Orioles outfielder Aaron Hicks is nearing a rehab assignment as he recovers from a strained left hamstring.

Hicks hasn’t played since diving for a fly ball on July 24 in Philadelphia. He’s batting .252/.349/.435 with four doubles, a triple, six home runs and 20 RBIs in 42 games with the Orioles.

“He’s doing really well,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “He is getting close. He’s progressing every day, getting some running on the field. Took some batting practice on the field yesterday, and just getting closer and closer. Getting his treatment in.

“I would expect him to be out sometime soon. I’m not really sure on the date. We’re kind of day-to-day with him, but he’s definitely progressing well.”

Cedric Mullins begins his rehab assignment tonight at Double-A Bowie. He hasn’t played since July 15, when he strained his right adductor groin muscle while running from first to third base on a foul ball.

PHILADELPHIA – Christmas carols played between innings tonight at Citizens Bank Park. A man dressed as Santa Claus danced on the field. The dining room served traditional holiday favorites like carved turkey and ham, stuffing and cranberry sauce.

The Orioles weren’t in a giving mood until they got to the ninth inning.

Bryson Stott doubled off Yennier Cano with two outs to score Bryce Harper and tie the game, J.T. Realmuto reached on an infield hit, with Jorge Mateo slow to get the ball out of his glove, and Alec Bohm singled into left field in the Phillies' 4-3 walk-off win over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 37,200.

Ryan O’Hearn homered off Phillies left-hander Matt Strahm leading off the eighth inning, his third tie-breaking hit in the last four games, but the Orioles fell to 62-39 overall and 4-2 on the trip. The Phillies won for only the second time in seven games.

The Orioles are 19-10 in one-run games. They had won six straight.

The Orioles reached the mathematical halfway point of the 2023 season this afternoon in frustrating fashion. They got a strong pitching performance from starter Kyle Bradish, but for the second day in a row, their offense was shut down.

Minnesota improved to 42-42, blanking the Orioles 1-0 in front of a crowd of 40,012 at Oriole Park that came to get O’s Hawaiian shirts and hoped to see the home team win. They had to settle for 1-for-2 today at the Yard.

The Orioles are 48-33 at the midpoint of the year. That’s a 96-win pace that would likely lead to a playoff berth. But in the short term, they now have their first four-game losing streak of this year.

The Orioles were held to three singles today, going 3-for-30. They were shutout 1-0 for the first time since Sept. 11, 2022 versus Boston. 

They are now 4-6-1 in their past 11 series since May 26, going 15-16 in that span.

Perhaps it will work out anyway.

A team selects a player first in the draft, a generational talent, and makes him the key component in a rebuild. Expects him to move quickly through the farm system coming out of college. Expects him to be impactful.

To be an All-Star.

Catcher Adley Rutschman will need some help from players and the commissioner’s office after losing to the Rangers’ Jonah Heim in phase two of fan voting in the American League. The announcement came tonight on ESPN.

Rutschman is vying for a spot on the bench, with his stiffest competition likely Kansas City veteran Salvador Pérez, who finished third in phase one. Every team must be represented.

The noise created by Jordan Westburg’s major league debut, in the pouring rain at Camden Yards, drowned out everything else. However, a stat from another infielder shouldn’t go ignored.

Jorge Mateo walked twice.

Not a big deal?

Mateo has played in 330 major league games, accumulated 1,004 plate appearances, and never drawn more than one walk except for Monday night.

“I’ve been trying to work on not chasing, trying to focus on hitting pitches that are in the zone, and trying to find pitches that I can do harder contact with,” he said yesterday via interpreter Brandon Quinones. “So, it’s just a matter of continuing to work on those things and trying not to swing at pitches outside the zone.”

Jordan Westburg wasn’t in Triple-A Norfolk’s lineup this afternoon.

He’s headed to Baltimore.

An industry source confirmed that the Orioles are selecting Westburg’s contract, in time for Monday night’s series opener against the Reds at Camden Yards.

MLB Pipeline ranks Westburg as the organization’s No. 3 prospect behind infielder Jackson Holliday and outfielder Colton Cowser, and 46th in baseball.

Westburg, 24, has been pounding on the door this year, batting .295/.372/.567 with 15 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs and 54 RBIs in 67 games with Norfolk. The Orioles answered before the calendar turned to July.

One day after Orioles reserve outfielder Ryan McKenna hit a walk-off home run in the 10^th inning, backup catcher Anthony Bemboom broke a tie in less dramatic fashion.

With less pop and some help from the Mariners’ defense, but only the result mattered.

Bemboom popped up a fastball down the right field line in the fifth inning that fell for a hit. Mariners second baseman José Caballero booted it further toward the corner, and Jorge Mateo came around to score from first.

Kyle Bradish retired 13 of his last 14 batters to complete seven innings, matching his season high, and the Orioles won 3-2 before an announced crowd of 19,143 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles are 47-29 after claiming their 16^th series. Closer Félix Bautista notched his 21^st save after surrendering a game-tying home run yesterday to Mike Ford with two outs in the ninth.

