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 Orioles are now down 0-2 in this best-of-five American League Division Series. They had 101 wins in the regular season and won the AL East championship, but after today’s 11-8 loss to Texas, their season will be over with one more loss.

With the Orioles down 11-5 in the ninth, Aaron Hicks blasted a three-run homer off Texas closer Jose Leclerc. He drove in five runs today. But the pitching gave up 11. 

The Orioles have now lost seven straight postseason games since their last win in the 2014 ALDS versus Detroit. The Rangers are 4-0 in the 2023 playoffs. 

The Orioles face a must-win situation Tuesday night at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.

A few thoughts on Game 2:

Grayson Rodriguez handed the ball to manager Brandon Hyde, walked to the dugout without raising his head and bolted down the steps. Too brisk a pace for teammates to reach out to him. Nothing they could have done anyway to soothe him.

The rookie was put in a tough spot. He didn’t make it through the second inning.

Can the Orioles make it past the Division Series?

They are teetering on the edge after today’s 11-8 loss to the Rangers in Game 2, played before an announced sellout crowd of 46,475 at Camden Yards. Aaron Hicks greeted José Leclerc with a three-run homer in the ninth, but the deficit was too large to overcome.

Mitch Garver hit a grand slam off Jacob Webb in the third after Bryan Baker walked the bases loaded. Nine runs on the board. A team in distress.

An Oriole for the entire season until he was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk Aug. 23, right-hander Mike Baumann is back in the clubhouse and back on the active roster today.

He was recalled as righty Bryan Baker, who pitched three innings last night, was optioned back to the Tides.

Over six games since he was sent to Triple-A, Baumann has pitched six scoreless innings allowing just one hit. He has walked five and fanned nine with an .056 average against and a WHIP of 1.00 with Triple-A.

“Just worked on consistency,” said Baumann of his time on the farm. “Just kind of fine-tuning some things. Really just kind of getting a little reset. Focusing on attacking hitters and been feeling good about it.

“I knew there was good reason behind it (being sent to the minors). I’ve been in that situation before. Control what I can control and focus one day at a time.”

The Orioles and Rays are tied atop the American League East. The one win that the Orioles need to clinch the tiebreaker remains on hold, but their magic number to secure a playoff spot is three after the Rangers lost last night.

It’s complicated.

What’s apparent is a four-game losing streak that’s tied for the longest this season.

The Orioles also lost four in a row June 27-July 1 and won nine of their next 11, including a season-best eight-game winning streak.

Orioles batters are 6-for-59 in this series. They’ve scored six runs in the last four games.

Orioles' right-hander Kyle Bradish was asked last night for his opinion on how he pitched.

“Indifferent,” was his immediate response.

Couldn’t feel that way about everything that happened prior to the game.

The anticipation over Ryan Mountcastle’s MRI results. The predicted roster move that turned into multiple moves and caught many of us by surprise. The observations and lessons learned.

Don’t always trust body language and somber tones.

In the seemingly constant roster churn in the Orioles bullpen, lefty Nick Vespi was optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk today and right-hander Bryan Baker was recalled.

Baker has pitched in 111 Orioles games since the start of the 2022 season and was a fixture on the roster until he was optioned to Norfolk on Aug. 2. Today he returns – just in time to join the team for the biggest series of the year.

In 11 games at Triple-A, Baker went 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA. In 11 2/3 innings he gave up seven runs with seven walks and 16 strikeouts.

In 45 games this season with Baltimore, he is 4-3 with a 3.64 ERA. In 42 innings he has walked 24 and fanned 51. At the time he was optioned, he actually had pitched to an ERA of 2.25 in his previous 12 games.

“It’s great to be back,” Baker said this afternoon in the Baltimore clubhouse. “I’m excited to get back on the bump here at good ole’ Camden Yards and try to get some outs.

TORONTO – Acquired by the Orioles just ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline for three minor league players, right-hander Jack Flaherty was activated and joined the Orioles today.

He will make his debut with his new club in Thursday’s series finale in Toronto at 3:07 p.m.

“It’s awesome. These guys have been playing unbelievable for them to be in first place,” Flaherty said of his new teammates today in his first interview as an Oriole. “To be playing the way they have all year, it’s special. Really lucky to come in here and join these guys.”

Flaherty went 7-6 with a 4.43 ERA in 20 starts for St. Louis. But since giving up 10 runs in a May 4 start against the Angels, he is 5-2 with a 3.58 ERA over his last 13 starts. He will wear No. 15 for the Orioles.

“Season is full of ups and downs," he said. "You get some rough ones and some good ones. I’ve done this it a little bit, and you learn from the ones that are rough. I’ve ironed some things out. It’s about performing now. Looking forward to these next couple of months.”

Jack Flaherty has joined the Orioles after yesterday’s trade with the Cardinals, and reliever Bryan Baker is optioned to Triple-A Norfolk as the corresponding move.

