric Mullins is on the injured list with a strained right groin muscle.

An impressive collection of players have skillfully patrolled center for the Orioles, most notably Hall of Famer Paul Blair, and Devereaux ranks Mullins highly on the all-time list.

The Orioles made a change to their bullpen before tonight’s series opener against the Giants, and it isn’t just about length and a fresh arm.

They needed a healthy one, too.

Mychal Givens was placed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to yesterday, with right shoulder inflammation. Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.

Givens faced three Cleveland batters Wednesday and didn’t retire anyone. He’s made six appearances and allowed five earned runs (six total) and four hits with six walks and two strikeouts in four innings.

The reunion hasn’t gone as planned for Givens or the Orioles.

Triple-A rotations rarely seem to duplicate after one or two turns. Can be injury related. Can be tied to major league promotions or demotions. Can be due to the built-in Monday breaks.

The Norfolk Tides have used 10 starters in 54 games, and their probables in the Gwinnett series are changing.

Left-hander DL Hall started Tuesday night and worked three innings in his de-load phase. Lefties Cole Irvin and Drew Rom started the following day’s doubleheader.

Lefty Bruce Zimmermann was scheduled for yesterday, with Ryan Watson listed for Friday while crashing the southpaw party.

Can’t be left out.

Cedric Mullins goes down with an injury and the outfield dominos fall.

Austin Hays started in center field Tuesday night and would have switched to left yesterday except for an illness that kept him out of the lineup. Aaron Hicks roamed the middle for a while, with Ryan McKenna in left.

McKenna subbed in left and center in the ninth inning Tuesday, and he switched from left to center yesterday after Hicks exited with muscle cramps in his left calf. Ryan O’Hearn played right field yesterday, with Anthony Santander used as the designated hitter.

Where they stop, nobody knows.

Mullins had missed only one game, for personal reasons, before straining his right groin. He was the constant. Lowered in the order against certain left-handed starters, but the fleet rock in center.

Under the most ideal circumstances, the Orioles were hoping to squeeze two innings out of opener Keegan Akin this afternoon, hand over the game to bulk reliever Austin Voth and try to avoid using the bullpen again until late in the game.

That’s how they drew it up.

That’s how it rarely seems to work when the Orioles try it.

The Guardians started former Cy Young winner Shane Bieber in a game that only a reverse lock could love. The baton would get a lot more use than the homer hose.

Cionel Pérez, the third of seven pitchers used today, surrendered back-to-back home runs to Josh Naylor and Josh Bell in the fourth inning, but the Orioles reclaimed the lead in the bottom half on Anthony Santander’s two-run shot into the bullpen. Mychal Givens loaded the bases in the fifth without retiring a batter, Mike Baumann stepped into the fray, Naylor delivered a three-run double and Gabriel Arias homered into the visiting bullpen.

Austin Hays is out of today’s Orioles lineup against the Guardians because of an illness.

Ryan McKenna is in left field. Aaron Hicks is making his Orioles debut in center.

“Haysy’s a little bit under the weather today,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Hopefully, he’s available to get some big hits for us late in the game. But going to start Mac in left today with the big park out there.

“Aaron’s a little bit more comfortable in center field as of right now and took balls off the bat in center yesterday, so that’s why we decided to go that way.”

The Orioles signed Hicks to a major league deal yesterday to replace center fielder Cedric Mullins, who’s on the 10-day injured list with a groin strain.

Aaron Hicks is starting in center field this afternoon, as the Orioles try to clinch the series win over the Guardians.

Hicks is batting sixth.

Keegan Akin is the opener, with Austin Voth working in bulk relief. Twenty-three of Akin’s 24 career starts came in 2020-21.

Adam Frazier is leading off again today. He’s reached base in 20 of 23 games since May 6 and in 24 of 26 starts since April 26.

Ryan McKenna is in left field and batting ninth.

The Aaron Hicks’ era in Baltimore, however long it lasts, began yesterday with reports that the Orioles were close to reaching an agreement on a major league contract. An obvious counterpunch to losing Cedric Mullins to a groin injury. One that statistically doesn’t seem to pack much of a wallop.

Hicks was seen at Camden Yards, walking with executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias on the service level. Not long after that, the team announced the roster move.

The immediate reaction, a reflex assumption, was that Mullins would be lost for a considerable amount of time. Otherwise, just stick with Austin Hays and Ryan McKenna in center field, with a few infielders capable of handling the corners. Jorge Mateo can play center, too.

Bring up Joey Ortiz for infield depth. Select Daz Cameron’s contract and add a true center fielder.

Or, Aaron Hicks, who’s also a center fielder with 619 starts in the majors, along with 104 in left and 69 in right.

Adam Frazier lined an 0-2 changeup from Cal Quantrill into center field tonight, and the Orioles had their new leadoff hitter.

For one game, at least.

Frazier could stay atop the order or move down. Austin Hays might bat first Wednesday or in the next series. The lineup will be fluid with Cedric Mullins idle.

It takes a village to replace Mullins, and the Orioles carried that attitude to an 8-5 victory over the Guardians before an announced crowd of 11,709 at Camden Yards.

A five-run second was highlighted by Anthony Santander’s bases-loaded triple, and the Orioles improved to 35-20.

The Orioles are hopeful that Cedric Mullins’ absence from the team will be measured in weeks instead of months. They’ll grip that optimism with both hands and also keep their fingers crossed.

Mullins was placed on the 10-day injured list after he slowed before reaching first base yesterday in the eighth inning and limped off the field with assistant athletic trainer Mark Shires. He’s been diagnosed with a strained right groin muscle.

Manager Brandon Hyde was relieved to learn that Mullins could return ahead of a lengthy absence.

“It’s what I was hoping for, honestly, in that, you never know how bad those can be and it sounds like we’re getting some positive news in it being weeks and not months,” Hyde said.

“When you see a guy pull up like that, your first instinct is, not good, but because he pulled up, it seems like he helped himself. He didn’t get a hit out of it. He sacrificed maybe a hit for some weeks. We’re going to do everything we can to get him back as soon as possible. We’ll see how it goes, but I think the news was positive, at least for how bad it looked.”

The Orioles have signed veteran outfielder Aaron Hicks to a major league contract. He’s active for tonight’s game at Camden Yards.

The lineup hasn’t been posted.

Hicks replaces Cedric Mullins, who’s on the 10-day injured list with a right groin strain.

The Yankees designated Hicks, 33, for assignment on May 20 with the club owing him about $27.6 million for more than 2½ seasons remaining in a seven-year, $70 million contract. The Orioles are on the hook only for the league minimum.

Hicks was batting .188 with a .524 OPS in 28 games. He’s made 619 starts in center field, where the Orioles need to replace Mullins.

Austin Voth is waiting like everyone else.

He knew yesterday morning that he’d start Wednesday afternoon against the Guardians or work in a bulk relief role behind an opener. Manager Brandon Hyde confirmed the plan to the media in his daily session in the auxiliary clubhouse.

How the bullpen was used yesterday and which relievers are needed tonight are the determining factors. Can’t announce an exact arrangement if an opener candidate is called upon before Wednesday, or if Voth is forced into a game.

Cionel Pérez, Mike Baumann, Mychal Givens and Keegan Akin pitched yesterday, none for more than one inning.

Voth will accept any role assigned to him. Being in the majors is the perk. But he welcomes an opportunity to start again.