NEW YORK – Albert Suárez walked into the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium this afternoon, turned left and stopped. His eyes did a quick scan of the lockers. His name was nowhere to be found.

Suárez casually spun in the other direction and smiled. He was in a row straight ahead with a bunch of the other pitchers.

He had worked through his first jam.

More would come later, and controlling the Yankees was much harder than locating his uniform.

Suárez didn’t make it out of the fourth inning, Jordan Westburg injured his left hip and the Orioles lost to the Yankees 4-0 before an announced sellout crowd of 47,429. Exactly how they did not want to begin an important series.

NEW YORK – Dean Kremer rejoined his Orioles teammates and made the trip to New York but currently remains on his injury rehab assignment.

Kremer pitched Sunday for Triple-A Norfolk and allowed two earned runs and five total in 3 2/3 innings, with four hits, one walk and three strikeouts. He threw 59 pitches, 37 for strikes.

Norfolk is in Lehigh Valley on Friday. Double-A Bowie is home against Altoona.

The Orioles will be in Houston.

“We’re actually still talking about that right now,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Whether he makes another start or joins us, we’re discussing.”

NEW YORK – Jordan Westburg is leading off tonight and James McCann is catching as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Yankees that could flip-flop the top two positions in the division standings.

Gunnar Henderson is batting cleaneup. The Orioles are 43-10 when Henderson homers in his major league career.

Austin Hays is in left field and Colton Cowser is in center. Hays, Cowser and Cedric Mullins took early batting practice this afternoon.

Anthony Santander is batting .295/.353/.721 this month with two doubles, eight home runs and 14 RBIs in 16 games. He hit .207/.294/.415 in May.

The Orioles have homered in 16 consecutive games, the longest streak in the majors this season and their longest since going deep in 18 straight from Sept. 6-24, 2019.

The Orioles are tied with the Phillies for the second-best record in baseball after winning 101 games last season, and they’re getting noticed again by fans.

The first update in All-Star Game voting finds Adley Rutschman leading all catchers in the American League and Gunnar Henderson leading the shortstops. They were the Orioles’ first two selections in the 2019 draft.

Ryan Mountcastle is second to Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. among first basemen and Jordan Westburg is second to Cleveland’s José Ramirez among third basemen. Jorge Mateo and Ryan O’Hearn are fourth among second basemen and designated hitters, respectively.

Three Orioles outfielders show up in the results, as well: Anthony Santander is fifth, Colton Cowser is seventh and Cedric Mullins is 11^th.

In addition, Corbin Burnes has an excellent chance of making the AL team and could be named the starter.

The Orioles continue to hold their own and most of the time do better than that against other winning clubs. Will this bode well for the rest of the year? Will it mean something come October?

Again, great questions. October is a whole other story, and we'll get there when we get there. But the way the O's play against quality opponents has to bode well for where they will be after 162 games have been played.

Against teams that are over .500 as of the end of their game Sunday, the Orioles record is now 22-9 (.710) and they are 9-1 in series. They have won series against the Yankees, Minnesota, Seattle, Philadelphia and Atlanta losing to Milwaukee. They have won two series each against Boston and Kansas City.

Those numbers could change as Boston was one game over (36-35) going into its Sunday night baseball game. Also St. Louis, which went 3-0 versus the Orioles, was 35-35 as of last night.

But the O's are doing quite well and against current division leaders they are 8-5, going 3-1 versus the Yankees, 2-1 against Seattle and Philly and 1-2 against Milwaukee. 

Though it’s true that Corbin Burnes warms up to the Garth Brooks tune “Friends in Low Places,” the ace right-hander also keeps gaining admirers with every start. And some of them are high in the ranks in the Orioles organization.

He’s become so popular that teammates are willing to beat up Zack Wheeler for him.

Burnes registered his 10^th quality start in a row, Gunnar Henderson hit his eighth leadoff home run of the season, and Colton Cowser, Adley Rutschman and Jordan Westburg also went deep within the first five innings in a 8-3 win over the Phillies before an announced sellout crowd of 44,525 that pushed the weekend total at Camden Yards to 133,067.

