A series lost to close out the first half was followed by last night’s defeat and an early deficit tonight. Baseball’s surprise team was threatening to slip two games below .500. And the question loomed whether it could tap the brakes and avoid a serious crash.

The competitive nature of the Orioles, the non-stop motor, figures to pull them through some of the most difficult stretches. There’s no rest stop until perhaps Cincinnati – if a team that tied for the worst record last year is granted entrance. They must keep going.

Aaron Judge doubled twice, singled and drove in two runs within the first four innings. Gerrit Cole weathered a fifth-inning storm, when the Orioles scored twice with two outs, came back out for the seventh north of 100 pitches and lost the lead after two batters.

This was going to be typical Orioles. Count them out, watch them rally and wait for the final result, knowing it would be close.

The bottom of the order rose to the occasion again, the bullpen did its usual work, and the Orioles defeated the Yankees 6-3 before an announced crowd of 36,361 at Camden Yards, their largest non-opening day gathering since 2018.

The Orioles have completed the composition of their rotation through the first turn following the All-Star break.

Austin Voth starts Monday against the Rays at Camden Yards and Spenser Watkins starts Tuesday. No changes to the rotation beyond its order.

Tyler Wells and Jordan Lyles are lined up to start the last two games of the series.

Ramón Urías is batting .372/.413/.628 (16-for-43) with two doubles, three home runs, 14 RBIs, three walks and eight runs scored in 13 games since being reinstated from the 10-day injured list on July 4. He has five multi-hit games during that stretch, and the 14 RBIs are tied for fourth in the American League and fifth in the majors.

Urías leads the Orioles in hard-hit percentage (50 percent) and ranks second in average exit velocity at 90.8 mph, according to Statcast. His hard-hit rate places him in the top seven percent in the majors.

Today feels like an actual break in the 2022 baseball season.

The MLB Draft is over, the All-Star Game was played last night and there’s only Trey Mancini’s inevitable – I’m calling it, anyway – ESPY tonight for Best Comeback Athlete.

WNBA player Diamond DeShields, the daughter of former Orioles infielder Delino DeShields, had a tumor removed from her spine in December 2019 that threatened to leave her paralyzed, and she later suffered tremors and spasms that led to months of rehabilitation. She didn’t share her ordeal until two months ago. In any other year, I’d say she was the runaway favorite.

The Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson has returned from a torn ACL in the 2019 NBA Finals and torn Achilles leading into the 2020-21 season. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee during his rookie season and played in this year’s Super Bowl.

Impressive comebacks, but I can’t place them ahead of Mancini’s colon cancer and DeShields’ spinal tumor. Fear of death or paralysis is hard to beat, as it were.

ABERDEEN, Md. – He was the No. 2 overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and outfielder Heston Kjerstad was playing like it at low Single-A Delmarva, where he went 37-for-80 in 22 games. Yes, that is prolific hitting and makes you wonder if after moving to high Single-A Aberdeen this week whether a move to Double-A later this year is in reach for Kjerstad.

Earlier this week, after his promotion to the IronBirds, I asked O’s director of player development Matt Blood about the 23-year-old outfielder. The Orioles surely are confident that Kjerstad will do well with the IronBirds, but they also know that last summer Gunnar Henderson went 1-for-31 to start his time with Aberdeen.

“He’s definitely going to face challenges. We’ll see,” said Blood. “We’re expecting him to perform well but any player can go through a slump. Great players in the major leagues go through them. We’ll see how it goes for him but we’re expecting him to continue to play well.”

So could the club move him to Double-A later this summer?

“It’s the same answer I would give you on any player,” said Blood. “We keep track of performance and their age and we like to challenge the player. So, if they show us they have bypassed the level, then we start considering them needing a greater challenge. He’s not different than anyone else.”

CHICAGO – The Orioles left Baltimore and didn’t come back down to earth.

Ivy climbs the walls here. Hot teams occasionally wilt. The Orioles lived it in the past. But they’re a stubborn bunch.

