For the second straight series, the Orioles will play an opponent in a rubber match game after splitting the first two games of a series. They play in Pittsburgh to decide this series after winning 5-2 Friday and losing 5-4 yesterday in 11 innings.

The Orioles, 5-3 overall, are 1-1 on the road and 1-0 in rubber match games. They split two games with the Royals before Wednesday's 4-3 walk-off win gave them a series win.

A win today would make the Orioles 3-0 in series this season.

Pittsburgh is now 7-2 after a 5-0 start. They began the year 4-0 at Miami and went 2-1 at Washington. So whichever clubs win today will have three series wins to start its year.

With that 7-2 mark (.778), Pittsburgh is tied with the New York Yankees and Cleveland for the best record in baseball.

PITTSBURGH – Corbin Burnes moves up a day in the rotation and starts Tuesday afternoon’s series opener against the Red Sox in Boston.

The Orioles are flip-flopping Burnes and Cole Irvin, who’s bumped back to Wednesday night. Grayson Rodriguez starts Thursday night before the club returns home.

Burnes would have worked on six days’ rest if he remained on his normal turn.

Today’s lineup in Pittsburgh is a duplicate from yesterday, with the same names and order. James McCann is catching. Jordan Westburg is playing third base. Jorge Mateo is at second.

Manager Brandon Hyde hadn't written out the exact same lineups - names and positions - in consecutive games since Aug. 5-6, 2022 against the Pirates.

Jordan Westburg rounded first base tonight, looked back at the dugout, pumped his fist and yelled.

This is what a walk-off home run feels like.

This is what a good, young hitter looks like.

Cedric Mullins singled with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning against Royals right-hander Nick Anderson, Westburg fell behind 0-2 on a pair of curveballs and launched a fastball over the right field fence, and the Orioles won the series opener in dramatic fashion, 6-4, before an announced and chilled crowd of 12,666.

"I was a little antsy that first pitch and chased a curveball down," Westburg said, "and I figured he was going to try to go back to the heater up, so I took that nice curveball right down the middle."

The Orioles and Kansas City Royals may be forced to dodge some raindrops the next few days, but they are scheduled to begin a three-game series tonight at Camden Yards.

The Orioles (2-1) are a game and a half back of the 4-0 New York Yankees for the American League East lead. They opened the season with wins by 11-3 and 13-4 scores over the Los Angeles Angels before they were held to three hits in Sunday's 4-1 loss.

Kansas City scored big in its third game after losing the first two to Minnesota by 4-1 and 5-1 scores before Sunday's 11-0 win.

The Orioles rank fourth in the AL in team batting average (.267) and OBP (.347). They are third in slugging (.475) and third in OPS (.823) behind only Texas (.891) and Cleveland (.832).

The O's will travel to Kansas City for three games from April 19-21. The Birds went 5-1 against the Royals last year; they took two out of three at Kauffman Stadium from May 2-4 before completing a three-game sweep in Baltimore from June 9-11.

Jordan Westburg stays in the lineup tonight at second base as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Royals.

Ramón Urías is playing third base. Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter.

It’s Jorge Mateo’s turn to sit again.

Gunnar Henderson continues to sit atop the order. He recorded his 10^th career multi-walk game Sunday and first since July 7, 2023.

Henderson posted a 1.646 OPS against the Royals last season, and his three home runs tied Manny Machado for most by an Orioles rookie versus Kansas City, per STATS.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles rotation is taking its final spring turn before Opening Day.

Dean Kremer won’t get the ball again until he’s in Baltimore. He accumulated 3 2/3 innings tonight and allowed one run and three hits with two walks and five strikeouts.

Kremer was stretched out to 75 pitches, 46 for strikes.

Albert Suárez starts Thursday night against the Red Sox in Fort Myers, and Corbin Burnes starts Friday night against the Pirates in Sarasota. Chayce McDermott leaves minor league camp to start Saturday afternoon’s split-squad game against the Rays in Port Charlotte, and Tyler Wells starts Saturday night against the Blue Jays in Sarasota.

The exhibition finale is Sunday, with the Orioles playing the Twins in Fort Myers, and manager Brandon Hyde hasn’t revealed his starter. Meanwhile, Grayson Rodriguez hasn’t faced Grapefruit League hitters since Thursday in Bradenton, which indicates that he’s pitched on the back fields.

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Dean Kremer jogged from the dugout to the mound today for the bottom of the fifth inning. He got another up. And he got the chance because he was cruising.

Kremer retired nine batters in a row and he wasn’t done. With Albert Suárez ready in the bullpen, Kremer threw all three of his pitches for strikes and Francisco Mejía flied to center field.

Now, he could sit down after registering his longest outing of the spring.

Ten in a row were retired since Kremer hit his second batter of the day. He allowed one run and two hits in 4 1/3 innings, with one walk and three strikeouts.

In four exhibition starts, Kremer has surrendered six runs and 12 hits and struck out 11 in 12 1/3 innings.

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Colton Cowser is playing left field and leading off this afternoon against Rays right-hander Naoyuki Uwasawa.

