TORONTO – Once a very tough place for the Orioles to get wins, Toronto’s Rogers Centre saw the Birds go 6-1 last year, on their way to going 10-3 against the Blue Jays in 2023.

The Orioles enjoyed their first visit north of the border this year as well.

Austin Hays produced his first two homers of the season and Anthony Santander added a two-run shot – all off former Oriole Kevin Gausman – and later Ramón Urías got one as the O’s beat Toronto 7-2 in the opener to the series and road trip.

The Orioles improved to 38-20 for the season and to 17-8 in road games as they opened a four-game series here. The eight-game trip will next take the team to St. Petersburg, Fla. to face Tampa Bay.

Hays, swinging it much better in recent weeks with his stats slowly trending up, hit a two-run shot in the fourth and added a solo blast in the seventh. He had not homered all year and not since last Sept. 18 at Houston, which also was his last two-homer game. It was the sixth multi-homer game of his career.

To understand and appreciate Jordan Westburg's advanced approach to hitting, rewind to Tuesday night in the bottom of the first inning.

The Orioles were down 2-1 and had the bases loaded. Red Sox starter Brayan Bello got ahead two strikes, threw a third consecutive sinker and watched it roll into right field. Ryan O’Hearn and Colton Cowser raced home and Bello’s lead was gone.

That’s Westburg, in only his first full season in the majors.

Gunnar Henderson was the American League’s Rookie of the Year last season and is an early favorite to follow in the footsteps of Cal Ripken Jr., who won the award in 1982 and was chosen Most Valuable Player in ’83. But the low-key Westburg is ranking highly on the club’s statistical lists, placing second in average (.291), on-base percentage (.351), slugging percentage (.508) and OPS (.859) heading into last night. His 34 RBIs were third.

His 12 multi-RBI games led the team.

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.

Craig Kimbrel attracted two mound visits today from manager Brandon Hyde and head athletic trainer Brian Ebel. The first, after the veteran closer issued a four-pitch walk to the first batter he faced in the top of the ninth inning and fell behind 1-0 to the next. The last, after Oakland's Kyle McCann hit a go-ahead two-run homer and Kimbrel fell behind again 1-0.

A second consecutive blown save from Kimbrel might not be the worst news.

Kimbrel walked off the mound with Ebel while Hyde signaled for Dillon Tate, and the Orioles lost 7-6 before an announced crowd of 40,887 at sun-splashed Camden Yards.

Another attempt failed to record his eighth save this season and the 425^th of his career, which would tie the Red Sox’s Kenley Jansen for fifth place on the all-time list. Kimbrel's fastball was in the mid-90s, but something obviously wasn't right.

Hyde said afterward that Kimbrel had upper-back tightness." Kimbrel was in the trainers' room and unavailable to the media.

KANSAS CITY – Jackson Holliday is on the bench tonight with the Royals starting left-hander Cole Ragans.

He isn’t the only left-handed bat removed from the lineup, but it gets most of the attention with the 1-for-27 start and 15 strikeouts from baseball's top prospect.

Cedric Mullins and Colton Cowser are replaced by Jorge Mateo and Austin Hays, respectively. Ramón Urías is playing third base, with Jordan Westburg at second.

Urías has a hit in his last five games with an at-bat, including last night, after an 0-for-14 start. He was in the lineup once since April 5 until tonight.

Mullins is batting .353 during a 10-game hitting streak.

BOSTON – The Jackson Holliday watch is over, and it’s a relief to fans and media.

Everyone knew it was coming, but when? The waiting is the hardest part. Tom Petty was right.

The Orioles obviously didn’t set an exact date and circulate it in public. Maybe it depended on his at-bats against left-handers and how he performed at second base. A specific number of ground balls or double plays aren’t botched and you get the kid on a plane.

He doesn’t need to be accompanied by an adult. He isn’t that young.

For media, it’s like an anvil hanging overhead. Waiting for it to drop – usually at the most inopportune time.

PITTSBURGH – Austin Hays said his health has improved after he fought through another illness that isn’t the same as his spring training stomach virus.

“It’s something a little different,” he said this afternoon. “Just wasn’t feeling great yesterday. We tried to get a little extra rest and some meds in me. I was feeling better as the day progressed. Felt like I was capable of coming into the game. That’s why I didn’t start, but I ended up coming in later.”

Nothing can speed up a recovery like playing baseball in snow, sleet and hail.

“Yeah, it’s the first game I’ve ever played while it was snowing,” he said, “so it’s kind of funny how that works out.”

