The Orioles knew in advance that they wanted to keep 14 position players and reduce their pitching staff to 12 for the American League Division Series.

They weren’t expecting John Means to be missing, his elbow soreness after Thursday’s simulated game creating an opening for reliever Bryan Baker.

Plan ahead and prepare to pivot.

Manager Brandon Hyde didn’t confirm that Means was going to start prior to the elbow issue, calling him “a candidate.” And he didn’t reveal who would take the mound for Game 3 Tuesday night in Arlington.

Dean Kremer and Kyle Gibson are locked into the rotation based on Means’ disappearance from it. One of them seemed to be headed to the bullpen.

Players filtered onto the field earlier today to begin their workout leading into Saturday’s Game 1 of the American League Division Series. The batting cage set up. Ground balls hit to infielders. Pitchers throwing in the bullpen. Members of the grounds crew leaning against the dugout railing with arms folded, knowing they were in for a long day with the Rangers following the Orioles.

It seemed routine, like any other afternoon, which is what manager Brandon Hyde wanted and expected. The 163^rd game in 2023 wasn’t rattling anyone’s cage.

“We have so much inexperience and so many guys that haven't had postseason experience,” Hyde said. “Just today I got to the park, it's really loose, and that's a great sign. Their workouts have gone really well the last few days. I don't feel any tension or guys feeling nervous about the games coming up. Our clubhouse right now is pretty loud and seems very, very normal like the regular season, and that's what I was hoping was going to happen.”  

The stands were empty but a sellout crowd is coming Saturday. Playoff baseball in Baltimore for the first time since 2014.

“It's been exciting,” said catcher Adley Rutschman. “It was cool to have fans out on Wednesday for the sim game and just feel the energy of people getting excited. I think we're excited for Saturday and ready to get going.

The wait is almost over for the Orioles. A young team that went from losing 110 games in 2021 to winning 101 this year. Their first playoff game is set for 1:03 p.m. on Saturday at Oriole Park when they host the Texas Rangers to start the American League Division Series.

O’s catcher Adley Rutschman played his first big league game on May 21, 2022. Before too long, both last year and this year, other young players from the O’s farm were joining him in Baltimore. And a young team was winning and winning a lot.

“To see guys go through multiple years of development, experience that together, see them end up at this spot achieving their dream and their goals is really cool,” Rutschman said today during a pre-series press conference at Camden Yards. “You feel invested in the process and their journey. I’m just excited for these guys. To see their character and they are such good guys, you want to see them succeed. I think that is what makes our clubhouse so close – you have guys that care about each other genuinely. It makes it that much more exciting and better to show up to the ballpark each day.

“I'm super excited. This is a complete blessing to have an opportunity like this to play postseason baseball with a great group of guys in the stadium with an electric atmosphere. So, there's nothing more you can really ask for. The opportunity to do something like this is amazing, you kind of cherish it.”

There is a buzz in and around the city and region in anticipation of Saturday’s game.

The Orioles are holding their first workout this evening at Camden Yards in preparation for Saturday’s Division Series opener. The opponent to be named later. Game 1 to be played in Baltimore, the first time that the city has hosted in the postseason since Oct. 11, 2014.

The Royals scored twice in the top of the ninth against Darren O’Day and Zack Britton to win 6-4 and take a 2-0 lead in the Championship Series. They swept it by posting back-to-back 2-1 victories at Kauffman Stadium. The “We Won’t Stop” Orioles were grounded.

You know what happened in 2016. The wild card game in Toronto, the Edwin Encarnación three-run, walk-off homer against Ubaldo Jiménez in the 11^th inning, Britton warmed but never used. The window for contention slamming shut and shattering.

One of the most vivid images is catcher Matt Wieters bolting from his crouch as soon as Encarnacion made contact and turning toward the visiting dugout. His own walk-off.

Anyway, that’s in the past.

One more night.

Maybe that’s how much longer the Orioles must wait to clinch the American League East for the first time since 2014.

A night when they don’t need anyone’s help.

