This, that and the other

Austin Hays has lived through some of the darkest days in recent Orioles history. He played in 131 games in 2021 when the team lost 110. The beatings through the rebuild left marks on anyone who got close to it.

With that in mind, and it’s fresh, the attention given to a four-game losing streak prior to last night seemed almost comical.

This is what happens when a team wins 101 last summer and posts the best record in the American League and goes on another impressive run this season. Getting swept twice is as jarring as a head-on collision. Or a week without an elbow surgery.

In the 91-degree heat last night, the Orioles vowed to keep the losses from snowballing. They’ll bring the same attitude into tonight now that the streak is five.

“We just keep doing what we’ve been doing for the last two years,” Hays said yesterday afternoon. “Turn the page, move on to the next day, just don’t look too far into anything. We know that we can play good baseball, and when you’re playing good baseball, you win games. That’s where we’re at.”

Keep it simple. Always sound advice.

The bar has been raised so high that small skids seem more dangerous. The sweep in St. Louis ended their historic streak at 106 series, and they lost three straight in Houston before returning home.

“Those are runs that you really don’t go on,” Hays said. “There’s plenty of teams that have won World Series that they get swept during the year. You go through those things. You run into a team that’s hot or you get some bad breaks or you just don’t play well for a weekend or a couple days.

“It’s 162 games, playing for months and months and months. At the end of the day it’s three or four days. Just continue to do what we’ve been doing for the last two years. We’re still in a really good spot, so just keep playing the way we know how to play.”

That good spot is just two games behind the first-place Yankees, who lost again last night.

Hays is a veteran on this club and one of its leaders, but he hasn’t felt compelled to check on his teammates. He would do it in an instant if he noticed any signs of distress. They don’t exist.

“I don’t see anybody pressing,” he said. “I don’t see that the team morale is down. I don’t see any of that. I don’t see that there’s any red flags right now. This team is still in a really good place, it’s still a good energy in the dugout, in the clubhouse. There’s no need to hit a panic button and change everything right now. Just keep being ourselves and play the game that we know how to play.

“It’s baseball, it happens. We play 162 games. Sometimes you lose three or four games in a row and then you win five or six or 11 in a row. It all evens out. It’s the same as a lineout and then you get a bloop single. Just wait for things to turn around.

“As long as you’re handling your business the right way, you’re preparing the right way, guys aren’t taking their foot off the gas, there’s no areas where you need to change anything. We’ll just continue to be ourselves.”

The four-game streak was the first since Sept. 12-15, 2023, and the Orioles followed it by winning four in a row, nine of 12 and 10 of 14. They hadn’t dropped five consecutive games since a six-game skid between May 13-18, 2022.

Hays was there, too. He’s experienced the highs and lows. Rode the waves and wiped out.

“I’ve been in a losing clubhouse, and I’ve been in a winning clubhouse, and I’ve seen the culture that comes from a team that loses a lot of games,” he said. “I don’t see any of those bad habits or any of those red flags or tendencies that I saw when we were losing 100 games or we were losing 15 games in a row. I don’t see any of that in this clubhouse.

“There’s winners in here and we’re doing everything that we should be doing and we’re handling our business the right way, and we’re going to continue to win games.”

Hays was in last night’s lineup against Guardians left-hander Logan Allen and went 0-for-3. He was batting .381 with five doubles, three home runs and a 1.161 WHIP this month in 16 games.

“I feel good right now,” he said. “My body’s right, my mind’s right and my swing is right. So just stay right there.”

* Jordan Westburg hit leadoff in six games against left-handers, but he’s stepped aside for Adley Rutschman in the last two.

Westburg’s actually stepped down, to fifth Sunday against Houston’s Framber Valdez and again last night against Allen. He was 4-for-21 with a double and home run atop the order.

Westburg went 4-for-4 with a double, walk and RBI last night. Fifth seems to work.

Rutschman hit leadoff in 41 games last season. Gunnar Henderson has done it 71 times this season, but Rutschman could get more chances versus southpaws.

The splits are the motivator. Rutschman began last night batting .418 (41-for-98) with a 1.115 OPS against lefties and .246 (51-for-207) with a .697 OPS against right-handers.

“Just playing with the lineup a little bit,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “What Adley’s doing against left-handed pitching this year is pretty noticeable and he’s swung the bat so well against them. Having him up there – either first, second, third, whatever it may be – up there as much as possible, that’s why he’s up there. And then, if they want to turn the lineup around and go righty, then I’ve got a switch-hitter at the top.”

Henderson belted his 25^th homer last night. The first 24 came as the leadoff hitter.

* Rutschman served as designated hitter in the first two games of the series, including Monday with the Guardians starting a right-hander.

Talking about the physical and mental demands of catching, Hyde said, “That’s why you see I give Adley a lot of DH days, because I want him in the lineup every day. If I had a normal catcher situation, then he’d be getting off-days. I don’t want him to have off-days as much as I want him in the lineup.

“What he’s doing is a luxury just like a lot of other guys I have. He’s doing an unbelievable job in both areas.”

* Ryan Mountcastle batted second last night and singled twice and doubled. A terrific relay and tag of James McCann at the plate prevented him from recording an RBI in the second inning.

Mountcastle passed the Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr. to move into first place among first basemen in All-Star voting.

Hyde offered a strong endorsement yesterday.

“Ryan Mountcastle for the All-Star Game. You heard it here first,” Hyde said.

“I’m so happy that, I was told yesterday that he was leading in voting. I think that’s absolutely fantastic and so well deserved. He’s made huge strides in every single way. Finding a home defensively, being really good at it. Being a Gold Glove finalist last year and very much deserving and hopefully again this year. And the approach at the plate. The maturity with how he takes his at-bats now. He’s just a much tougher guy to get out, and he’s got huge power but he’s a hitter first.

“He’s still getting better, too. He’s still growing as a hitter. And it’s just been really fun to watch him mature as a player and a person the last five years.”

* Baltimore native Bruce Zimmermann has missed more than a month of Triple-A Norfolk’s season with a strained hamstring. He went on the seven-day injured list on May 12.

Zimmermann is finally ready to pitch again. I’ve heard that he’s beginning a rehab assignment Thursday with High-A Aberdeen.

The Loyola Blakefield graduate made eight appearances with Norfolk and posted a 4.35 ERA and 1.475 WHIP in 39 1/3 innings. He surrendered only two home runs.