Hays played in his 500^th career game last night. He went 0-for-2 and is 2-for-20.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The at-bats and innings are going away. Boxes will arrive in front of lockers to ship belongings to Baltimore or other destinations. Meetings that shape the Opening Day roster will continue.

The days are dwindling but the work that remains is stacked high.

As the team prepares today for split-squad games against the Braves in Sarasota and Tigers in Lakeland, the latter being one of the worst trips of the spring that’s avoidable because of the home action, here are some more thoughts, questions and curiosities:

* Will Ryan Mountcastle return to the lineup?

Mountcastle went 2-for-4 with an RBI double and run-scoring grounder Tuesday against the Rays in Sarasota, but he hasn’t played in the last four games.

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.

The string of slow-to-nonexistent news days is about to get snipped with the Orioles approaching the deadline to sign their arbitration-eligible players or exchange salary figures.

This counts as actual news, right? Or maybe it depends on your standards. After all, they're under team control no matter the outcome. But at least it's more than a minor league signing.

Deals need to get done by 8 p.m. tonight or risk hearings between Jan. 29 and Feb. 16 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Yes, the deadline is tonight despite the 1,472 articles in Google searches that say Friday. It was changed.

One more time, I hope, are the 13 impacted players and MLBTradeRumors’ projected raises:

Time to revisit more notes from the 2023 season. And not just the facts.

Here’s another attempt to expand on them. Stretching the truth.

Fact: Jorge Mateo became the first player in Orioles history and the eighth in the majors since at least 1901 with multiple stolen bases in a team’s first two games of the season. He also became the first player in club history and the 14th player since 1901 with at least four stolen bases in his first two games to begin a season. Mateo became the ninth Oriole to steal at least 20 bases in the team’s first 68 games and the first since Nate McLouth had 23 in 2013.

Follow: If only Mateo could reach base more often, but that’s been his issue at every stop.

Top 100 prospects don’t usually move around this much. He’s been traded twice and claimed on waivers, and he’s only 28.

Matt Swartz at MLBTradeRumors.com created a model to project salaries for arbitration-eligible players, which the site has published for 13 years. Is it 100 percent accurate? Of course not, because that would be impossible. But he nails some and comes darn close with others.

That's to be expected with an algorithm that, as the site describes it, “looks at the player’s playing time, position, role, and performance statistics while accounting for inflation.” We’re also warned against using it as a “scorecard.” But does that stop us?

Of course not.

Anyway, the Orioles have an astounding 16 players eligible for arbitration, tied with the Rays and Mets for second most behind the Yankees’ 17. My unscientific projection is there’s zero chance that the club retains all of them.

Anthony Santander’s salary could jump from $7.4 million to $12.7 million. Starter Kyle Gibson led the club this season at $10 million, since the Yankees carried the bulk of Aaron Hicks’ salary and the Mets handled the bulk of James McCann’s.

Adley Rutschman sat with a smile on his face for most of his 11 ½-minute session with the media yesterday. Happy to be in the playoffs. Able to enjoy the attention and focus that he usually tries to deflect. Thrilled to talk about his teammates and how they got here.

“I'm super excited,” he said. “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. There's nothing more you can really ask for. The opportunity to do something like this is amazing. You kind of cherish it.”

“That's why I'm smiling,” he added, “and I just crushed a cold brew, so …”

Catcher turned caffeinated comedian.

If the Orioles are nervous about playing in the Division Series, with Game 1 today at 1:07 p.m., they’re doing a marvelous job of hiding it.

The Orioles are starting veteran Kyle Gibson on Saturday and remain undecided about Sunday, which would be Kyle Bradish under pre-clinching circumstances.

Uncharted territory for the franchise under the current regime.

“We’re still kind of playing with some things,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

Hyde isn’t ready to detail how the Orioles are handling their regular season finale or compensating for the extended break before Saturday’s Game 1 of the Division Series.

“It will be a lot of scheduled bullpen appearances for a lot of these guys,” Hyde said. “I didn’t want to schedule too much stuff, honestly, because I didn’t want to jinx anything. I wanted to make sure we clinched first. But now a lot of discussions are in place.”

The third at-bat ended much like the first two, except the last strike was called.

Austin Hays fell behind 0-2 yesterday in the seventh inning, worked the count full and watched an 89 mph fastball from Astros reliever Phil Maton catch the outside half of the plate. Hays threw back his head in frustration, compounded by Adam Frazier running on the pitch and being thrown out at second base.