Ramón Urías hit a go-ahead, two-run homer tonight in the top of the fourth inning, Jorge Mateo also put a ball into the left field seats, Jordan Lyles recovered from another slow start, and the Orioles increased their winning streak to nine games and reached .500 with a 4-2 victory over the Cubs before an announced crowd of 31,079 at Wrigley Field.

The Orioles haven’t won nine in a row since stringing together 13 in September 1999. They haven’t posted as many victories as defeats since April 10, 2021.

They haven’t been .500 this late in a season since Sept. 9, 2017, when they were 71-71 during a six-game losing streak. They dropped nine of 10 to fall out of playoff contention.

The Orioles aren’t going to run the table in 2022. They have 75 games left in the season. A streaking club inevitably hits a rough patch. But it’s going to take tremendous force to slow it down.

An early deficit is treated like a pesky fly. Just swat it away.

The first 10 batters fail to reach base today, and the Orioles respond by sending nine to the plate in the fourth inning, scoring four runs and luring the Angels into a pitching change. And the good times keep rolling at Camden Yards.

Austin Voth worked five effective innings, Ramón Urías drove in three runs, and the Orioles capitalized on sloppy play by the Angels to extend their winning streak to eight games with a 9-5 victory before an announced crowd of 19,521.

The Orioles are 43-44, one game below .500 for the first time since losing on opening day. They swept a homestand of seven games for the first time since 2004.

The chatter starts again, which requires Anthony Santander to tune out. Just ignore it. Can’t control it and won’t let it distract.

The trade deadline arrives on Aug. 2, a few days later than usual. Deals can be consummated at any time leading to it, and Santander remains one of the Orioles’ most attractive chips.

A hamstring injury lessened his value last summer. Santander struggled with it and his numbers suffered. But teams checked on his availability during the winter, with the Marlins one of the most interested.

Santander is healthy in 2022 and leading the Orioles in home runs with 15, five short of his career high in 2019. His 31 walks are the most in his career. The .325 on-base percentage is the highest.

The speculation that he could be traded will peak, as well.

The Orioles didn’t post their lineup today until the clubhouse closed to the media and manager Brandon Hyde finished his daily briefing. Much later than usual. Not the way he wants it done.

Hyde knew that Austin Hays wouldn’t play due to a sore right wrist, but he had to wait on Ryan Mountcastle, whose sinus issues restricted him to designated hitter duties yesterday, and Jorge Mateo, who was hit by a fastball on the left quadriceps to force in the winning run in the 10^th inning.

Only Mateo made it into the lineup, leaving Hyde with few healthy players on the bench.

Mateo delivered an RBI single in the second inning, stole his 20th base and raced home on Cedric Mullins’ two-run double. The leg was fine.

So, too, were the Orioles, after squandering leads of four and three runs, and watching a one-run lead disappear in the ninth.

Austin Hays has his right wrist wrapped and is out of tonight’s lineup against the Rangers.

Hays was hit by a pitch yesterday, but X-rays were negative. He tried to swing a bat in the cage today and said it just didn’t seem like “a good idea to try to push it and make it even worse,” so he’s sitting as a precaution.

At least he avoided the injured list.

“It’s not feeling too bad,” said Hays, who’s celebrating his 27^th birthday today. “The swelling seems like it’s stayed down, so it’s really just certain movements are what’s bothering it. It’s just like a day-to-day thing right now. X-rays were clean, no bad news from that front.

“I’ll be available off the bench tonight if I need to. … Let the trainers do their thing and treat it, and it should be good to go either tomorrow or the next day.”

Dane Dunning’s 89 mph sinker dug into Austin Hays’ right wrist today in the second inning. Hays slammed down the bat, spiked his elbow guard and voiced his displeasure as he walked to first base.

Nothing aimed at the Rangers’ starter. Just some general venting.

Getting hit has become a major issue for the Orioles.  

The pitch wasn’t intentional. They usually aren’t. But the pain is real.

Hays has a well-documented injury history and doesn’t appreciate being hit under any circumstances.

