The Orioles have reached one finish line. The end of the regular season.

Game 1 of the Division Series is Saturday at Camden Yards. The Orioles will play the winner of the wild card series between the Rays and either the Blue Jays, Astros or Rangers – the identity revealed later this afternoon.

They made a roster move this morning, recalling left-hander Cole Irvin from Triple-A Norfolk and optioning lefty Bruce Zimmermann, who tossed two scoreless innings last night.

Irvin also didn’t make the trip to Las Vegas for Norfolk’s 7-6 victory over Oklahoma City in the Triple-A championship game.

The Orioles want another fresh arm that can provide some length in the bullpen. Irvin has registered a 4.54 ERA and 1.314 WHIP in 23 games, including 12 starts.

The emotions sneaked up on Brandon Hyde again. Made his eyes water and the words stick in his throat.

The fifth-year Orioles manager keeps experiencing firsts on the job that make him reflect on the hard times and challenge him to maintain composure. Hold it together while hugging anyone who’s close to him.

“It’s really a weak point of mine,” he said yesterday with a smile. “It’s something I need to work on.”

His players wouldn’t change a thing. They appreciate the soft side that’s exposed after wins to clinch a playoff berth and division title. How he treats them. How much he cares.

If tears are shed, that’s fine. Let them trickle or flow.

Gunnar Henderson swung at the seventh pitch thrown to him tonight and moved closer to ranking first on more Orioles all-time rookie lists. Kyle Bradish was handed the ball and demonstrated again why he should be the first starter in the playoffs.

Henderson’s home run over the center field fence, a 400-foot shot leading off the bottom of the first inning, provided an immediate lead for the Orioles, and Bradish shut out the Nationals through the eighth in a 1-0 victory before an announced crowd of 20,823 at Camden Yards.

Their division lead is 2 1/2 games with the Rays defeating the Red Sox 9-7, and the magic number is two to clinch it.

The 98 wins are the most since 1997.

The champagne celebrations could reach two as early as Wednesday.

Chasing their 98th win and with a magic number of three to clinch the American League East championship, the Orioles host the Nationals tonight to begin a two-game series at Oriole Park.

The O's (97-59) won the last two games of their series at Cleveland and lead the AL East by 2 1/2 games over Tampa Bay with six to play.

Lefty John Means and righty Kyle Gibson provided big outings that led the Orioles to those wins and provided much-needed rest for the bullpen. They pitched a combined 14 1/3 innings allowing six hits and two runs.

It was just the second time this year the Orioles got back-to-back outings of seven innings or more from their starter. That also happened June 24-25 with Dean Kremer and Kyle Bradish.

The Orioles are 51-15 (.773) when they get a quality start and 18-2 (.900) when their starter goes seven innings or more.

Félix Bautista threw 25 pitches this afternoon to minor league catcher Ramón Rodríguez in his first time facing a hitter. And he didn’t go strictly with fastballs.

Bautista has had a few bullpen sessions and today was another step in the right direction.

The Orioles begin their final homestand of the regular season with their magic number at three to clinch their first division title since 2014.

A win tonight would be the 98^th of the season, the most since 1997.

Gunnar Henderson is the shortstop. He needs one more triple to become the eighth player in major league history with at least 25 home runs and 10 triples in their age 22 or younger season, per STATS. The others are Jimmie Fox, Joe DiMaggio (twice), Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Al Kaline and Dick Allen.

CLEVELAND – Tyler Wells’ teammates missed his pitching while he was gone, and also his personality.

A plus changeup to the pressure of a division race.

“He’s a nice, loud guy. You know when he’s in the room,” said John Means, smiling at the description.

“It’s fun having him back and we’re all happy to have him here.”

Manager Brandon Hyde was asked about Wells during his pregame media scrum in the visiting dugout. He also went where Means had gone.

HOUSTON – Kyle Bradish needed to be the stopper today on a team with a winning streak.

The right-hander and staff ace was tasked with halting the deluge of phone calls from the visiting dugout to the bullpen, to restore a sense of calm and resume his dominance of the Astros.

Bradish did what he could with six scoreless innings and nine strikeouts, lowering his ERA to 3.01 and raising his quality start total to 17, but what happens after he leaves?

Jacob Webb preserved a slim lead in the seventh, but Shintaro Fujinami issued a pair of walks in the eighth that set up Jeremy Peña for a game-tying double off Mike Baumann.

Manager Brandon Hyde turned to Danny Coulombe in the ninth and the game was over after three batters. A chance at a 10th series sweep was gone.

The Orioles have nine series sweeps this season and are trying for No. 10 today at Houston after posting wins of 8-7 and 9-5 at Minute Maid Park.

With last night’s win, the Orioles improved to 50-26 away from Oriole Park, the best road record in the major leagues. This is also just the third time in O’s history they have posted 50 or more road wins, topped by their 52 in 1997. The 1980 team also won 50 road games.