The opposite-field two-run homer Wednesday night didn’t unlock Hays, but it offered some relief and encouragement.

Hays is 16-for-90 (.178) in the second half. The home run off Crístian Javier was his first since July 9 in Minnesota, before starting in left field in the All-Star Game.

“Felt good,” he said. “He’s got a good heater, so just trying to get on top of that thing. It was a heater up in the zone, so I was able to center it up and drive it to the right side of the field.”

Ramón Urías is out of the lineup tonight with a bruised heel. However, Urías said he’s feeling better and should be available off the bench.

Urías hit his heel with his bat during last night’s game and was removed after the sixth inning.

“It feels good,” he said. “Just a little sore today.”

Jordan Westburg is the third baseman tonight. Colton Cowser is playing center field.

Second baseman Adam Frazier is back in the lineup after jamming his right thumb during the last game in Toronto.

PHILADELPHIA – The center field strategy for the Orioles isn’t complicated. There’s no code to break.

Colton Cowser gets most of the starts against right-handers and Austin Hays gets the bulk versus lefties. Ryan McKenna is an option after returning to the club yesterday but usually operates in a reserve role. He subbed for Cowser last night in the ninth inning.

Cedric Mullins and Aaron Hicks are on the injured list to bring the total number of players to seven. Hicks strained his left hamstring Monday night but should return before Mullins, who’s dealing with a right adductor groin strain.

Hicks is hoping to be back after 10 days. Manager Brandon Hyde isn’t as confident based on the unpredictable nature of hamstring injuries.

The Orioles remain calm while the roster churns.

What a night for the Orioles.

Big plays, big pitches, big hits and a big win. One that put them in sole possession of first place in the American League East. They did against a Tampa Bay squad that started this year 13-0 and 27-6.

But while the Orioles (59-37, .615) have now won 10 of their last 12, Tampa Bay (60-40, .600) has lost five in a row and 12 of the last 15. 

In July, the Orioles are 11-5 and the Rays are 3-12. Over the past 33 games, the Orioles are 20-13 while the Rays are 13-20. Tampa Bay is 31-33 its last 64 games.

It was a night where there were more than a few stars. Kyle Gibson provided an excellent start. Gunnar Henderson keyed a three-run inning with a hustle triple and played outstanding defense. Ramon Urias played excellent D and made what might have been a game-saving play with his diving stop that ended the last of the eighth. Rookie Colton Cowser, in his 11th big league game, got behind 0-2 but still hit a go-ahead sac fly in the top of the tenth. And the big man, Félix Bautista, who saved the game Wednesday on 12 pitches, got six big outs on 15 pitches in the ninth and tenth. Remarkable to do that with so few pitches, but he's still probably not available tonight.

Dean Kremer didn’t view today’s start as some sort of revenge game. His goal was to give the Orioles a chance to win and avoid their first series sweep in 14 months. The opponent presented an opportunity to visit with friends from his former organization. Don’t read more into it.

Tyler Wells threw 40 pitches in the second inning last night and was done. Kremer threw 37 in the first and tried to rework the script.

The Orioles fell behind by two runs, answered back with four in the bottom of the first as a sudden rain shower sent fans scrambling for cover, and produced their 34^th comeback win to lead the majors. But Kremer fell one out short of qualifying for the decision.

Ramón Urías doubled twice and drove in three runs and Gunnar Henderson hit his 15^th home run in an 8-5 victory over the Dodgers before an announced crowd of 22,248 at Camden Yards. The bullpen covered the last 4 1/3 innings after Kremer was charged with five runs in 4 2/3.

The Rays lost in Texas and are percentage points behind the Orioles for first place as the teams begin a four-game series Thursday night at Tropicana Field.

NEW YORK – Austin Hays and Jordan Westburg are out of the Orioles lineup for tonight’s series opener against the Yankees.

Hays is day-to-day with a left hip contusion. Westburg was hit in the back of the left hand yesterday by a 101 mph fastball.

Gunnar Henderson is leading off and playing third base, with Cedric Mullins lowered to sixth. Aaron Hicks is in left field and Adam Frazier is playing right.

Ramón Urías is the second baseman. Ryan O’Hearn is the cleanup hitter.

Tyler Wells has the second-lowest opponent batting average in the majors among qualifying pitchers at .185, behind the Angels’ Shohei Ohtani at .180, but he’s allowed 19 home runs to tie for third-most behind Lance Lynn’s 22 and Yusei Kikuchi’s 21.