The Orioles began their homestand with a roster move today, activating infielder Ramón Urías from the 10-day injured list and optioning infielder Richie Martin to Triple-A Norfolk.

Urías returns from a strained left oblique. He appeared in two rehab games at Double-A Bowie and went 0-for-7 with three strikeouts.

Martin has gone 5-for-30 with two triples and 10 strikeouts with the Orioles. He started at shortstop yesterday in Minnesota.

Urías is on the bench for today’s game against the Rangers. Jonathan Araúz is the third baseman, Jorge Mateo is the shortstop and Rougned Odor is starting at second base.

Fourteen of Odor’s last 22 hits since May 20 have gone for extra bases. He hit a home run yesterday on the ninth pitch of his at-bat, the longest of his career that resulted in a homer.

SEATTLE - Entering tonight’s game, the Orioles had won six of the last seven games in which Tyler Wells was on the bump. On the other side, the Mariners had won four of the last five games in which George Kirby had started. Unstoppable force, immovable object, etc., etc. 

It was not a pitchers' duel in the 9-2 Orioles victory. George Kirby lasted just four innings, allowing nine hits, seven earned runs and four home runs. 

The Orioles were able to get to Kirby early and often, hitting back-to-back home runs twice in the first four innings. That hasn’t happened for the O’s since Aug. 10, 2017. Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle did it in the third inning, and Anthony Santander and Austin Hays didn’t waste any time making it happen once again in the fourth. 

"I thought we took some of our better at-bats of the year those first four innings," said Hyde. "I thought our approach was outstanding. Up and down the order, really good at-bats."

Rutschman got a nice ovation from family and friends for his first at-bat in Seattle. The Oregon State product attended Sherwood High School in Oregon, with the Mariners being the closest big league team. 

CHICAGO - Jonathan Araúz had a special day for the Orioles in the final game of the series against the White Sox, his first hit with the club a home run.

Special for sure, but not as unique as you might think.

STATS research finds that 38 players since 1974 have homered for their first hit with the Orioles, the most recent before yesterday being outfielder Keon Broxton in 2019 in Colorado.

Broxton’s ball carried 474 feet and landed on the left field concourse. Must be the thin air.

Araúz settled for a mere 390, with a 100.2 mph exit velocity.

CHICAGO – The Orioles have posted a 13-9 record in June, with a chance for their first winning month since August 2017. They haven’t gone .500 since July 2019.

They’ve built a 20-15 record since May 19, which is their best 35-game stretch in five years.

They have a chance today to post their first five-game winning streak since taking seven in a row from Aug. 7-14, 2020.

Trey Mancini talked yesterday about players showing up to the ballpark expecting to win, “and that's not a feeling we've had here in a long time.” Manager Brandon Hyde noted the energy and confidence, passing much of the credit to the pitching staff, including a bullpen stocked with waiver claims that’s registered a 3.07 ERA that ranks sixth in the majors.

The Orioles were dead last in 2021 at 5.70, and they hadn’t traded Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott.

CHICAGO – In the ever-changing world of the Orioles’ starting rotation, Spenser Watkins is back in it and Austin Voth receives at least temporary housing as the Orioles stretch him out.

This is how they do it. Try to find a set five and be ready to scramble.

Bruce Zimmermann was optioned and Kyle Bradish went on the 15-day injured list. Dean Kremer was activated from the IL and later recalled from the minors. John Means’ locker no longer has his nameplate above it.

Where or when it stops, nobody knows.

Nobody cares if the Orioles keep winning.

CHICAGO – The Orioles haven’t won as many games as they’ve lost, but they don’t back down, whether it’s from the adversity brought upon them by another injury that wrecks the rotation, or a 99 mph fastball in the ribs and the aggression from dugouts and bullpens emptying onto the field.

Jorge Mateo was drilled on the left side in the second inning tonight by White Sox starter Michael Kopech, dropped his bat and began taking a wide path toward first base. Veering a little closer to the mound with each slow step. Bringing tempers closer to the boiling point.