Flaherty is wearing No. 15.

Baker has registered a 3.64 ERA and 1.310 WHIP in 45 appearances, and he’s averaging 5.1 walks per nine innings. He spent the entire 2022 season with the Orioles and remained one of their high-leverage relievers this year, but he’s allowed 51.5 percent of inherited runners to score, the second-most among qualified relievers.

The Orioles are a season-high 25 games above .500 and trying tonight to secure their 21^st series.

Last night’s 13-3 blowout win made them 7-1 against the Blue Jays season, assuring that they’d claim the season series, and 5-0 at Rogers Centre. Their division lead remains 1 ½ games over the Rays.

When the Orioles' Anthony Santander launched a two-run shot in the first inning Sunday, it was a big swing for Baltimore. It provided the Orioles an early 3-0 lead, and they would go on to win and sweep Miami.

But it was also a milestone home run for Santander. His 17^th of the year was also the 100^th of his career - a mark he reached in his 526^th MLB game. He becomes the 29^th player in the history of the Orioles, which of course dates to 1954, with 100 homers.

Next up for him on the O’s career list, tied for 27^th all-time with 106 homers are Jonathan Schoop and Gary Roenicke. Tied for 24^th on the list are the trio of J.J. Hardy, Doug DeCinces and Harold Baines with 107 homers in a Baltimore uniform.

Santander has had quite the career for a player that the O’s got via the Rule 5 draft from Cleveland in December of 2016.

“Wow, first of all thank God, all the glory is to him,” Santander said in the O’s clubhouse before the Dodgers series opener. “I’m really happy and proud of myself. I never thought about it but with hard work and consistency I was able to reach that number.

The first three pitches from Grayson Rodriguez tonight were clocked at 98.9, 99.2 and 99.8 mph, resulting in a fly ball from Dodgers leadoff hitter Mookie Betts.

That’s when he decided to turn up the heat.

Rodriguez concluded an eight-pitch at-bat against Freddie Freeman by getting him to ground a 101-mph fastball to third baseman Ramón Urías. Six of his pitches exceeded 100 mph in the inning. He didn’t top 99.3 during his first stint with the club.

This wasn’t the same version of Rodriguez. Not until he came back out for the sixth.

Twice handed three-run leads, Rodriguez couldn’t record an out in the sixth and watched from the dugout as Chris Taylor hit a grand slam off Bryan Baker in the Dodgers’ 6-4 victory over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 21,956 at Camden Yards.

The sweep streak was almost destroyed by bats that couldn’t make solid contact.

The Orioles found other ways to avoid a loss. Some small ball, a slump reprieve and a painful plate appearance.

Twins reliever Jhoan Duran hit Jordan Westburg with two outs in the eighth inning after loading the bases, breaking a tie but no bones. The bullpen tossed four scoreless and the Orioles rallied for a 2-1 win before an announced crowd of 16,299 at Camden Yards.

Sonny Gray held the Orioles to two hits in six scoreless innings and the Twins led 1-0 going into the eighth.

Adley Rutschman reached on a tapper near the mound with one out, and Anthony Santander won a nine-pitch battle with a single into center field. Aaron Hicks tied the game with a single into center on a 102.6 mph fastball, becoming a hero in a game he was watching from the bench.

The Orioles got back on the horse with a 7-3 win over the Los Angeles Angels last night. Back-to-back losses didn't turn into the club's second three-game losing streak of 2023.

And while starter Dean Kremer provided a solid outing, allowing three runs over 5 2/3 on 95 pitches, the bullpen put forth another scoreless effort.

Right-hander Bryan Baker did allow an inherited runner to score, but Baker, Cionel Pérez and Yennier Cano did not allow a run over 3 1/3 innings. Baker has allowed just one earned run his last 19 2/3 innings. Perez retired all six batters he faced over the seventh and eighth innings on just 19 pitches. He has allowed one earned run his past 6 2/3. Cano pitched a 1-2-3 ninth on eight pitches and now has thrown 20 2/3 scoreless innings for the season.

Over the past five games, the O's 'pen has an ERA of 0.60. Over the last nine games, the 'pen ERA is 1.34. For the year the bullpen ERA is 2.94 to rank second in MLB.

Batting ninth, Ryan O'Hearn hit a solo homer in the second inning. And then Ryan Mountcastle pinch-hit for him and hit a two-run shot in the sixth that he blasted 433 feet.

Last night, the Los Angeles Angels joined the Tampa Bay Rays as the second team this year to win a series-opening game against the Orioles. The Birds are now 12-2 in such games. The Angels 9-5 win was led by Shohei Ohtani, who gave up three home runs on the mound but hit a three-run homer at bat as part of a 4-for-5 game where he came up a double short of the cycle.