Orioles reliever Mychal Givens will pitch Sunday for Triple-A Norfolk, the firmest update available today on rehabbing players in the organization.

Givens allowed a run and two hits with a walk in two-thirds of an inning yesterday in Game 1 of a doubleheader. He's recovering from right shoulder inflammation.

The club is performing daily evaluations on center fielder Cedric Mullins and first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who remain on their injury rehab assignments with Norfolk. Mullins started both games of last night’s doubleheader, while Mountcastle appeared in the opener.

Mullins isn’t in Norfolk’s lineup tonight. Mountcastle is batting second and serving as the designated hitter.

“We’re still kind of taking it day-to-day with both guys, but we’re encouraged that they came out of both those games feeling good,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

CHICAGO – The Orioles had been good this year both on the road and in series-opening games, but that combination did not lead to a win today at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

Playing better baseball after a three-game sweep this week of National League Central-leading Pittsburgh, the Cubs hit three homers this afternoon in one inning off Baltimore lefty Cole Irvin and then had one big inning later versus the O’s bullpen in a 10-3 win over the Orioles.

The Cubs (32-37) won for sixth time in seven games as a big crowd of 37,515 cheered them on in the opener of the weekend series. Chicago is 10-7 the last 17 games.

The Birds had scored 42 runs in winning six of their past seven games, but did not score big today in the opening game of their five-game road trip.

The Orioles fall to 43-26 overall, to 21-13 in road games, to 16-7 in series openers, to 9-3 in road series openers and to 6-11 all-time against the Cubs.

Tyler Wells took the mound yesterday in the top of the first inning with baseball in hand and also possessing the lowest WHIP in the majors at 0.853.

There’s a lot of season left, but Wells held the Blue Jays to a pair of Danny Jansen solo home runs in 6 2/3 innings in a 4-2 win at Camden Yards. He allowed five hits, walked one batter and left with his WHIP at 0.86.

The club record for lowest WHIP in a season, with a minimum of one inning per team game, is held by left-hander Dave McNally at 0.842 in 1968, according to STATS.

McNally was special, and his ’68 season was magnificent with a 22-10 record and 1.95 ERA in 35 starts. McNally recorded 18 complete games and five shutouts and finished fifth in Most Valuable Player voting in the American League.

A different time, indeed.

The Orioles (42-25) host the Blue Jays (38-31) today to wrap up a three-game series and a six-game homestand. The homestand began with the Orioles sweeping Kansas City and now they have split the first two games of this series.

Baltimore scored 11 runs each on Sunday and Tuesday, but where held to just six hits - all singles - last night in a 3-1 loss to Toronto. That result ended the Orioles' win streak at five in a row, two short of their season high. They fall to 4-1 this year against Toronto and to 13-11 versus the Blue Jays since the beginning of the 2022 season.

Toronto, which has won nine of 13 of and is 12-6 its past 18 games, is now 18-8 in its past 26 games at Oriole Park.

The Orioles are 6-4 in rubber match games and 3-2 when that game is against an AL East opponent. They have won three in a row within the division with rubber match wins over Boston, Tampa Bay and New York.

In their first four games this season against Toronto, Baltimore batters had produced 31 runs. But last night the Orioles were held without an extra-base hit for the third time this season. That also happened April 8 against the Yankees and June 7 against the Brewers.

The Orioles won another series opener and the Royals lost another one. And, because of that the Orioles need one win over the next two days to record yet another series win. 

Austin Hays homered and doubled and the O’s got RBIs also from Jorge Mateo and Anthony Santander in Friday’s 3-2 win over Kansas City. The Orioles are now 39-24 and remain 6.5 games back of Tampa Bay, which beat Texas.

The Orioles are 15-6 in series-opening games and 6-4 in such games at home. K.C. falls to 4-17 in the first game of a series.

The Orioles had allowed 23 runs and 36 hits when they played in Kansas City in early May, yet they took two of three in that series. So they are now 3-1 on the year versus the Royals and 12-5 against AL Central teams.

Kansas City (18-45) has lost four in a row, seven of eight scoring 19 runs in that time and is 4-14 in its last 18 games. The Royals are 7-7 in one-run games while the Orioles are 12-7.

When Orioles executive vice president Mike Elias provided a media update for O’s reporters on Friday, of course, the trade deadline came up. And my question for Elias was are the Orioles well positioned to be aggressive at this deadline if they choose to be?

After all they do seem positioned very well, with the top-ranked farm system in the sport - one which is deep in top 100 prospects and other quality young talent. And a lower payroll creates flexibility to take on some salary should they choose to do that.

“We are definitely preparing all types of scenarios,” said Elias in the O’s dugout pregame Friday. “And they are buy scenarios. I just think the deadline, so much of it that is murky with me, is who the sellers will be? What will other teams try to do? What will the standings look like?

“These extra playoff spots seem to have really changed the landscape and dynamic and the balanced schedule (adds to that). You just see some weird stuff going on in each division compared to one another. So, it is really not clear to me what that is going to look like.

“So we’re just trying to get a clear sense of the type of players that might provide the biggest impact for us, where those players might be coming from. And trying to gauge any likelihood that any of these players might be on the market in some way, shape or form. And then working on the evaluations right now.