Burnes allowed two runs in six innings and the Orioles headed into their lone off-day of the month at 47-24 and two games behind the first-place Yankees, who play tonight in Boston. They lost the series opener in the 11th and won back-to-back games against the team with the best record in the National League.

Henderson has 22 home runs on the season, and he really had to work for today’s. He got the count full against Wheeler, fouled off three pitches and dropped a sinker into the Orioles’ bullpen at 419 feet – the ninth pitch of the at-bat producing his 10^th career leadoff shot. His most recent before today came Monday at Tropicana Field.

The Orioles placed starter Kyle Bradish on the 15-day injured list again today with an ulnar collateral ligament sprain in his right elbow – the same injury that led to a platelet-rich plasma injection in January and delayed his 2024 debut until May 2.

Left-handed reliever Nick Vespi was recalled for the fourth time, giving the Orioles an eight-man bullpen.

The rotation is down to five starters.

Bradish exited last night’s game after the fifth inning with elbow discomfort. He’s undergoing more tests.

I’ll have more on Bradish later today.

When this baseball season began, Buck Britton, the third-year manager of the Orioles’ Triple-A Norfolk Tides team, was 37. He turned age 38 on May 16, just six days after he recorded his 400^th win as a minor league manager.

The Orioles have the No. 1 ranked farm system in the majors and many people have had a hand in that. But to hear some players with the Orioles now that have played for Britton, he is a very big reason why.

His last season as a Triple-A player was in 2016, so he’s young enough to relate to current players, experienced enough to have seen a lot in a seven-season minor league career and savvy enough to know what he doesn’t know or had lesser knowledge of at one time. He brought himself up to speed with the data and analytics in the game and when you put it all together, Britton, as the Birds' Triple-A skipper, has a lot to offer the talented youngsters he works with daily.

“He’s a great manager,” said outfielder Kyle Stowers. “He has a good gauge of what is going on in the clubhouse and what guys need. How to get guys ready to go. He is willing to work with guys. I see him all the time getting in work with the infielders.

“His door is always open for anyone that needs to talk with him. I’ve spent quite some time with him now and really enjoy playing for him.”

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Double barrel action in a bullpen is the term used when two relievers are warming at the same time. For Austin Hays, it’s the unfortunate process of receiving treatment for two ailments in the trainers’ room.

Hays didn’t play again last night due to bruised ribs and tightness in his back, but he’s avoided another trip to the injured list. His status remains day-to-day heading into the three-game series against the Braves at Camden Yards.

The ribs didn’t prevent Hays from serving as a defensive replacement in left field Saturday afternoon. However, the back flared up and cost him a chance to start Sunday.

As usual, the timing is rough.   

Hays can set an example for Cedric Mullins, who went into Sunday’s game batting .170 with a .522 OPS and was hitless in his last 25 at-bats before a single and triple provided some relief. Hays’ problems at the plate stemmed more from poor health, dating back to his illness in spring training that caused him to lose about 10 pounds and feel weak. He went on the injured list earlier this season with a calf strain and was day-to-day in the Rays series.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Orioles spent their last eight games playing on artificial surfaces, starting in Toronto and shifting to Florida. There’s nothing fake about the overall results. What they did on the mound, at the plate and in the field.

It was real and it was often spectacular.

The first four-game sweep for the Orioles at Tropicana Field was cemented tonight with a 5-2 victory over the Rays before an announced crowd of 14,686. Gunnar Henderson hit another leadoff homer, Ryan O’Hearn drove in three runs, Corbin Burnes held the Rays to two unearned in seven innings and the club improved to 43-22.

The Orioles have won 14 of their last 18 and return home to face the Braves and Phillies in more traditional three-game sets. They’re packing serious momentum.

