NEW YORK – Austin Hays didn’t know that the Mariners won early this morning, the final bump that knocked the Orioles out of the wild card race, until he had rolled out of bed, showered and dressed, and headed downstairs to the team bus.

Players were talking about it. How they were forced to move into a different phase of their season, the mindset altered to where satisfaction must come only from being a .500 club, with an opportunity to finish on the winning side.

The playoff dream disappeared, but they had a little more work to do.

Keeping Aaron Judge at 61 home runs was accomplished again. Doing anything good against Nestor Cortes remained a futile endeavor.

The former Orioles Rule 5 pick and two-week reliever in 2018 held the Orioles to one hit and struck out 12 in 7 1/3 innings in the Yankees’ 8-0 victory before an announced crowd of 45,428.

The Orioles are down to a dozen games. Two more against the Astros at home, four in Boston, three in New York, and three against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.

Distance to the Jays might need to be reduced if they’re going to matter beyond the final record and pride.

The math says that the Orioles remain in contention for the last wild card, moving within three games of Seattle. They need two more wins to guarantee the first non-losing season since 2016.

Reflections of 2022 will come later, except for those of us who can’t wait.

I’ve already noted how Matt Harvey never had his contract selected (he’s on the Triple-A injured list now with a sore knee), Gunnar Henderson earned a promotion despite his age, Yusniel Diaz stayed only for a cup of coffee, Rougned Odor lasted into September, we never saw Robert Neustrom, and DJ Stewart didn’t make it back to the Orioles after three games to begin the season.

Kyle Bradish must not be the sentimental type. Not on the nights that he’s pitching.

The Orioles welcomed back Trey Mancini, who returned to Baltimore for the first time since his trade, but Bradish made himself the center of attention.

He didn’t allow an Astros batter to reach base until Mauricio Dubón lined a first-pitch slider into left field with two outs in the sixth inning. He didn’t have any intention of letting in a run.

Friendships are cherished, but so are shutouts. Bradish came within an out of getting it by himself.

Bradish retired 26 of 28 batters, Rougned Odor celebrated his return to the lineup with a two-run single off Justin Verlander in the second inning, and the Orioles beat the team with the best record in the American League, 2-0, before an announced crowd of 16,417 at chilly Camden Yards.

There really isn’t any momentum in baseball.

Rallying to win Sunday in Toronto didn’t thrust the Orioles past a difficult stretch this month. It didn’t ignite the offense. The euphoria never made it through customs.

The last-place Tigers won again tonight, 3-2, at Camden Yards, and the Orioles are left with trying to avoid being swept again by a team that sits at the bottom of its division.

The Orioles are 76-71 overall and 8-10 this month. They’ve lost 10 of their last 15 games.

Gunnar Henderson, batting leadoff for the first time, hit a two-run homer off Joe Jiménez with two outs in the seventh to break up the Tigers’ shutout bid. The 409-foot shot onto the flag court in right field was Henderson’s third homer in the majors and first in Baltimore.

WASHINGTON – Tyler Wells was stretched a little more tonight in his second start since recovering from an oblique injury. Twelve of 14 batters retired, 50 pitches thrown. A comfortable increase from his previous workload.

The two hits were two-out solo home runs. An uncomfortable result for a team that’s challenged to bust out offensively.

Breathing room often is a sigh of relief when scant support doesn’t cost the Orioles ground in the wild card race.

They gained it tonight. A rookie who's spent two weeks in the majors made certain of it. A breath of fresh air since his arrival.

Stuck on one run and unable to find a clutch hit, the Orioles took advantage of a pitching change by the Nationals in the seventh, got four RBIs from Gunnar Henderson, and swept the series with a 6-2 victory before an announced crowd of 32,497.

The Orioles hope the weather forecast allows some time to get today's game in versus the Boston Red Sox with the clubs set to wrap up this three-game weekend series. The O's won 3-2 Friday, limiting Boston to two runs. But they gave up season highs in runs and hits on Saturday in a 17-4 loss.

Today's game begins in a rain delay at the scheduled start time, with hopes that they can get this one in this afternoon.

