The Orioles created two openings on their 40-man roster yesterday by again designating left-hander Cole Irvin and infielder Nick Maton for assignment.

Left-hander Danny Coulombe, on the 60-day injured list, can fill one spot when he’s reinstated. He retired all three batters faced yesterday in his second rehab appearance with Triple-A Norfolk.

Maton was bumped to make room for outfielder Heston Kjerstad, who returned from the concussion injured list and stayed with the major league club rather than being optioned. The offensive woes prompted the Orioles to give Kjerstad another shot, and he went 0-for-2 while batting cleanup and serving as the designated hitter before Eloy Jiménez pinch-hit for him.

This is the level of, dare we call it desperation, to find an offensive spark that the Orioles slotted Kjerstad fourth after his long layoff from major league competition. It didn't help.

They were held to two runs or fewer for the sixth time in the last 10 games and have scored 21 in that stretch. And a 4-2 loss at Comerica Park dropped them three behind the first-place Yankees with 12 remaining. They lead the Royals by two for the top wild card and home field.

BOSTON – Coby Mayo is starting at third base tonight at Fenway Park and Jackson Holliday returns to the lineup at second base.

Cedric Mullins is batting second again.

James McCann is catching, with Adley Rutschman serving as designated hitter.

Albert Suárez needs to bounce back from his last start, when he allowed six runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings against the White Sox. He surrendered three home runs to tie his career high, and Chicago snapped a 12-game losing streak.

Suárez shut out the Red Sox over six innings on Aug. 18.

Later this month, the Orioles will present another Brooks Robinson Award to their Minor League Player of the Year. 

Coby Mayo is a strong candidate to get the hardware. Now ranked as the club’s No. 1 prospect with Jackson Holliday graduating from prospects lists, Mayo is ranked No. 9 in the national top 100 for both Baseball America and MLBPipeline.com.

In sizing up his 2024 season on the farm, where he played 87 games at Triple-A Norfolk and four on rehab for High-A Aberdeen, Mayo will admit his walk rate dropped a bit but also notes that his production numbers went up. He feels he made progress on defense, taking more groundballs than he can ever remember, he said.

Mayo told me recently that his strong finish at Triple-A in 2023 – he had an OPS of .905 in 62 games – provided confidence he would thrive there this year.

“I think starting in spring training this year, after the season I had last year, gave me a boost that I could have another good year,” he said. “Learned a lot at big league camp and playing well gave me a lot of confidence going into the Triple-A season that I could compete with the best.

The first-place Orioles wrap up their series against the White Sox tonight with Coby Mayo at third base and batting seventh.

Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter.

Gunnar Henderson stays atop the order. He has a hit in four straight games for the first time since July 25-Aug. 1.

Albert Suárez is making his 20^th start and 28^th appearance with his ERA down to 3.14. In his five starts last month after replacing injured right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, Suárez allowed only four earned runs with 24 strikeouts in 30 1/3 innings. He posted a 1.97 ERA in six August games.

Suárez pitched in relief against the White Sox on May 25 and shut them out over four innings.

The Orioles are pushing to regain a significant chunk of their health before October.

Let’s start with reliever Danny Coulombe, who faced hitters today for the first time since undergoing surgery in June to remove bone chips from his left elbow.

Coulombe has thrown off a mound, but today represented a significant step in his progression toward a rehab assignment and reinstatement from the injured list.

“Definitely encouraged,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “We’ll see how he feels tomorrow. He’s in the weight room kind of getting his post-throw lift in. He felt pretty good, so hopefully it feels good tomorrow, too.”

Reliever Jacob Webb tossed a scoreless inning with Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday and he’s pitching again for the Tides on Wednesday. The Orioles will decide after the outing whether he’s ready to get back into their bullpen.

Coby Mayo started at third base Sunday afternoon in Denver after rejoining the Orioles on their expanded roster and he lined a single the opposite way for his second major league hit. He also scored his third run. He seemed comfortable in the box and in the field.

The Rockies started left-hander Ty Blach. The Orioles placed Ramón Urías on the 10-day injured list with a sprained right ankle. Mayo was pretty much a lock to be in the lineup.

Yesterday’s series opener against the White Sox offered a different story. Mayo sat while right-handed hitter Emmanuel Rivera played third base against right-hander Chris Flexen. Mayo didn't make an appearance in the blowout win.

I saw theories floated that Mayo could work in a platoon with left-handed hitting Nick Maton, who had his contract selected yesterday from Triple-A Norfolk, but they shared bench space yesterday. First base presents an option for Mayo with Ryan Mountcastle on the injured list due to a sprained left wrist, and he’s made 21 starts with the Tides.

The Orioles might be hesitant to transfer that experiment to the majors, but it isn’t clear what they plan to do with him.

DENVER – The Orioles recorded a hit with a runner in scoring position to take a quick lead, and Zach Eflin retired the side in order on 10 pitches in his return from the injured list. Maybe, just maybe, the Orioles would make it through the afternoon in good health and with a series win. Leaving the drama at the entrance to Coors Field. Starting a new month with a new attitude and better vibes.

They couldn’t possibly know what else Eflin would deliver.