O’Hearn broke a 2-2 tie in the fifth with a two-run double off Ryan Pepiot. He pulled a changeup down the right field line with two outs, the eighth pitch of the at-bat. He worked reliever Kevin Kelly for nine in the seventh, fouling off six before pulling a sweeper into right field to score Henderson, who came within a triple of the cycle.

When the Orioles just played in Toronto, they won the first two games of a four-game series, but lost the third and fourth games at Rogers Centre. With that memory, the O's take the field in St. Petersburg today against the Rays after wins in the first two games of another series.

The Orioles have now gone 21 straight series versus American League East teams without losing one. They have won 14 and tied six in this span. This series will end no worse than a tie, but one more victory and the O's will win another AL East series.

At 15-6 (.714), the Orioles are the only team in the division with a winning record against the division. The Yankees are 8-8, the Blue Jays are 9-10, the Red Sox are 5-8 and the Rays are 10-15.

This year, the Birds are 3-3 against Toronto, 4-1 versus Tampa Bay, 5-1 against Boston and 3-1 against New York.

The Orioles have won seven of their last 10 games, eight of 12, and 12 of 16. At 41-22 (.651), the Birds are tied with the Guardians for the third-best record in the major leagues behind the Yankees (.682, 45-21) and Phillies (.703, 45-19). Since the start of 2023, Baltimore is 142-83 (.631), the best winning percentage and most wins in the majors.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Kyle Stowers is out of the Orioles lineup this afternoon after leaving yesterday's game with a sore right elbow.

Cedric Mullins gets the start in center field, with the Orioles trying to claim another series against a division opponent. The worst they can do is a split.

Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter, with Ryan O’Hearn at first base. Jordan Westburg is at second base and Ramón Urías is at third. Colton Cowser, with his right calf wrapped, is in left field.

Austin Hays remains out of the lineup. He came off the bench yesterday, played left field and doubled.

O’Hearn has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games, batting .326 (15-for-46) with two doubles, three home runs, five RBIs, two walks and nine runs scored.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Kyle Bradish never left the Orioles rotation, he just stepped back for a few days. Recharged the battery and waited until the club devised a new order. Shook off the season’s worst start and rattled the other team.

Pitching for the first time since last Saturday, Bradish retired 18 batters in a row after Yandy Díaz’s leadoff single in the first inning. The Rays didn’t get a ball out of the infield against him.

Bradish struck out nine batters in six scoreless innings, Ryan O’Hearn hit a leadoff homer in the fourth, and the Orioles defeated the Rays 5-0 before an announced crowd of 20,485 at Tropicana Field that was decorated in orange on the third base side.

Jordan Westburg delivered an RBI triple with two outs in the eighth, Gunnar Henderson lined a three-run homer into the right field seats in the ninth, and the Orioles improved to 41-22 overall and 15-6 in the division. They moved within three games of the first-place Yankees, who face the Dodgers later tonight.

They came within Díaz's two-out single in the ninth of their second one-hitter of the season, the first on May 26 in Chicago, when Bradish tossed seven hitless innings. They retired 26 Rays in a row before Díaz bounced a single into right field and notched their fifth shutout.

The mailbag won’t enter Canada unless it’s the postseason, but Florida is fine.

The Orioles begin another four-game series tonight at Tropicana Field and hope to do better than a split. The bar is raised. It wasn’t that long ago that winning twice against the Blue Jays would have been cause for celebration.

Let’s get to the latest sequel to the beloved 2008 original, which is always worth celebrating. You know the rules. You send ‘em and I answer ‘em, with little to no editing.

Your level of clarity won’t ruin the hilarity. Your particular style won’t get me riled.

Also, my mailbag is at home beneath the dome and yours is allergic to fake grass.

Jordan Westburg is starting at second base tonight and Connor Norby is out of the lineup after homering last night for his first major league hit.

Norby is the 12^th player in club history whose first hit is a home run.

Ramón Urías is playing third base. Kyle Stowers is in left field, Cedric Mullins is in center and Ryan O’Hearn is in right.

Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

Ryan Mountcastle homered twice last night and is 29-for-91 (.319) with seven doubles, eight home runs, 26 RBIs and a 1.044 OPS in 24 career games at Rogers Centre.

Walking along Eutaw Street may require protective headgear. Anthony Santander launched a baseball over the flag court in right field yesterday and Gunnar Henderson splashed down this afternoon with his 19th home run and sixth leading off the first inning.

Zack Littell got a called strike with his sinker and regretted the slider that followed. Henderson pummeled it.

The Rays were taking a beating during their visit to Baltimore, but they became the aggressors in the eighth and finally broke a bullpen that amassed 12 1/3 scoreless innings in a row before today.

Dillon Tate returned after recording the last two outs in the seventh and surrendered back-to-back singles and Jose Siri’s two-run, go-ahead double, and the Orioles lost 4-3 before an announced crowd of 32,463 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles were unsuccessful in their bid for a fifth series sweep of at least three games and are 37-20 as they head to Toronto.

As play began on Friday night in the majors, Gunnar Henderson was once again tied for the MLB homer lead with 18 with Aaron Judge and Kyle Tucker. His OPS of .938 was fourth-best in the AL and seventh in MLB.

He’s scoring runs, stealing bases, bashing baseballs and fielding them very, very well at shortstop. Cal Ripken Jr. once won the American League Rookie of the Year one year and AL MVP the next, in 1982 and 1983.

There is talk of Gunnar being in the MVP race or near the top of such for this season after being ROY last season.

“I just try to go out there and continue to play my game each and every day. The numbers will take care of themselves at the end of the day. Just trying to help the team win and make another postseason run,” Henderson said of the MVP talk.

He led the O’s to a series-clinching win Wednesday over Boston when he hit a grand slam that was his 50^th career homer. Another successful AL East series.

The entire Orioles infield gathered on the mound in the second inning for a conference that seemed to be more about settling down. Hit the pause button, regroup and get back to work. Get back to the way they normally play.

The Red Sox scored after Connor Wong singled, left fielder Colton Cowser and shortstop Gunnar Henderson committed errors, and Jorge Mateo made a high throw to the plate on a fielder’s choice. Corbin Burnes also threw a wild pitch for bad measure.

A popup and caught stealing kept the deficit at one. The defense was fixed.

Fortunately for the Orioles, there was nothing wrong with the bats. No one had to say a word.

Henderson hit a grand slam in the bottom of the second, Burnes held the Red Sox to an unearned run and three hits over seven innings, and the Orioles claimed another division series with a 6-1 victory before an announced crowd of 18,857 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles' Gunnar Henderson has been piling up some walks lately. In the season’s first 31 games, he drew only eight walks. But in the last 22 games he has 19 walks.

He got walked nine times in seven games on the recent road trip and then drew one walk in Monday’s series opener with Boston.

So what is at work here? Is Gunnar looking to walk more? Are teams pitching around him or pitching him more carefully recently?

“I mean I am getting a little more comfortable taking pitches,” Henderson said Tuesday afternoon in the Baltimore clubhouse. “Probably earlier in the season I was chasing maybe a touch, but, yeah, just kind of really trying to pick out certain pitches and doing well at taking the ones that are kind of close. Ones that I feel I can do damage with, I usually get off a swing. That’s the biggest thing.”

Taking the close pitches that are balls should be a good thing, right?

Dean Kremer is making good progress in his recovery from a right triceps strain.

The Orioles put Kremer on the 15-day injured list retroactive to May 21. He’s rehabbing with the club.

“He’s doing well,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “It’s getting a little bit better every day. The soreness has gone down. Should be expecting to play catch here soon.

“So far so good with him.”

Hyde didn’t have any updates on John Means (left forearm strain) or Tyler Wells (right elbow inflammation). Means is receiving a second opinion after flying back to Baltimore. Wells is in Sarasota rehabbing, with no news beyond how he was cleared to play catch last week.