Update: The game began at 2:17 p.m. after a delay of one hour and 12 minutes at the start.

Saturday's game was the Orioles most lopsided loss of the 2022 season.

Baltimore (73-66) plays Game 140 today, and is five games back of Seattle for the final American League wild card berth. They are 5 1/2 games behind Toronto and six back of Tampa Bay. Those three clubs hold the wild card spots as of today.

The writing seemed to appear on the wall early today. Not the one in left field that robs home runs. The proverbial wall with clues to the game’s outcome.

Gunnar Henderson registered the first two outs by charging a bunt and throwing across his body, and diving to his left to corral a ground ball. Two batters, two more reasons to believe that Henderson is going to be special.

That part was accurate.

The Orioles immediately staged a rally in the bottom of the first inning but failed to score. And they failed to take a lead today or complete the series sweep against a team with the worst record in the American League.

Don’t always trust the wall.

As the Orioles look to cut into their deficit in the American League wild-card race, they now get to do so for a long stretch at home. Baltimore beat Oakland 5-2 last night and that was just night one of a 10-game homestand.

It started a stretch where the Orioles will play 17 of their next 22 games at home  and they will be home for 20 of their last 32 games starting Friday.

This should be good news throughout Birdland as the team is 38-24 (.613) with one of the best home records in the league. They are 21-7 in their last 28 home games since June 22.

Tied 2-2 in the eighth last night, the O's pulled out a win on Adley Rutschman's pinch-hit bases loaded walk and a Jorge Mateo two-run single.

The Orioles (70-61) improved to nine games over the .500 mark for the first time since May 20, 2017. After starting April this year going 7-14, the Orioles are 63-47 since May 1.

The Orioles’ streak of scoreless innings ended tonight at 25 after Oakland’s Tony Kemp lined a two-out, bases-loaded single into right field in the fifth to bring home two runs and tie the game.

There was more important work to be done.

Among the wild card tiebreakers, there’s no mention of shutouts or the succession of them.

Adley Rutschman came off the bench with one out in the eighth and coaxed a bases-loaded walk out of Domingo Acevedo, Jorge Mateo singled to left field on the next pitch to plate two more runs, and the Orioles kept rolling with a 5-2 win over the Athletics to begin a 10-game homestand.

Dean Kremer allowed two runs in six innings for his sixth quality start, and the Orioles reached the 70-win mark and moved nine games above .500 for the first time since May 20, 2017.

CLEVELAND – Gunnar Henderson is playing shortstop tonight for the first time in the majors, with manager Brandon Hyde wanting to move him around the infield - mainly on the left side. But Hyde also wanted to provide some rest for Jorge Mateo, who hasn't been idle since July 30.

Mateo has appeared in 121 games in his first full season in the majors. He could use a breather.

“It’s just giving Jorgie a game off,” Hyde said this afternoon. “I can’t remember the last time he’s had a game off. We’ve got a long stretch ahead of us and just wanted to give Jorgie a day today.”

Same with outfielder Austin Hays, who joins Mateo on the bench. Nothing related to his health.

Henderson provided a jolt to the offense last night with his home run and single, but Hyde isn’t asking him to carry a heavy load.

A nine-inning baseball game last night felt like the calmest moment that the Orioles experienced, even in the heat of a pennant race.

Roster moves were distributed to the media as if shot out of a T-shirt gun. The spring training schedule was released, minus report dates and times.

The pace figures to slow today, with just the corresponding 40-man roster move to accommodate first baseman Jesús Aguilar.

Active rosters grow from 26 to 28 players, and we already know that the Orioles are using those spots on Aguilar and left-hander DL Hall.

Rewinding to yesterday’s activity, the biggest surprise might have been the selection of Gunnar Henderson’s contract rather than his placement on the taxi squad, which was the plan Tuesday night.

The transaction date was Aug. 5, 2021 and it probably didn’t register big around Birdland at that time. But the Orioles had claimed a one-time top 100 prospect, infielder Jorge Mateo on waivers from San Diego. He had a lot of speed but the promise he once showed had not materialized yet at the big-league level.

