DETROIT – The Orioles take their 16-8 record, second-best in the American League, to Comerica Park for the start of a four-game series, and they have Joey Ortiz making his major league debut at second base.

Ortiz, 24, was recalled this morning from Triple-A Norfolk, with infielder Terrin Vavra optioned. The fourth-round pick in 2019 out of New Mexico State is batting .359/.389/.500/.889 in 16 games with Norfolk, with five doubles, two triples and eight RBIs. He’s a plus-defender who plays shortstop, second base and third base.

Vavra also can play the outfield, and his removal from the Orioles roster seems to indicate that Austin Hays’ bruised right hand is improving. Hays is on the bench again tonight but he’s avoided the injured list.

The Tigers are starting three consecutive left-handers in the series, if the weather permits it: Joey Wentz, Eduardo Rodriguez and Matthew Boyd. Ortiz is a right-handed hitter.

Bringing up Ortiz also gives the Orioles some infield insurance after Jorge Mateo recently sat with a sore right hip and Gunnar Henderson appeared to hurt his right hand yesterday after diving for a line drive, though he stayed in the game.

The regression that’s so common with major league bullpens from one year to the next, deserving of an attached warning label each spring, hasn’t impacted the Orioles. Relievers in the first month are immune to it. Can’t touch them.

Being an exception really defies logic when factoring the loss of veterans Dillon Tate and Mychal Givens to injuries. Zero appearances in 2023 beyond Tate’s one inning Wednesday with High-A Aberdeen.

Givens is expected to pitch Saturday at Double-A Bowie, where Tate is set to join him. Meanwhile, the Orioles have a 2.78 bullpen ERA that ranks third in the majors. They were ninth in 2022 at 3.49.

They’ve done some shuffling, with Yennier Cano recalled April 14 and Logan Gillaspie optioned five days later, but they haven’t folded.

Cano ran his streak of retired batters to begin the season to 24 yesterday, tying the club record, in a 6-2 win over the Red Sox. He nailed Justin Turner on the elbow but hasn’t allowed a run or hit or walked a batter.

Tyler Wells had the stuff today when a situation called for it. Not at his fingertips throughout his start. Just enough to hold down his opponent.

He just needed the support, both from his offense and the bullpen.

It eventually comes. Wait for it.

Wells matched his career high with seven strikeouts, and the Orioles broke a tie in the fourth by scoring three runs off Tanner Houck to defeat the Red Sox 6-2 and win their sixth series in 2023.

Anthony Santander had two sacrifice flies, Ramón Urías set a career high with four hits, the ‘pen went full beast mode again, and the Orioles improved to 16-8 with their 10^th win in 12 games and 12^th in 15.

Orioles outfielder Austin Hays has avoided the injured list after bruising his right hand last night while attempting a bunt in the third inning.

Hays came out of the game after flying out to deep left field, and X-rays didn’t reveal any fractures.

“Feels good, a lot better than last night,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Pretty sore, a lot of bruising, so hopefully it’s just a few days.”

Shortstop Jorge Mateo is out of the lineup but available to play. Mateo recovered from the right hip soreness that forced him out of Wednesday’s game in D.C., and he scored from first base Sunday on Anthony Santander’s double to left field and homered last night into the home bullpen.

“He’s just coming off that hip and day game after a night game,” Hyde said. “A lot of games still coming up.”

Austin Hays is out of today's lineup, as the Orioles try to win their sixth series of the year.

Hays left last night’s game with a bruised right hand and is day-to-day.

Terrin Vavra is in left field again after replacing Hays last night and collecting two singles. Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter, with Ryan O’Hearn at first base.

Gunnar Henderson is the shortstop. Jorge Mateo goes to the bench.

Mateo is batting .406/.432/.750 (13-for-32) with five doubles and two home runs in his last 11 games (10 starts). Last night’s homer into the Orioles bullpen was 108.2 mph off the bat.

Dillon Tate made it back on a mound last night beyond the tedious bullpen sessions and simulated action. He was allowed to face hitters on an opposing team in a game that counted, beginning his injury rehab assignment with High-A Aberdeen and allowing one run and two hits with two strikeouts in the fifth inning.

The Orioles will give Tate four or five more appearances, having him pitch on back-to-back days, and decide whether he can be activated from the injured list.

That’s the easy part.

Making room for Tate and Mychal Givens, who is supposed to begin his own rehab assignment later this week, might become a hassle.

Other teams won’t feel sorry for them, but the bullpen’s ERA dropped to 2.88 last night, the third lowest in the majors. Manager Brandon Hyde is pushing many of the right buttons based on the results, and it’s easier to do when guys are getting outs and the rotation isn’t forcing early appearances and excess baton passing.

Kyle Bradish issued a walk and took a brief stroll. Off the mound and toward first base, his eyes locked for a moment on plate umpire Adrian Johnson. His frustration at a non-strike call leading him to take a break before the pitch clock started again.