Adley Rutschman homered, singled and drove in three runs, the bullpen retired all 10 batters behind starter Grayson Rodriguez, and the Orioles won 5-1 before an announced crowd of 24,278 at Camden Yards.

Tampa Bay defeated the Red Sox 5-0 to leave the magic number at one, and fans checking on ticket availability for Thursday night.

CLEVELAND – If the Guardians couldn’t get a run off Grayson Rodriguez tonight, maybe they’d just concentrate on getting him out of the game. Build up his pitch count with extended at-bats fueled by foul balls, dive into an Orioles bullpen that’s screaming for rest.

Rodriguez kept escaping jams to record four scoreless innings, but the Guardians broke through with two runs in the fifth. DL Hall began to warm, staying on an unplanned schedule of being used every other day.

Hall was summoned in the sixth after Rodriguez threw 99 pitches, the last striking out Kole Calhoun. The Guardians got their wish, and eventually a win.

The Orioles battled back to tie the game in the eighth, but Cionel Pérez loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom half of the inning, Ramón Laureano drew a full-count walk against Jacob Webb and the Guardians scored two more runs in a 5-2 victory at Progressive Field.

Coupled with the Rays’ walk-off win earlier today, the Orioles (95-58) saw their division lead shrink to 1 ½ games and their magic number for clinching stay at seven. They’re 50-28 on the road.

The Orioles begin their final regular season road series of 2023 tonight when they play the first of a four-game series against the Guardians. The Orioles went 2-1 against the Astros to begin the season’s final road trip.

The Orioles are 50-27 on the road and have become the third club in team history to win 50 or more road games. If the O’s go 2-2 this series, they will tie for the best road record ever by an O’s club and 3-1 or better will set a record.

Best road records, O’s history:

.649 – 2023 (50-27)

.642 – 1997 (52-29)

CLEVELAND – The Orioles’ magic number is down to seven to clinch the American League East, and they begin their final road series of the regular season with Aaron Hicks playing right field.

Hicks was out of the lineup the past two days after leaving Monday’s game with hamstring cramps.

Jordan Westburg is the third baseman tonight and Gunnar Henderson is the shortstop.

Anthony Santander is serving as the designated hitter. Ryan O’Hearn is batting cleanup and playing first base.

Rookie Grayson Rodriguez is making his 22^nd start. He’s never faced the Guardians.

When I asked manager Brandon Hyde before last night's game how his clubhouse was holding up after four straight losses and two straight to Tampa Bay, he basically said he didn't sense any difference. His team was ready for a big game Saturday night after losing by 4-3 and 7-1 to a Rays team that was red-hot and had now tied the Orioles for the lead in the American League East.

“I just think they’re disappointed, but they’re going to bounce back, ready to play tonight,” Hyde said. “I haven’t sensed anything. You can hear them interacting well. We had a good hitters meeting a while ago, but we do every day. So, I think they’re ready to go.”

They were indeed ready to go.

After scoring six runs the previous four games, they scored six runs in four innings. Off Tyler Glasnow, a pitcher with a 3.15 ERA for the year. Glasnow was 2.53 in 10 second-half starts. 

The Rays entered Saturday's game having allowed four or fewer earned runs in 11 consecutive games, their longest streak since a club-record 19-game run from Sept. 16, 2021 to April 10, 2022. Tampa Bay's pitching staff has posted an AL-best 2.79 ERA in that span.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde didn’t notice any panic inside his clubhouse this afternoon. His players behaved in the usual way, talking at their lockers, watching college football on the six televisions suspended from the ceiling, playing chess at one of the tables. Jordan Westburg grabbed a plate of food. Teammates headed outside to toss a ball.

Four losses in a row annoyed but didn’t rattle.

“I just think they’re disappointed, but they’re going to bounce back, ready to play tonight,” Hyde said before batting practice. “I haven’t sensed anything. You can hear them interacting well. We had a good hitters meeting a while ago, but we do every day. So, I think they’re ready to go.”

Grayson Rodriguez was amped, retiring the first nine batters and striking out four of six. Curtis Mead swung through a 100.1 mph fastball to end the second, the second-fastest strikeout pitch by an Orioles starter in the Statcast era. No one crossed the plate.