Of course, he had never gotten an extended chance really to show what he can do, getting just 121 plate appearances in 79 games with San Diego. He was already 25 when he broke in there during the 2020 season.

But now the player that once was ranked as high as No. 26 by Baseball America in its 2016 top 100 is thriving finally on the Orioles watch. He made a good first impression late last season, batting .280 with a .748 OPS in 32 games and that meant he might get a real chance this year.

He has and he’s run with it.

In the first half it was solid and steady defense at short that he showed along with that blinding speed. But in the second half, his bat has come to life. And while his overall numbers heading into last night’s game with a .233 average and .690 OPS, are below big-league average, it’s his recent hitting that now has him ranked among the top shortstops in the American League per FanGraphs.com Wins Above Replacement.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is breaking out his reverse-splits lineup again tonight with the White Sox starting right-hander Lucas Giolito.

Robinson Chirinos is catching and Adley Rutschman is serving as the designated hitter. Terrin Vavra and Kyle Stowers are on the bench.

Shortstop Jorge Mateo is batting eighth tonight for the 20^th time. He’s batted second once, fifth in three games, sixth in four, seventh in 16 and ninth in 65.

Mateo is slashing .294/.342/.538 with nine doubles, four triples, six home runs, 25 RBIs and 27 runs scored in his last 44 games since July 1, and .317/.355/.574 with seven doubles, two triples, five home runs, 20 RBIs and 20 runs scored in 29 games since the All-Star break. His .929 OPS in the second half ranks 11^th in the American League.

Hyde could elevate Mateo in certain matchups, but he doesn’t want to mess with a good thing.

By at least one measure, the Orioles' Jorge Mateo is among the best shortstops right now in the American League. When it comes to FanGraphs.com Wins Above Replacement (fWAR), he ranks third right now ahead of players like Carlos Correa, Bo Bichette, Amed Rosario and Bobby Witt Jr.

Boston’s Xander Bogaerts leads all AL shortstops in fWAR at 4.2, and next is Corey Seager of Texas at 3.9 and then Mateo at 2.8.

“I think it’s always really good to hear that you are in those types of conversations. That is something I want to be a part of," Mateo said today with the help of team translator Brandon Quinones. "To hear your name come up like that and to hear you are doing a good job and you are up there among the best is something I am really proud of and take a lot of pride in.”

In 44 games since July 1, Mateo is batting .294/.342/.538 (42-for-143) with nine doubles, four triples, six home runs, 27 runs scored, 25 RBIs, nine walks and nine stolen bases. On Sunday night his three-run double in the eighth broke a 2-2 tie with Boston. Last night his RBI single in the seventh extended the O’s lead over the Chicago White Sox to 5-3.

Since the All-Star break, he is batting .317/.355/.574 (32-for-101) with seven doubles, two triples, five home runs, 20 runs scored, 20 RBIs, five walks and six stolen bases in 29 games. And his .929 OPS since the break ranks 11th in the AL.

The latest save for rookie right-hander Félix Bautista was among his greatest saves of this year. He got save No. 9 last night as the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 5-3 in the series opener.

This one required heavy lifting and more blazing fastballs.

Bautista needed to get five big outs and pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth. He threw one fastball 103.1 mph, making him one of eight pitchers in the Statcast era (since 2015) to throw a pitch at least 103.0 mph.

Since the O's traded closer Jorge Lopez to Minnesota, Bautista is 6-for-6 in save chances with an ERA of 1.74 and 15 strikeouts in 10 1/3.

Before Tuesday's game, O’s manager Brandon Hyde said that since that trade, he’s been quite impressed with how the inexperienced Bautista has both done in the closer’s role and how he has handled the ninth inning challenge.

Jorge Mateo made his 108^th start at shortstop last night, his status as the position’s caretaker long ago established.

But what about 2023?

Gunnar Henderson is baseball’s No. 1 or 2 prospect, depending on the rankings, and his debut is coming. He played second base again last night with Triple-A Norfolk, his fifth consecutive game on the right side of the infield, including two at first base. But he’s a shortstop getting his footing at other spots for roster flexibility with the Orioles – if he is, indeed, promoted in 2022.