The Orioles are in Canada this weekend and my mailbag returned to the U.S. after getting held up in customs.

That’s why you won’t find me there.

Here’s my vow to you: I’ll go back to Toronto when the Orioles have playoff games at Rogers Centre. Or if Steve Melewski is sick. Or if I’m needed in the MASN broadcast booth, which happened last summer.

But that’s it.

Let’s dive into the mail and risk the paper cuts. You ask and I answer. It isn’t complicated, except for time spent searching for movie sequel titles that I haven't used since this started in 2008.

Jorge Mateo is on the bench again tonight to rest his legs before the Orioles finish their homestand on Thursday and hit the road for series against the Blue Jays and Yankees.

Mateo is 5-for-43 this month after batting .347/.395/.667 in his first 23 games.

“It’s nothing about offense,” manager Brandon Hyde said when explaining Mateo’s absence from the lineup. “It’s more of he’s just dealing with that little bit of leg soreness that he’s battling for the last couple weeks. And with a day game tomorrow, he’ll be in there. Just want to make sure with two big series coming up, also.

“It’s mainly about the day game being tomorrow. I didn’t want him to play a day game after a night. So, giving (Joey) Ortiz a start tonight.”

Hyde doesn’t know whether Mateo’s prolonged slump is related to his health.

Joey Ortiz is starting at shortstop tonight as the Orioles continue their series against the Angels at Camden Yards.

Jorge Mateo is on the bench after stopping an 0-for-19 skid last night. He’s 5-for-43 this month.

Terrin Vavra remains in right field. Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

Ryan Mountcastle returns to first base after coming off the bench last night and contributing a double and home run.

Ryan McKenna is 3-for-6 as a pinch-hitter this season.

The Orioles have reduced their pitching staff to 12 this morning by optioning left-handed reliever Nick Vespi and recalling infielder Joey Ortiz from Triple-A Norfolk.

Ortiz arrived yesterday and joined the 24-hour taxi squad because outfielder Ryan McKenna is receiving treatment for a sore back. McKenna has avoided the injured list, but Ortiz maintains a healthy four-man bench.

Jorge Mateo is one of the reserves today, with Ortiz starting at shortstop and batting ninth. Adley Rutschman also is on the bench.

Vespi was the second Orioles pitcher to be recalled last week and fail to appear in a game. Drew Rom spent a couple of days in the bullpen without making his major league debut.

It also happened to Spenser Watkins while the Orioles were in Chicago.

Cedric Mullins lined a triple into right-center field tonight in the fifth inning and the dry spell was over. The Orioles had their third hit, the first for extra bases. The new splash zone in section 86 was activated, with a hose dousing fans thirsting for a run.

They settled for the water.

Mullins would make certain that they got everything they wanted by the eighth inning. Heavy pouring of offense, the massive hydration with throats raw from cheering, a memory to cherish.

The center fielder hit a three-run homer to complete the cycle, just as the dugout urged him to do, in a 6-3 win over the Pirates before an announced crowd of 25,682.

Austin Hays was the last Orioles player to achieve the cycle, on June 22, 2022 against the Nationals. Mullins sent a changeup from Duane Underwood Jr. onto the flag court with two outs after Terrin Vavra, celebrating his 26th birthday, extended the inning with a walk.

ATLANTA – Austin Hays is out of the Orioles’ lineup again tonight while waiting for the gash to heal on his right middle finger. He’s wearing a soft splint on it.

“It’s improved a little bit more,” he said. “We’re still just trying to be careful with it so we don’t turn it into something worse. But the same, day-to-day. Just trying to give it that little bit of extra time and make sure it’s fully ready to go. But still available off the bench if opportunity shows up where I need to be there.”

Hays was hit on the finger by Corey Kluber’s 88 mph sinker, and a cut opened on the inside knuckle beneath the bruise. The Orioles had it cleaned out Wednesday.

A blood blister formed when the ball caused the finger to get pinched against the bat, and the cut was discovered.

“There was just no way to know that it was there before,” Hays said. “At that point, we couldn’t put stitches in it. It’s not something that needs to be stitched. It just needs to heal and close up a little bit. But it’s right there.”

The Orioles ranked third in bullpen ERA after Yennier Cano registered the save Sunday afternoon in Detroit. They assembled at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City yesterday ranked first.

Success finds the Orioles even when they are away from the field.

The Yankees’ Albert Abreu allowed six runs in one inning Sunday in Texas, and Nick Ramirez surrendered two in 2 1/3. The Rays were in Chicago blowing a 9-5 lead in the ninth, with Jalen Beeks charged with five runs and Garrett Cleavinger two.

What the Orioles did that day at Comerica Park was more typical. Kyle Bradish lasted only 4 2/3 innings, fading after four scoreless, but Cionel Pérez, Austin Voth, Danny Coulombe and Cano shut out the Tigers on one hit over 4 1/3.

Before starter Tyler Wells stepped on the mound last night, Orioles relievers were 10-4 with a 2.86 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and .208 average against in 110 innings. The innings total was tied for sixth in the majors.