Eflin retired the first 15 batters on only 49 pitches to flirt with the first perfect game in franchise history. He’d settle for seven innings of one-run ball in a 6-1 victory over the Rockies before an announced crowd of 32,961 on another gorgeous Denver day.

Eflin was barreling toward the first Orioles complete game since Dean Kremer on Sept. 23, 2022 against the Astros at Camden Yards. Kremer left last night’s start in the fourth after taking a line drive off his right forearm area. An odd connection was brewing.

Chad Kuhl tossed the last complete game at Coors Field on June 27, 2022.

After winning the first game of their series at Dodger Stadium, the Orioles lost the next two games, losing the series to the Dodgers. They need a win today to avoid the same fate at Coors Field.

The Orioles beat the Rockies 5-3 in the series-opener on Friday night, but they lost 7-5 last night. So the O’s and Rockies play the rubber match game to end this series and road trip. The Orioles are 8-5 in rubber match games.

At 78-59, the Orioles begin play today 1.5 games behind the New York Yankees. They are 39-29 on the road and 2-3 on this trip.

The Orioles have lost three of four, six of 10 and 11 of their past 19 games. The O’s are 20-21 since the All-Star game after going 58-38 in the second half.

The Orioles have now played 137 games:

DENVER – Coby Mayo was on a flight to Denver last night when third baseman Ramón Urías sprained his right ankle. Mayo was joining the Orioles’ expanded roster, unaware that he’d do more than fill out the bench.

“Obviously, I saw what happened after the fact,” Mayo said.

He also heard plenty about it. His phone was blowing up with text messages about Urías and the opportunity that arrived as he checked into the team hotel.

Urías rolled his ankle while covering third base on Ezequiel Tover’s stolen base in the seventh inning. Urías laid on the ground, writhing in pain, and remains on crutches today.

An offense that’s scuffled for prolonged periods lost a player batting .357 with a 1.178 OPS over his last 14 games before last night. Just another unfortunate injury that tests this team’s depth and resolve.

DENVER – Expanded roster plans in September took a clearer shape earlier today.

The Orioles are bringing corner infielder Coby Mayo to Colorado, according to multiple sources. He can become the 14^th position player beginning Sunday, a move that was anticipated.

Mayo went 1-for-17 with 10 strikeouts in his first major league experience but kept abusing Triple-A pitching, batting .293 with a .943 OPS, 23 doubles, three triples, 22 home runs and 67 RBIs in 87 games with the Norfolk Tides. Two of his home runs were hit after the Orioles optioned him.

Mayo started at first base again last night, where he could be used by the Orioles with Ryan Mountcastle on the injured list.

Ramón Urías is red-hot at the plate, slashing .357/.440/.738 with a 1.178 OPS over his last 14 games since Aug. 16, and seems to have third base locked up with Jordan Westburg also on the injured list.

The trade that brought Eloy Jiménez to the Orioles was celebrated in some Chicago circles. Always injured, not hitting, clogging a roster spot and some payroll space. And the cost for the Orioles was Triple-A left-handed reliever Trey McGough, who never cracked a prospect top 30 list.

“We hope we can get Eloy on a heater,” executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias said that night on the MASN broadcast.

Since he left the Windy City, you could warm your hands over Jiménez, who slashed .240/.297/.345 in 65 games with the White Sox and began last night 16-for-52 (.308) in 17 games with the Orioles. He had their first hit with a leadoff single in the fifth inning.

What gives?

“I think everybody just kind of elevates when they’re around good players,” said Orioles offensive strategy coach Cody Asche. “That’s not to say that Chicago doesn’t have good players, but I think we’ve got really good players. We’ve got a lot of good guys with impeccable work ethics, preparation, so I think he’s just been able to kind of follow the lead of guys like Ced (Mullins), Gunn (Gunnar Henderson), Tony (Santander).

NEW YORK – While the Orioles were determining that starter Zach Eflin needed to go on the injured list after he tried throwing yesterday, Coby Mayo went through his pregame routine at Harbor Park in Norfolk and readied for his first appearance in the minors since Aug. 1.

Mayo was optioned on Thursday after spending two weeks with the Orioles. He received 20 plate appearances and was 1-for-17 with three walks and 10 strikeouts.

Playing time began to dwindle in that short period. Mayo appeared in the first five games, including four starts, between Aug. 2-7. He didn’t get back in the lineup until Aug. 11 at Tropicana Field and last Wednesday at Camden Yards.

The fade didn’t tip off Mayo about the organization’s plans for him.

“I would say I was a little shocked, but not really,” he said yesterday in a phone interview. “I knew that if I wasn’t helping the team win, I wasn’t going to play. But at the same time, I feel like I was getting better, I was getting a lot of work done.”

When you ask Orioles manager Brandon Hyde how much he appreciates Ramón Urías for his dependability at a variety of times in a variety of roles this season, he reminds everyone this is not new.

“The last few years,” said Hyde.

“Ramón is the same guy, every single day," he said. "Whether he is playing or not playing. Whether he hasn’t played in three or four days or been in the lineup. He comes to the park super consistent. He’s always ready. Makes his defense important and gives you the best AB he’s got. He’s got sneaky power and loves to be out there.