No distance covered was going to fix Bradish’s night. He couldn’t get far enough away from it.

Bradish lasted only 2 1/3 innings and was charged with seven runs, including Jarren Duran’s first career grand slam, in the Orioles’ 8-6 loss to the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 14,343 at Camden Yards.

Triston Casas was awarded the win in an 11-pitch at-bat with one out in the second inning, with Johnson ruling that Bradish’s slider missed wide. Casas began a string of five consecutive batters reaching base, three of them scoring.

Bradish threw 40 pitches in the inning and 81 before manager Brandon Hyde brought in Mike Baumann. The bullpen held Boston to one run and three hits in 6 2/3, and the Orioles scored five times off Kaleb Ort in the ninth, including Gunnar Henderson's first home run since April 3 and Cedric Mullins' second career grand slam.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde spent part of last night’s media session praising his hitters, saying it was the best offensive performance of the season beyond perhaps the first two games in Boston.

“I mean, who loves no punchouts?” he asked, referring to Chris Sale’s inability to record a strikeout in five innings. “I do.”

Red Sox manager Alex Cora expressed different feelings on the topic, on a night when his team’s dissatisfaction with home plate umpire Junior Valentine’s strike zone led to hitting coach Peter Fatse’s ejection in the sixth inning. Cora was tossed after the final out, which results in a fine from the league.

Sale struck out 11 batters in his previous start against the Twins, but the Orioles made contact on 40 of their 42 swings against him in a 5-4 win.

They didn’t have a batter strike out for the first time since Aug. 8, 2010 against the White Sox.

Cedric Mullins returns to the leadoff spot tonight and Austin Hays is lowered to eighth, as the Orioles try to secure another series win.

Anthony Santander is the designated hitter and Adam Frazier is playing right field.

Kyle Bradish tossed six scoreless innings in D.C. after leaving the injured list. He made five starts against the Red Sox last year and went 0-3 with a 7.54 ERA and 1.500 WHIP in 22 2/3 innings.

Rafael Devers went 6-for-13 with a double. Alex Verdugo was 5-for-13 with two doubles.

The Orioles have won seven games in a row and 11 of 13. Their 15-7 record is second-best in the American League behind the Rays (20-3) and the third-best in the majors.

Félix Bautista struck out Riley Greene on a 100 mph fastball Sunday afternoon to finish the top of the ninth inning, a pitch that didn’t coax a swing out of the Tigers’ center fielder. Akil Baddoo also struck out on a four-seamer after Jonathan Schoop grounded out.

A crowd of more than 30,000 erupted, and the Orioles won in the 10^th on a wild pitch that scored Adam Frazier.

Bautista didn’t get a win or a hold, but he had clean inning.

No baserunners to disrupt his outing or remind him of the restrictions imposed by the new rules.

Teams are 4-for-4 in attempted steals while Bautista is on the mound, beginning with Aaron Judge on April 7 after a two-out walk.

Do the Red Sox count as a soft portion of the schedule?

They were a last-place team but with a record above .500 upon arriving in Baltimore. They began the season by winning a series against the Orioles. They led the majors with nine comeback victories.

The Orioles claimed their eighth tonight.  

Austin Hays delivered a tie-breaking single in the fifth inning and threw out a runner at third base in the sixth, and four relievers protected a slim lead in the Orioles' 5-4 victory before an announced crowd of 11,811.

The Orioles have won seven games in a row and 11 of 13, and they improved to 15-7.

Though Monday is supposed to be a quiet period for minor league baseball, with no games scheduled, the Orioles stayed busy with personnel moves and could keep bragging about the quality of their farm system.

Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Colton Cowser was named International League Player of the Week after slashing .319/.481/.826 with a double, three home runs, six RBIs, three walks and 10 runs scored in six games versus Rochester.

The Tides are in Charlotte this week and Cowser is bringing a 15-game on-base streak. The organization’s first-round draft pick in 2021 is hitting .345/.465/.586 during that stretch with three doubles, a triple, three home runs, 10 RBIs, 12 walks and 20 runs scored.

Shortstop Jackson Holliday, the first overall selection in last year’s draft, was chosen Carolina League Player of the Week after posting a .450 average with a double, two home runs, six RBIs, six walks and eight runs scored.

Holliday earned a promotion today from Single-A Delmarva to High-A Aberdeen after batting .392/.523/.667 with six doubles, a triple, two homers, 15 RBIs, 15 runs scored and three stolen bases. He was 12-for-28 during a seven-game hitting streak.

The Orioles will try to extend their winning streak to seven games tonight in the series opener against the Red Sox at Camden Yards.

They’ve won eight of their last nine games and 10 of 11.

Austin Hays is leading off and Cedric Mullins is batting seventh. James McCann is catching and Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

Adam Frazier is batting ninth and playing second base.

Dean Kremer will try to duplicate or build on his last start in D.C., when he tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings with no walks and six strikeouts. His first 2023 start came at Fenway Park, where he allowed five runs and six hits with two home runs – from Alex Verdugo and Adam Duvall - over three innings.