Jordan Westburg is playing third base. Heston Kjerstad is in right.

Jackson Holliday is starting at shortstop after playing in last night’s “Spring Breakout” game in Bradenton. Connor Norby, who also played last night, is the designated hitter today.

Dean Kremer is making is fourth start, with Albert Suárez on the trip to pitch in relief. Kremer has allowed five runs and 10 hits in eight innings, with three walks and eight strikeouts.

Coby Mayo is listed among the reserves. Among players coming over from the minor league side are outfielder Dontá Williams and infielders Anthony Servideo and TT Bowens.

SARASOTA, Fla – A lot has been going well for the Orioles during spring training 2024 as they've gotten off to a 9-1 start. But today something went wrong in the last of the first inning when starting center fielder Cedric Mullins walked off the field with a trainer as the Orioles faced the Minnesota Twins at Ed Smith Stadium.

During the game, the club announced Mullins left due to right hamstring discomfort.

For the Orioles, the good news is that manager Brandon Hyde said after the game that Mullins left as a precaution and they feel this will be a minor setback.

“I think he was doing it (coming out), really, as a precautionary measure," said Hyde. "Just felt a little sore and the right thing - I’m glad he did it - was (to) say something and come out of the game.

Asked whether Mullins would need to get magnetic resonance imaging done, Hyde replied: “No. Just got treatment inside. We’ll see how he is in the morning.

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Orioles reduced their 40-man roster to 39 players this afternoon in the latest move - their third in less than 24 hours - by losing outfielder Sam Hilliard on a waiver claim by the Rockies.

Hilliard was claimed from the Braves in November and competed for a backup spot with the Orioles, an intriguing possibility with his left-handed bat and ability to play all three spots.

He didn’t get many opportunities, going 0-for-3.

Hilliard played for the Rockies from 2019-22, so he returns to his original organization.

The Orioles have a healthy supply of left-handed hitting outfielders in camp with Cedric Mullins, Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Kyle Stowers and Daniel Johnson. Anthony Santander bats from both sides of the plate.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Former Orioles manager Buck Showalter used to make a point about the unpredictability of baseball by quoting one of his favorite sayings.

If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans.

It’s supposed to apply to life, but it also works with sports.

Think you have every angle covered before spring training and discover on the first day that two-fifths of the starting rotation appears headed for the injured list.  

Kyle Bradish has a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, the irritation noticeable while working out in January. He’s definite for the IL.

In recent days we have discussed the possibility of the Orioles adding a starting pitcher via a trade and it’s been a topic at hand for the entire offseason. The club remains one of several that seem intent on adding one quality starting pitcher to their current rotation.

Barring a real surprise – one where the Orioles dive into the deep-end of the free-agent pool and offer big dollars to someone – a trade for a pitcher has seemed the most logical move all along. They have a deep and talented farm and can compete with just about anyone via the trade market where they don’t seem to have the same desire via free agency.

But what if the Orioles miss out here or in the end, determine they are not ready to meet the trade price to get another starting pitcher? What if they have to take the field in late March without an addition in the rotation?

Do they have enough right now to have a 90-100 win team that will contend for the playoffs? Probably, but another starter would sure provide added insurance to better answer that as being more positive.

For the 2023 season, the O’s team ERA was 3.89 to rank fifth-best in the American League. Baltimore was just a few points behind third-place Tampa Bay's 3.86 and a bit further back of first-place Minnesota's 3.74.

Pitchers and catchers report to spring training in a little over a month, marking the official beginning of the Orioles’ quest for their first back-to-back playoff appearances since 1996-97. And their first consecutive division titles since 1973-74.

They wouldn’t spit on a wild card berth, but the goals get higher as the win totals rise.

There’s also an increase in the questions and curiosities that I’ll bring into camp, with more on deck as the Orioles fill their roster.

I’ve wondered whether Kyle Bradish could build on his breakout season, Jordan Westburg would play more regularly, Cole Irvin would keep bouncing between the rotation and bullpen, and John Means would give the club a full and productive season.

I’ve asked for an update on Dillon Tate and whether Seth Johnson would debut next summer. How much Craig Kimbrel has left in tank, whether Jackson Holliday makes the Opening Day roster, what happens to Joey Ortiz, whether Colton Cowser makes the team in spring training, which version of Jacob Webb we’ll see, and whether Ryan Mountcastle and Ryan O’Hearn are the primary first basemen and their impact on Coby Mayo.

He is not the forgotten man in the Orioles starting rotation but maybe he is at times slightly overlooked.

With Birdland excited about Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez at the top of that rotation and the return of lefty John Means late last year in addition to the potential to add another starter, we can look past the 2023 contributions of right-hander Dean Kremer.

And we certainly should not, although on the stat sheet, his ’23 was not as strong in some respects as his ’22. But last season Kremer made 32 starts and the Orioles went 24-8 (.750). That stat alone should grab your attention. For comparison, they went 19-11 (.633) in Bradish’s starts and 14-9 (.609) when Rodriguez took the mound.