The Orioles (95-56) have a 2 1/2-game lead atop the American League East on the Rays (93-59) with 11 games left. They have a magic number of eight to clinch the AL East championship, and need to go 5-6 or better to win 100 games.

The Orioles are 7-1 in Houston since the 2021 season. That year they swept a three-game series in June, scoring 27 runs. Last August, they won two of three in Houston, holding the Astros to four runs in those three games.

The Astros (84-68), now leading the AL West by just a half-game over both the Rangers and Mariners, have lost four of their last five and six of eight games. They are 7-10 in their past 17 games and are now 38-39 at home on the season.

HOUSTON – Ryan Mountcastle remains out of the Orioles lineup for the seventh game in a row, as the first leg of the road trip concludes this afternoon.

Heston Kjerstad is receiving his third consecutive start, again serving as the designated hitter.

Gunnar Henderson is the shortstop, with Ramón Urías at third base. Adam Frazier is at second base, and Jordan Westburg is on the bench.

The club didn’t announce any roster moves this morning.

Kyle Bradish is 11-7 with a 3.12 ERA and 1.087 WHIP in 27 starts. He’s registered 16 quality starts.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde faced redundancy before the Rays.

More questions about the magnitude of the series. How his players would handle it, how he’d handle it.

“I just want our guys to enjoy it,” Hyde said during his daily media session. “This is what you play for all year. Play meaningful games in September. It’s something you always talk about.

“I really want our guys to just relax and enjoy all the moments.”

The fun times began with Cedric Mullins’ running, diving catch in right-center field to rob Taylor Walls in the second inning and likely save a run. They accelerated with Ryan O’Hearn’s leadoff homer in the bottom half and Gunnar Henderson’s 26^th in the fourth.

The Orioles, who lead the American League East by two games and are 10-0-2 in their past 12 series in the division, host the Rays tonight to start a crucial four-game series at Oriole Park. 

The Orioles are 91-54 for the best record in the AL and second-best to Atlanta in MLB. They have won eight of 11, 14 of 20, 17 of 24 and 20 of the last 29 games. They are 43-27 at home and 37-19 in the second half.

Tampa Bay is 90-57 and looking to make the postseason for the fifth year in a row. The Rays have won five of six, 12 of 17, 16 of 22, 18 of 25 and 21 of their past 30 games.

Tampa Bay is 40-32 on the road, 32-22 in the second half and 71-22 when they score first. They are 19-35 when their opponent scores first.

The Orioles are 6-3 versus the Rays and one more win will give the Orioles the season series victory. They went 9-10 last season against the Rays and 1-18 in 2021.

Now, it gets real.

Or real important. And really hard.

The other games counted, of course, but the Orioles are set to play four against the Rays beginning tonight at Camden Yards. The team that’s two behind them in the division race. The team with the same lengthy stubborn streak, refusing to let injuries and other impactful issues break its spirit and damage postseason aspirations.

The Orioles returned to their clubhouse last night with their magic number at four to clinch the first playoff birth since 2016. That’s the immediate task, and it could be done in a few days.

An Orioles win reduces the number by one. And so on. That’s the simplest math in an otherwise complicated equation, which induces headaches when also factoring in other teams like the Rangers and Mariners.

The Orioles' latest win on their road trip allowed them to maintain a four-game lead atop the American League East with 22 to play. At 89-51 they are now closing in on a 90-win season and need to go 11-11 or better the rest of the way to record 100 wins or more for the first time since 1980.

Right-hander Kyle Bradish improved to 11-6 with a 3.03 ERA last night, giving up two runs over six innings. Bradish has an ERA of 2.08 in his past six starts and 2.33 in his last 15. The Orioles are now 18-8 in his outings this year.

The Orioles improved to 53-15 (.779) when scoring first this year, the best record in MLB and the 53 such wins are tied for fifth-most. Baltimore has recorded 10+ hits in six consecutive games, its longest such streak since Sept. 19 (G2)-24, 2011 (also six). The last time the Orioles did so in seven straight games was May 14-21, 2011.

Bradish is the third Orioles' pitcher with at least 11 wins this season along with Kyle Gibson (14) and Dean Kremer (12) and this marks the first time the Birds have had three pitchers with 11+ wins since Wei-Yin Chen (11), Ubaldo Jiménez (12), and Chris Tillman (11) in 2015. 

The Orioles are 6-1 on their road trip with six straight wins by a 47-20 score. In the six games, the team is batting .319 with an OPS of .883 and is 27-for-76 (.355) when hitting with runners in scoring position.

West Coast, East Coast. Home or road. American League East or outside of the division. Doesn't seem to matter much. The Orioles' relentless pursuit of winning carried on Friday night at Fenway Park.

The Orioles' 11-2 blowout of the Red Sox improved their record to 89-51 (.636). An 11-11 finish would net them 100 wins, but for now, they are on a 103-win pace.