“It’s important right now. Anything we can add to the bottom of the order and wrap that thing around to the top of the order. Ramón has always been a super, steady player for us.”

When the Orioles optioned Coby Mayo back to Triple-A Thursday, that put Urías back in the lineup at third base, the position where he won a Gold Glove in 2022.

Orioles reliever Danny Coulombe is beyond the beginning stages of his throwing progression.

Coulombe smiles as he provides the latest update, which includes playing catch from 90 feet.

“I’ve been revving up my throwing,” he said yesterday. “I’m on track, so hopefully it just keeps going well. And as long as it keeps going well, we’ll keep going.”

Coulombe was shut down and underwent surgery on June 18 to remove bone chips from his left elbow. He knew that he hadn’t torn his ulnar collateral ligament again. The pain was in a different spot, but it cost the Orioles a top high-leverage reliever who held right-handers to a .130 average and .490 OPS and left-handers to a .171 average and .400 OPS.

The Orioles could have Coulombe increase the distance on his throwing. That’s how it usually works.

Tracking Liván Soto with the Orioles is becoming a full-time job.

They claimed him twice on waivers and lost him twice. They traded for him at the deadline, optioned him immediately, recalled him Aug. 1 and optioned him the next day while selecting Coby Mayo’s contract, and recalled him again yesterday while optioning Mayo.

The circle of baseball life can make you dizzy.

Soto could stick around a while or just pass through town. Predicting his next move is a dangerous little game.

“It’s been a little difficult, but it’s part of the process and all I can do is learn from it, get mentally tougher, mentally strong and just learn from this experience and be ready to go,” he said yesterday via interpreter Brandon Quinones.

Jackson Holliday played in 10 games in his first stop in the majors before the Orioles sent him down. Coby Mayo made it to seven.

They hit .059, with Holliday going 2-for-34 and Mayo 1-for-17. The Orioles want to see other similarities.

Holliday was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk, hit a grand slam in his first game and homered five times in 10. He strung together three consecutive multi-hit games. The at-bats and the confidence were improved.

Now it’s Mayo’s turn after the Orioles optioned him early this afternoon and recalled infielder Liván Soto, who was batting .355/.412/.581 (11-for-31) in nine games.

Young prospects who return to the minors take with them valuable information and experience, Holliday, Colton Cowser and Grayson Rodriguez just a few of the examples.

O’s outfielder Colton Cowser has been a Coby Mayo teammate in the majors and minors. They spent a lot of time together on the Triple-A roster. But today, less than 24 hours he picked up his first MLB hit, Mayo was optioned back to Norfolk.

He went 1-for-17 with the Orioles, getting his only hit in the fifth inning last night. He hit a 1-0 slider from Washington lefty DJ Herz for a single into left field. He walked and scored two innings later.

It was his sixth big league game and it was the second time he had reached base twice and he scored his second MLB run.

He leaves to go back to Triple-A, where he was batting .301 with an OPS of .961 and 20 homers over 77 games.

With the Orioles, Mayo hit .059 and fanned 10 times.

Coby Mayo finally got his first major league hit last night. Today, he’s optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles announced the move this afternoon, which includes recalling Liván Soto from the Tides.

Mayo was 0-for-16 before lining a single into left field leading off the fifth inning. He also walked and scored a run in a 4-1 win over the Nationals at Camden Yards.

MLB Pipeline’s No. 10 prospect in baseball finished his first major league stint 1-for-17 with three walks and 10 strikeouts. His contract was selected Aug. 2 with the team in Cleveland, and he drew his first two walks in his debut.

Soto offers infield versatility with his ability to play three positions. The Orioles optioned him on the same day that Mayo arrived.

Gunnar Henderson raised the bat above his head and looked toward right field as if calling his shot after making contact. This was his reaction to a blast that used to be more common in the first half. A power pose that he’d like to bring back more frequently.

Henderson demolished a first-pitch four-seamer from DJ Herz in the opening inning, his 30^th home run landing on Eutaw Street and staking the Orioles to an early lead.

Coby Mayo lined a single into left field leading off the fifth and ditched his bat as quickly as possible. No time to admire his first major league hit. Bolt out of the box, reach first base and soak in the standing ovation.

Dean Kremer had his own moments tonight with six innings of one-run ball, and the Orioles gained a split of the series with a 4-1 win over the Nationals before an announced crowd of 26,479 at Camden Yards.

Yennier Cano, Cionel Pérez and Seranthony Domínguez combined for three scoreless and hitless innings, and the Orioles improved to 71-50. They remain a half-game behind the Yankees.

Much of today’s pregame talk with the Orioles centered on their bullpen and the gains made by injured relievers.

Jacob Webb said he’s experiencing improvement in his right elbow and is encouraged with his progress since his placement on the 15-day injured list with inflammation.

Webb will begin playing catch this weekend.

“I’m feeling good,” he said. “I feel like it’s getting there. It’s toned down, which is definitely helpful.”

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias referred to the discomfort over the weekend as the elbow “barking.”