Adam Frazier and Anthony Santander hit two-run homers off Ohtani and Cedric Mullins added a solo shot. In two career starts against the Orioles, Ohtani has allowed nine runs in 12 innings and has given up six homers, including two each to Mullins and Santander. His five runs allowed last night tied his season high.

But the O’s starter, rookie right-hander Grayson Rodriguez, allowed nine hits and eight runs over 3 1/3 innings. That is the most runs allowed by a Baltimore starting pitcher this year. Coming into this series, O’s starters had a 1.74 ERA their previous eight games, allowing two earned runs or less seven times.

The Orioles bullpen allowed just a single run over 5 2/3 innings last night. The Baltimore bullpen has a 1.48 ERA (five ER/30.1 IP) over the last eight games.

Best bullpen ERAs in MLB in 2023

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.

The Orioles have won 14 of their first 21 games to tie for the third-best start in club history. And they don’t want to hear about soft schedules and beatable opponents.

It used to be them. Remember?

They were tagged as the easy marks during the rebuild. They were the team that the rest of the league was supposed to view as providing a breather during a heated pennant race.

Funny how a narrative can spin as the tables are turned.

The Red Sox and Yankees are a combined 4-2 versus the Orioles, and everyone else is 3-12. A stretch of 10 wins in the last 12 games has come against the Athletics, White Sox, Nationals and Tigers, who are a collective 25-60.

It doesn’t have its own name like “Homer Hose,” in fact it doesn’t have any name, but Bryan Baker’s little backward dance off the mound Wednesday night after getting a strikeout in Washington had the texting on his cell phone pretty active for a while.

He said he heard quite a bit about it after he had pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to preserve what was then a 3-0 O’s lead. Using his changeup, which was on point in that game, he got strikeouts of CJ Abrams and Lane Thomas.

In the early going this year, the changeup has become a big pitch for Baker. It’s often been a big pitch for the Orioles as a pitching staff. Baltimore pitchers threw the second-most changeups in the American League in 2022. And this year, at 13.7 percent usage, the Orioles rank third in the league behind the Los Angeles Angels (14.4) and New York Yankees (14.2) in throwing changeups.

“I feel like I finally kind of found it against the Nationals the other day,” Baker said earlier today of his change. “Made a little bit of a tweak with my grip. But just need to maintain consistency with it. Kind of the hardest pitch to do that with, because it’s such a feel pitch. So, yeah, will just try to hold on to what I had the other night.

“The action was good. And it wasn’t too slow to, like, where I was telegraphing it and letting them know it’s coming, and sometimes I do that. Yeah, just try to maintain that going forward.”

Oftentimes judging a reliever’s performance off his ERA, especially in a small sample, is not a solid path to take in evaluating that pitcher. Take O’s right-hander Bryan Baker.

His ERA is 5.79 in four games to start the new season. But his batting average against is .200 and opponent batters have an OPS of just .544 versus Baker. 

On Opening Day in Boston he gave up three runs over two-thirds of an inning. In three games since then, he has thrown four scoreless innings on one hit with no walks and four strikeouts.

Thanks to the help of third sacker Ramón Urías, who turned a nifty 5-3 double play, and his own strikeout of Isiah Kiner-Falefa on a 96 mph heater in the eighth inning here yesterday, he got three huge outs in the O’s 7-6 win over the New York Yankees.

The Orioles improved to 4-3 on the year, and to 46-24 all-time in home openers.

BOSTON – With his starters churning out a combined eight innings in the first two games and his calls to the bullpen exceeding any level of comfort, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said it would be “huge” today for Cole Irvin’s debut to carry deep in the series finale.

“We’ve used a lot of people the first couple games,” he said.

The wheels already were turning. Who would provide length if Irvin had an early exit? How many times could the baton reasonably be passed from hand to hand, with the bullpen covering the last six innings on Saturday?

“We’re in the third game of the year and we’re already talking about (this),” Hyde said, laughing.

And then Irvin took the mound in the bottom of first inning and threw 32 pitches.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Just as the Orioles appear closer to deciding on their eight relievers for Opening Day, they toss another grenade into the projections and mocks that already are ill-equipped to instill absolute confidence.

I’m expanding my locks to six, with Dillon Tate absent due to the forearm strain that’s kept him out of games but closer Félix Bautista back in the mix.

Bautista is pitching later today against the Phillies in Clearwater, increasing his number of games and innings to three. He’s expected to make another appearance Thursday night against the Tigers in Sarasota. The big man inching closer to that charter flight to Boston.

Cionel Pérez, Mychal Givens and Bryan Baker already were secure. Baker had a nice bounce back outing yesterday with a scoreless sixth inning, striking out a batter and allowing just a soft single from Ji-Man Choi to the opposite field. He retired Oneil Cruz and Carlos Santana on fly balls and fanned Bryan Reynolds.

Baker insisted that felt good on the mound and the results would get better. Not an ounce of concern from the reliever or anyone else in the organization. And yesterday proved why.