They exchanged words, but not punches, as the usual scrum formed on the grass. Play resumed after both benches were warned, angering manager Brandon Hyde, and the Orioles held the White Sox to one hit and retired the last 19 batters in a 4-1 win at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Perhaps this was carryover from Dean Kremer nailing Josh Harrison last night on the right triceps. Or just a pitch that got away from Kopech. Mateo’s reaction after absorbing the blow set off both teams, with assistant pitching coach Darren Holmes holding back Rougned Odor as the Orioles second baseman yelled and gestured.

"He gets hit in the back after squaring to bunt and didn't like it," Hyde said. "I don't know the exchange, honestly. I need to look at the replay, what Jorgie did. But it's one of those competitive things that happens and we moved on pretty quickly.

Yesterday’s 2-1 win over the Rays was just so … Orioles.

The bad news about starter Jordan Lyles, scratched in the morning with a stomach virus. An unsavory bullpen game. Trey Mancini’s removal from the lineup with more hand soreness.

So many reasons to fold, so much stubbornness.

They should've lost to a team that beat them in 18 of 19 games in 2021 and was starting Corey Kluber. Instead, they took an early lead and held onto it.

The Orioles were outhit 9-4. They used seven pitchers, none for more than Austin Voth’s 2 2/3 innings. Voth made his first start since June 6, 2021. His longest outing before yesterday was three innings on June 1, 2021.

TORONTO – After the Orioles had secured a 6-5 win over Toronto last night, manager Brandon Hyde had several players and their contributions he could cite.

There was Jorge López and a five-out save against that lineup. There was Jordan Lyles providing some zeroes and making progress after a tough stretch. There were big homers by Ryan Mountcastle and Austin Hays. There was an entire team that played without Trey Mancini and had lost by 10 a night earlier, but still beat a good Toronto team that has been playing very well.

And there was shortstop Jorge Mateo making an outstanding, charging barehanded defensive gem of a play to get a key out to start the last of the ninth.

“The play that Mateo made, which potentially was game-changing, was just an unbelievable barehand play with a fast runner," Hyde said. "We played really good defense tonight.

“Just shows you his athleticism. I mean the closing speed to get to the ball and then to be able to bare hand that and get rid of it the way he did with something on it from that angle and get (Bo) Bichette there is really tough. That was an enormous play in the game.”

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde describes rookie Kyle Bradish as having electric stuff, with plus pitches across the board. Says it’s about locating and working ahead in the count, “and not having the high pitch-count innings that he’s had trouble with.”

Bradish’s first pitch of the game tonight was a strike, and Christopher Morel drove it 429 feet to left field for a leadoff home run.

Jumping hard on a trend, Cedric Mullins led off the bottom of the first with a home run to right field off Cubs starter Keegan Thompson, and Trey Mancini launched the next pitch into the home bullpen.

Thompson hit Rougned Odor and Ramón Urías with one out in the second, fans booed, and Jorge Mateo changed their tune with a three-run shot to left. Austin Hays later became the fourth Orioles player to homer into the second deck.

Rain kept falling, baseballs kept flying, and the Orioles welcomed back the Cubs to Baltimore with a 9-3 victory.

BOSTON – The major league education of Orioles rookie Kyle Bradish was bound to bring some hard lessons. No matter how much he earned his promotion. No matter how many Triple-A batters couldn’t touch him.

There’s no substitute for pitching in the American League East. Just as it's hard to match the thrill of a completed rally against one of its hottest teams.

Four of Bradish’s six starts have come within the division, and what’s supposed to constitute a break of sorts are games against the first-place Twins and the Cardinals in St. Louis.

The Red Sox saw Bradish for a second time tonight and handled him in an aggressive manner, scoring six runs in 1 2/3 innings. But the Orioles also showed him the value in pitching for a team that won’t let up. That stays engaged in the dugout and treats deficits like minor inconveniences.

The Orioles scored three runs in the seventh and eighth innings to tie the game and four more in the ninth to post a stunning 12-8 win at Fenway Park - their 11th comeback win of the year.