Gunnar Henderson was fired up, too. His first two swings of the game produced a leadoff single in the first and a 428-foot, two-run homer in the second, and he delivered a run-scoring single in the fourth. He also set one Orioles rookie record and tied a Hall of Famer on another list.

Hoping their offense will break out to help the cause, the Orioles host the Rays tonight looking for their first win in Game 3 of this series. With wins by 4-3 and 7-1 the last two nights, the Rays have tied the Orioles for first place atop the American League East.

Tonight's winner will sit alone atop the division.

Baltimore's offense, which produced just two runs in the last two games of the St. Louis series, has scored only six runs on 18 hits in the past four games. The O's have lost those four by a combined 17-6 score. They are 1-5 in the last six games by a 29-20 score. 

The four-game losing streak matches the longest of the season for the Orioles, who also had lost four in a row June 27-July 1.

In this series, O's batters are just 6-for-59 (.102) scoring four runs and going 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

Ryan Mountcastle remains out of the Orioles lineup tonight after leaving Wednesday’s game with discomfort in his left shoulder.

An MRI was negative and Mountcastle has progressed to taking some swings. Manager Brandon Hyde expressed his optimism again yesterday.

“It’s a lot better,” he said.

Heston Kjerstad’s first major league hit last night was a solo home run. He’s out of the lineup tonight.

Aaron Hicks is in right field and Anthony Santander is serving as the designated hitter. Austin Hays returns to the lineup in left field.

The Orioles and Rays are tied atop the American League East. The one win that the Orioles need to clinch the tiebreaker remains on hold, but their magic number to secure a playoff spot is three after the Rangers lost last night.

It’s complicated.

What’s apparent is a four-game losing streak that’s tied for the longest this season.

The Orioles also lost four in a row June 27-July 1 and won nine of their next 11, including a season-best eight-game winning streak.

Orioles batters are 6-for-59 in this series. They’ve scored six runs in the last four games.

BOSTON – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde stood on the soaked infield grass earlier today with a member of the Red Sox’s grounds crew who held a tablet, presumably immune to water damage, and tracked the latest storm in the Boston area. The tarp was rolled up and rain kept falling with an uncomfortable intensity while workers filled shovels with a drying compound. Some players jogged and stretched in the outfield. Fans were invited onto the warning track for a pregame ceremony.

Hyde came out of the dugout again following the anthem. Game status hadn’t changed. The ceremonial first pitch was done with the mound and plate covered. A minor inconvenience.

Adley Rutschman stepped into the batter’s box after a 42-minute delay. The teams were playing, with the smart money on the mudders.

The Orioles usually shine in any weather, but they couldn’t hold an early three-run lead and Grayson Rodriguez lasted only 4 1/3 innings in a 7-3 loss to the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 31,295 at Fenway Park.

The game was halted with two outs in the bottom of the eighth and Joey Krehbiel pitching after another downpour. This delay lasted one hour and 28 minutes, and it took nine minutes to finish. The tarp and patience were stretched. Only one returned to its normal position.

Now with 90 wins on the year, the Orioles are looking today for their 10^th series sweep of the season, after a two-game sweep of the Washington Nationals in April and eight other three-game sweeps.

The Orioles (90-51) have wins over the Red Sox this weekend by scores of 11-2 and 13-12. The Orioles allowed 23 hits yesterday as Boston went 23-for-50 (.460), but Baltimore still pulled out the win.

The Orioles' win total has exceeded the 89 from the 2016 team, the last O's club to make the playoffs. They have won 90 for the first time since the 2014 American League East champs won 96 games. The Birds have now won 90 or more 21 times in team history. 

The Orioles hit five homers in the win, two of them by James McCann. Gunnar Henderson and Aaron Hicks hit three-run shots. The O’s season high for homers is six on July 9 at Minnesota. Yesterday was the fifth game of 2023 in which the Orioles scored 13 runs or more. Their season high of 15 runs came in that July six-homer game at Target Field.