Beyond that, he’s always been projected as their shortstop unless Jordan Westburg pushed him to third. Or if Joey Ortiz pushed him to third.

It’s never been about Mateo, but now it must be, because, well, look at him.

Moving away from the American League East doesn’t necessarily feel like a great escape for the Orioles.

They host the White Sox for three games and travel to Houston and Cleveland. Two leaders of their own divisions and a team battling for a wild card spot. Everyone with something to play for during the fourth week of August.

“They’re good,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “No breaks here.”

The Orioles caught one in the first inning tonight when Dylan Cease hung a slider that Ryan Mountcastle turned into a three-run homer to trump Eloy Jiménez’s two-run shot off Austin Voth in the top half. And two more when balls that would have been home runs in past years ricocheted off the top of the left field wall, forcing the White Sox to settle for doubles measured at 405 and 402 feet.

Voth bent a lot without snapping, and the Orioles made the most of a few clutch swings in a 5-3 win at Camden Yards.

If the Orioles decide soon to make the call to bring top prospect Gunnar Henderson to the major leagues for the first time, they’ll be getting a player who has impressed both prospects analysts and his own teammates.

Outfielder Kyle Stowers, who got his own call to rejoin the Orioles on Friday, has been a teammate of Henderson much of this year at Triple-A Norfolk.

He provided a ringing endorsement of the talents and more that Henderson would bring to the Orioles.

“He is a special individual,” Stowers said before Sunday’s game in Williamsport, Pa. “Obviously, his athletic ability is impressive. But also, how strong he is. You know he is a special talent. What I’ve been impressed with and I’ve been around him since 2019 is every time there is a gap when I see him, he comes back leaps and bounds better than he was before. The rate at which he has progressed has been incredible.

“The first time I was actually on a team with him in affiliate ball (was this year) but just so impressed with the talent and even more so how he handles things. Even though they are not as frequent, when he would have a tough game, he is the same guy. Consistently getting himself ready and his prep work is the same every day. He is always in good spirits, and I think it is things like that that make me believe the sky is the limit for him. He is just a guy you want to root for. Such a good kid and so mature for his age.”

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – For the Orioles it felt like and it really was a big game. A chance to shine on national television. The rubber match in a key series versus an AL East opponent. And needing a win to stay within striking distance of an AL playoff spot.

When Boston’s Franchy Cordero hit a pinch-hit homer to tie the game in the eighth, the O’s needed some late-inning magic. They got it with a three-run double off the bat of shortstop Jorge Mateo to beat the Red Sox 5-2 in the Little League Classic at Bowman Field.

They improved to 63-58 overall and to 12-7 this month to stay within 2.5 games of a playoff spot.

“I definitely think every game is a big game now and we treat it as such,” said catcher Adley Rutschman who singled and scored in the O's two-run first inning. “We wanted to give the kids as good an experience as we could. But once game time started, it was all about the game. I think we have a lot of guys with a lot of maturity on this team that could compartmentalize two things.”

Rutschman was not biting his tongue when a reporter asked him about becoming the face of the team.

WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – It was certainly not another breakout game for the Orioles offense like when they scored 15 on Friday, but all wins count the same. And the Orioles got an important one tonight in the fifth annual Little League Classic.

After scoring twice in the first, their offense was dormant until the eighth tonight. Boston pitching then opened the door for a rally, and shortstop Jorge Mateo kicked it in as the Orioles beat the Red Sox 5-3.

The O's came to bat in the eighth tied 2-2 and Matt Barnes walked Ramón Urías with one out. Righty John Schreiber came on and he hit Austin Hays and walked Rougned Odor to hand the O's a bases-loaded rally.

Mateo then smoked a 2-1 sinker down the left-field line for a three-run double. The ball had 101 mph exit velocity and was a huge hit for Mateo, who was batting .287 his last 42 games. 

Hoping to ride out a 2-1 win on the strength of first-inning runs, the O's were tied up 2-2 on a pinch-hit homer by Boston in the top of the eighth.