The Orioles have won 14 of their first 21 games to tie for the third-best start in club history. And they don’t want to hear about soft schedules and beatable opponents.

It used to be them. Remember?

They were tagged as the easy marks during the rebuild. They were the team that the rest of the league was supposed to view as providing a breather during a heated pennant race.

Funny how a narrative can spin as the tables are turned.

The Red Sox and Yankees are a combined 4-2 versus the Orioles, and everyone else is 3-12. A stretch of 10 wins in the last 12 games has come against the Athletics, White Sox, Nationals and Tigers, who are a collective 25-60.

The first inning didn’t hurt Grayson Rodriguez today. He punched back before it could leave marks.

A leadoff single by Akil Baddoo wasn’t a “here we go again” moment for the rookie. He struck out the next three batters for his only scoreless opening frame in four major league starts.

Rodriguez didn’t retire the side in order until the fifth, which included two of his six strikeouts. He managed to keep the Tigers scoreless while the Orioles tried to get their first base runner against Tigers left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez.

Ryan Mountcastle lined a two-out single into left-center field in the seventh to complete a tense eight-pitch at-bat against the former Orioles minor leaguer. There wouldn’t be an embarrassing entry into baseball’s history books.

There wouldn’t even be a shutout.

Orioles reliever Dillon Tate said this morning that he’ll probably need five or six appearances on his injury rehab assignment before he’s ready to be activated and make his 2023 debut.

Tate is joining high Single-A Aberdeen on Tuesday in Wilmington, Delaware, the newest test to determine whether he’s fully recovered from the right elbow flexor strain that ruined his plans to pitch in the World Baseball Classic and be introduced at Fenway Park on Opening Day.

“Physically, I’m basically there, and it will be a few more days before I’m back,” he said. “I’m excited, ready to go.”

Tate will be used on back-to-back days toward the end of his assignment as a final hurdle to leaving the injured list.

“See where things stack up,” he said, “and after that, be ready to go.”

A late scratch from last night’s lineup, shortstop Jorge Mateo is starting this afternoon’s series finale against the Tigers at Camden Yards with no rain in the forecast.

Manager Brandon Hyde reconsidered yesterday with rain falling throughout the day, worried that Mateo might reinjure his right hip. Mateo, who hasn’t played since leaving Wednesday’s game in D.C., was on the field before 10 a.m. with head athletic trainer Brian Ebel to do some light running and side-to-side drills.

He must have passed the tests.

Cedric Mullins is batting ninth again today, with Austin Hays in the leadoff spot. Ramón Urías, who had a three-run double last night and later was ejected from the game, is batting cleanup and playing second base.

Gunnar Henderson is at third base and Ryan McKenna is the right fielder. Anthony Santander goes to the bench.

The last four lockers in a row inside the Orioles clubhouse that lead to the entrance to the bathroom and shower area have nameplates above them for John Means, Mychal Givens, Dillon Tate and Cole Irvin.

The first three pitchers are on the injured list, with Means assigned to the 60-day after spring training. Irvin was optioned on April 14 after making three starts.

Those empty spaces will be filled again, but probably on four different days.

Means makes the occasional appearance, and he’s full-go in his bullpen sessions. The team has been targeting a July return for their ace – plenty of time to figure out how he fits.

Tate is beginning his injury rehab assignment Tuesday with high Single-A Aberdeen, and Givens is supposed to start his own later in the week.

Storms moved out of the area, the tarp was peeled back, and the Orioles began tonight’s game on time, an unlikely proposition based on the ominous forecast.

Kyle Gibson’s dominance was delayed.

Gibson had to work through a bases-loaded jam in the first inning that cost him 24 pitches. He allowed one run and two hits in 6 1/3, striking out 11 to match his career high, and the Orioles defeated the Tigers 5-1 before an announced crowd of 12,194 at Camden Yards.

Ramón Urías had a three-run double in the third inning before his ejection, James McCann hit his first home run in the fourth, and the Orioles improved to 13-7. They’ve won five games in a row and nine of 11, and they go for a series sweep on Sunday with Grayson Rodriguez opposing Eduardo Rodriguez.

Gibson was averaging 4.9 strikeouts per nine innings in his first four starts. He registered five tonight through the second to equal his season high and had nine through the fifth. His 11^th concluded the sixth.

Orioles reliever Dillon Tate is ready to begin his injury rehab assignment Tuesday night with High-A Aberdeen, which is playing in Wilmington, Del.

Tate didn’t pitch in spring training due to a right elbow flexor strain. The injury surfaced in November, denying him a chance to join Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.

Early projections from the club had Tate being out until mid-to-late May.

Asked whether Tate’s return to game action is faster than anticipated, manager Brandon Hyde said, “I think it’s pretty much on schedule.”

The Orioles won’t assign a specific total of appearances for Tate before he’s deemed ready to be activated.