That doesn’t make Kremer a better pitcher since so much goes into that record like the defense behind you, run support and the ability for the late relievers to close out your game. But Kremer puts his team in position to win such a high percentage of his starts.

His season was marred by a slow start. In fact, his ERA was 6.67 in April. But then it was 3.59 his last 26 starts, as the Orioles went 21-5. Had he posted a 3.59 ERA for the full year he would have finished ninth in the AL in that stat.

Orioles starter Dean Kremer fell short of achieving Super 2 status and becoming eligible for arbitration. The cutoff was set at two years and 118 days of service time, down from two years and 128 days in 2022.

Kremer missed it this year at two years and 112 days.

The season was mostly a success for Kremer, who finished 13-5 with a 4.12 ERA in a career high 32 starts and 172 2/3 innings. Eleven of his victories occurred in night games, tied with teammate Kyle Gibson for second-most in the American League.

I can’t leave it at that. More digging must be done here, and I’m the man with the shovel.

According to STATS research, Steve Stone owns the club record with 24 victories in night games in 1980. Stone won the Cy Young Award in the American League with a 25-7 record.

In one sense it was a bit unexpected that an O’s pitching staff that performed so well in the second half of the 2023 season would perform poorly in the playoffs. But they gave up 21 runs as Texas swept the Orioles in three games. They gave up 18 in the last two games as starters Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer combined to allow 11 runs in 3 1/3 innings.

Texas is a good hitting team, but Orioles pitchers seemed to be hitting their stride the longer the season went on. This time Texas got the better of them.

For the 2023 season, the O’s team ERA was 3.89 to rank fifth-best in the American League. Baltimore was just a few points behind third-place Tampa Bay's 3.86 and a bit further back of first-place Minnesota's 3.74.

In the first half of the season Orioles pitching went 54-35 (.607) with a 4.15 ERA. In the second half the staff went 47-26 (.644) with a 3.58 ERA of 3.58 that was first in the AL and third in the major leagues. The O's played at a 104-win pace after the All-Star game.

The O’s team ERA by month in 2023:

ARLINGTON, Texas – Maybe the wounds are too fresh for players and fans to be reflective.

Time has healing powers.

The disappointment last night was evident along every wall of the visiting clubhouse at Globe Life Field. Total silence except for media interviews in front of lockers. Blank expressions. And then, a lot of hugging.

The Orioles didn’t want to go home unless they were prepping for Game 5 of the Division Series.

They truly believed until the last out that they could become the 11^th team to fall behind 2-0 in a best-of-five series and win it. The same mentality that led to those 48 comeback victories that tied the Reds for most in the majors.

When it went south for the Orioles, it went fast. A 1-0 deficit turned into a 6-0 hole within a span of five pitches in the last of the second inning. The Texas Rangers were on their way to a three-game sweep of the Orioles in the American League Division Series.

After 101 wins and an AL East championship, a team that fought so hard and so well to win the division was out of the playoffs in a span of three games and over a span of four days.

It was a strong year during the regular season for AL East teams. But in the postseason the division is now a combined 0-7 and with no teams left.

Texas beat the Orioles 7-1 for its fifth straight postseason win. It was Baltimore's eighth straight postseason loss.

They may have let the AL West division title get away to end the regular season, but the Rangers have not lost in the postseason and have taken out the O’s and Rays.

ARLINGTON, Texas – Rookie Jordan Westburg struck out on three pitches, and the Orioles ran out of comebacks. Out of chances to keep playing. They’re going home, and not to host the decisive game.

A team that wasn’t swept in its last 91 series couldn’t squeeze a win out of the ALDS.

Dean Kremer allowed six runs in 1 2/3 innings, with homers by Corey Seager and Adolis García traveling a combined 863 feet, and the Rangers rolled to a 7-1 win in Game 3 before an announced sellout crowd of 40,861, the largest ever at Globe Life Field.

The 101 wins in the regular season and first division title since 2014 must suffice. The launch out of the rebuild and the promise of many playoff teams in the future.

Players had to deal with the present as they sat in the dugout and watched the Rangers celebrate, then made the painful walk back to their clubhouse. The best record in the league didn’t give them a pass.

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Orioles must win tonight at Globe Life Field against the Texas Rangers or pack up the bats and balls for the 2023 season. It's Game 3 of the best-of-five American League Division Series with Texas holding a two-games-to-none lead.

The Orioles (101-61) fell behind 9-2 in the third inning Sunday in Baltimore. They rallied, but lost 11-8 after dropping a 3-2 game in the series opener.

This is just the second time in O's postseason history that they have lost the first two games of a series. The other time was in the 2014 AL Championship Series, and they were swept in four in a row by Kansas City.

The Orioles have an all-time postseason record of 52-42 and are 12-10 all-time in playoff series. But they have lost seven straight postseason games coming into Game 3. They are 11-7 all-time in ALDS games.

Texas (90-72) began this postseason with a six-game playoff losing streak, but now is 4-0 this postseason, by a combined 25-11 score against the Rays and Orioles.