Two O's teams ever won that many:

* 109 wins in 1969
* 108 wins in 1970

Remember those March over/unders that listed the Orioles at 76.5 wins for this year?

BOSTON - Kyle Bradish must want to keep his ERA at 3.03. Must like the whiff of a palindrome.

Bradish allowed two runs in six innings last night for the third start in a row and fourth out of five. He registered his 16^th quality start of the season and raised the Orioles’ total to 61. They lead the majors with 44 since June 1.

Are they getting close to the club’s single-season record?

Not at all.

Starters don’t work as deep into games and must complete at least six innings with three runs or fewer allowed to meet the criteria.

BOSTON – Kyle Bradish wouldn’t set the bullpen into motion tonight until two outs in the sixth inning. Ryan O’Hearn had to do it.

Orioles relievers raised their arms and jumped in the air as O’Hearn’s fly ball sailed into the right field seats leading off the top of the fourth. They couldn’t catch it. May as well celebrate it.

O’Hearn’s 12^th homer of the season, Gunnar Henderson's latest Rookie of the Year push and Bradish’s latest quality start propelled the Orioles past the Red Sox 11-2 before an announced crowd of 33,852 at Fenway Park.

The Rays defeated the Mariners 7-4 to leave the Orioles with a four-game division lead.

Adley Rutschman curled a fly ball around the right field foul pole in the eighth for his 18^th home run, and the Orioles won their sixth game in a row and improved to 89-51 overall, 47-25 on the road and 31-15 in series openers. They will go 85 series of multiple games in a row without being swept.

Not only have the Orioles been the best team in the American League East to this point of the year – leading the division by four games – but they have been the best team in head-to-head games within the AL East.

AL East vs. AL East in 2023:
.634 – Orioles (26-15)
.600 – Rays (24-16)
.556 – Red Sox (20-16)
.381 – Yankees (16-26)
.324 – Blue Jays (12-25)

So the O’s .634 win percentage in AL East games is about equal to the .633 win percentage for the year. The O’s are currently on a 102-win pace.

The Birds' nine-game road trip will end this weekend and they have now shifted from the West Coast to the East Coast for three games in Boston at Fenway Park. The Orioles are 3-3 against Boston this year and the teams have not played since April 26. They have not played at Fenway Park since losing two of three games there to begin the year March 30-April 2.

One reason the Orioles are in first place is their solid play in the division this year. They lost their first two AL East series of the year to the Red Sox and Yankees and have not lost a division series since, going 9-0-2 since early April.

BOSTON – The Orioles are a season-high 37 games above .500 and four games ahead of the Rays in the American League East as they reach the final stage of their road trip at Fenway Park.

They’ve won five in a row, seven of nine, 11 of 14, 14 of 18 and 25 of 35. On the line this weekend is a streak of 84 consecutive multi-game series without being swept.

Gunnar Henderson is the shortstop tonight against the Red Sox. Ryan O’Hearn is batting cleanup as the designated hitter, followed by first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

Austin Hays is in left field. In 18 games since Aug. 15, Hays is batting .338/.413/.646/1.059 with eight doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs.

Adam Frazier is playing second base and Ramón Urías is at third.

ANAHEIM – The Orioles are tweaking their rotation before the series with Red Sox that begins Friday night at Fenway Park. Had they stayed on turn after tomorrow’s off day with their current six-man, they would have thrown Cole Irvin Friday, then Kyle Bradish Saturday and Jack Flaherty on Sunday against the Red Sox.

But manager Brandon Hyde said today it will be Bradish in the Boston series opener, Flaherty next and Grayson Rodriguez Sunday in the series finale in Boston. Irvin is moving to the bullpen for now.

“We’ve put Cole in the ‘pen. He was in the bullpen last night,” Hyde said today. “He’s going to be kind of a length guy right now. Kind of get through the weekend and evaluate series-to-series right now.”

Is this a return to a five-man rotation?

“As as right now, for the weekend it is. After the weekend it might change,” he said.

PHOENIX - The Orioles have played four regular season series in Arizona and lost all four to the Diamondbacks. They lost series there in 2002, 2007, 2013 and 2019.

But after winning 7-3 Saturday night at Chase Field, the O's can take this series with a win this afternoon against Arizona (70-66).

The D-backs, who won 4-2 on Friday night, have won five of their last six series, and are 11-6 their past 17 games and 13-7 in the last 20. They are 36-33 at home and 18-18 versus American League clubs.

Right-hander Kyle Bradish, pitching for the first time in his home state as a big leaguer, got the win last night for the Orioles, allowing two runs and four hits over six innings on a career-high 107 pitches. 

He has allowed two earned runs or fewer for five consecutive starts, recording a 1.88 ERA in that span. In 14 games since mid-June he has gone 8-4 with a 2.28 ERA.