Yesterday the Orioles had 14 hits and they’ve had 10 or more hits for seven consecutive games now, their longest streak of 10 or more hits in a game since September 2011.

Once they pulled ahead to lead 5-2 in the third inning, the Orioles never trailed again on Saturday. It just felt like they did. Or that they were about to.

They gave up 23 hits and gave up three runs or more in three different innings, but when an exhausting day of baseball was over they had a 13-12 win over Boston at Fenway Park.

The Orioles have a 90-win season and now could finish 10-11 in their remaining regular season games and have a 100-win season.

They sure didn't win this game because of their pitching.

But their surging offense has now scored 34 runs the last three games, 60 in the past seven and 141 over the last 20 games.

Anaheim, Calif. - The road trip is picking up a head of steam. After scoring two runs in a loss on Friday at Arizona, the O's have won their past three out west by a 21-11 score over the Diamondbacks and Angels. They won the series opener 6-3 last night at Anaheim.

In this win, youth was served as the Orioles opened a 3.5 game lead atop the AL East - their largest first-place lead of the year. 

Third baseman Gunnar Henderson, 22, hit a three-run homer in the seventh to turn a one-run nail biter into a four-run comfortable lead. Grayson Rodriguez, 23, allowed two runs over six and delivered another quality start. Jordan Westburg, 24, continues to look more and more comfortable at the big league level. He had two more hits and made a sensational catch running from the infield into the outfield in the ninth.

“We have really, really talented young players and you saw a few of them tonight," manager Brandon Hyde said. "Grayson, DL (Hall) and how about the play Westburg made in the ninth? That is a difference in that inning and then Gunnar obviously and we’ve got more guys coming too and Adley (Rutschman) is not very old either. We have a lot of really good young players."

Henderson's 23rd homer drove in three in the seventh, a rocket liner out to right field. He is learning how to excel in late-inning, game-on-the-line spots.

Anaheim, Calif. – The Orioles seemed to be headed for another game that went down to the last out and maybe the last pitch. They have played in a lot of close games this year and won a lot of close ones.

But in need of some insurance runs in the seventh tonight, Gunnar Henderson provided them.

His almost nightly big play or big swing came at the plate this time. He blasted a three-run homer to turn a one-run lead into a more comfortable four-run edge.

The Orioles went on to beat the Angels 6-3 tonight to improve to 86-51 and win their third in a row, ninth in 12 games and 23^rd in the past 33 games.

They are now 17-6 in road series-opening games, produced their 43rd comeback win and have opened a season-high 3 1/2-game lead atop the American League East over the Rays, who lost this afternoon to the Red Sox.

Anaheim, Calif. – The Orioles' road trip has moved to California as the Angels (64-73) host them (85-51) tonight at Angel Stadium to start a three-game series. 

The Orioles improved to 28-13-3 in series play and to 12-7 in rubber match games after taking Sunday’s game 8-5 at Arizona to win that series 2-1.

The Orioles scored just two runs in losing Friday, but scored 15 runs on 25 hits, going 8-for-20 with runners in scoring position, in the series’ final two games.

Los Angeles (64-73) has struggled big time recently and got swept three in a row over the weekend at Oakland with losses by 9-2, 2-1 and 10-6. The Angels have lost six of seven and 10 of their past 13 games.

On Aug. 1, they were 56-51 and had decided to not trade Shohei Ohtani at the trade deadline. But they are 9-22 since that date.

The Orioles begin their series in Anaheim tonight with Adley Rutschman out of the lineup for the second time in six games.

The Angels are starting three left-handers, and Austin Hays moves into the leadoff spot tonight. Gunnar Henderson is playing third base and batting cleanup.

Jordan Westburg is playing second base and batting fifth. Jorge Mateo is the shortstop.

Aaron Hicks is in right field, and Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

Rookie Grayson Rodriguez has allowed 11 runs in his last seven starts over 42 2/3 innings. He faced the Angels on May 15, before his reset, and allowed eight runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. Shohei Ohtani and Chad Wallach homered in the fourth.