The Orioles almost have their starter for Wednesday afternoon.

Austin Voth is going to start or pitch in bulk relief behind an opener to conclude the series against the Guardians at Camden Yards.

The club won’t call up a pitcher from Triple-A Norfolk and hand him the assignment.

“We’re unsure a little bit on who’s going to start the game,” said manager Brandon Hyde, “but trying to hold back Austin for that game.”

Left-hander Keegan Akin can provide length out of the bullpen today if Tyler Wells is knocked out early.

Orioles reliever Austin Voth is a possibility to start Wednesday afternoon’s game against the Guardians at Camden Yards.

Voth will be unavailable for a few days after throwing 62 pitches last night in 3 2/3 innings. He saved the bullpen in a 12-2 loss but can’t be used for a while.

“Fortunately for us last night, Austin Voth was a savior for us,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “If I have to go through a couple more guys there, puts us in a terrible spot in a series here against a really good club, and then Cleveland. You want to minimize those types of starts just for the other guys, as well.

“Austin Voth really picked us up last night and saved me from having to use two other guys that we wouldn’t want to use, to then, hopefully be fresh as we can for these next two games.”

Asked about Voth pitching Wednesday, Hyde said, “Voth’s an option, yeah.”

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde strolled to the mound yesterday in the bottom of the 10^th inning, had a lengthy chat with Austin Voth, and gave the reliever an encouraging slap on the butt. A teammate smacked his chest.

The Orioles were battering Voth more than the Blue Jays.

Whit Merrifield followed Matt Chapman’s strikeout with a run-scoring single into center field to tie a game that would last through the 11^th. A game that might be the defining moment in the 2023 season.

The visitors erupted for five runs in their next turn and won 8-3 to complete the sweep, the first in a three-game series in Toronto since 2005.

So special because it’s a division rival with one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball.

Cole Irvin is in Baltimore to serve as a long reliever. Nothing else to it.

The Orioles don’t have immediate plans to reinsert Irvin into the rotation, but manager Brandon Hyde said, “He’s going to start for us down the road at some point for sure, I just don’t know when that’s going to be.”

“We see him as a starter,” Hyde added, “but right now we needed some length out of our bullpen and he was fully rested. We wanted to bring him back up here at some point anyway.”

Irvin gives the Orioles a long man with Austin Voth unavailable after pitching in back-to-back games. Mike Baumann has done the same and also is down.

“Where the game ended last night, we had to cover quite a few innings out of our bullpen, and we just wanted to bring up somebody that gives us a length option out of the ‘pen,” Hyde said.

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.

To hear O’s right-hander Austin Voth’s take, he is not pitching any differently in his last four games than he was in his first four games of the new season.

But the results have been very different.

“Not really,” Voth said in the clubhouse Wednesday about if he made any in-season adjustments. “I feel like I’ve been the same the whole season so far. Just had trouble early on with some offspeed pitches in the zone that were too much middle, but as a whole I feel I have been pitching about the same.”

But Voth, who allowed one homer in each of his first five bullpen appearances this year, has not allowed any in his last three games. His ERA was 10.50 his first four games and is 2.70 his last four. In that most-recent four-game span he has allowed two runs over 6 2/3 innings giving up a batting average of .208 and OPS against of .564 in that time. He has looked more like the pitcher that threw to an ERA of 3.04 for the Orioles in 2022.

But then he was mostly starting – making 17 of his 22 appearances as a starter. Now he is adjusting to a full-time bullpen role. And the results say the adjustment is starting to take hold.

The recovery made by rookie starter Grayson Rodriguez after the first inning of Sunday’s game in Chicago did more than keep him on the mound through the fifth and enable the Orioles to stage a comeback win and claim the series.

Rodriguez began a scoreless streak that cut through D.C. and pulled up to Camden Yards, where the Orioles are hosting the Tigers over the weekend.

The Orioles haven’t allowed a run in 26 consecutive innings. Not since the White Sox’s Jake Burger drove a 96.9 mph fastball over the right field fence Sunday afternoon with two outs in the bottom of the first.

Rain delayed the start for two hours and 22 minutes. Orioles pitching has created drought conditions on opposing batters.

The bullpen covered the last four innings at Guaranteed Rate Field, beginning with Mike Baumann, who blanked the White Sox in the sixth and seventh. Austin Voth retired the side in order in the eighth after surrendering a home run in each of his first five appearances. Félix Bautista stranded a runner in the ninth in a non-save situation.

CHICAGO – Grayson Rodriguez began making the walk from the visiting dugout to the bullpen around 3:04 p.m. local time. Dressed in the black jersey and gray road pants. Wondering what normal must feel like as a major league pitcher.

There was his unexpected debut in his home state of Texas, followed by the first chance to pitch at Camden Yards, where the team celebrated by handing out orange T-shirts to fans that welcomed him to The Show.

The White Sox didn’t offer him the same warm reception.

And they made him wait.

Following a delay of two hours and 22 minutes, Rodriguez finally was cleared beneath dark clouds that brought more rain to throw the first pitch of his third game with the Orioles. He surrendered two home runs and received one mound visit.

As the rotation continues to deliver shortened starts and the bullpen fights to catch its collective breath, the Orioles must bank on their offense to keep the line moving and the team from shutting down.

Ryan Mountcastle homered again today, Ryan O’Hearn celebrated his return to the majors with two rewarded bases-loaded at-bats in the first three innings, and Adley Rutschman homered on Trevor May's second pitch in the ninth to give the Orioles an 8-7 victory over the Athletics and the series win.

A grind from beginning to end.

Terrin Vavra and O’Hearn singled off Zach Jackson to open the eighth and they moved up on a passed ball, but Jorge Mateo popped up with the count full, Cedric Mullins flied to right field with the count full, and Ramón Laureano threw out Vavra at the plate.

With his team on the verge of extras, Rutschman launched a four-seam fastball over the fence in right-center field, measured at 405 feet, for his first career walk-off.

Grayson Rodriguez had a hunch that he’d be starting Tuesday night. The four scoreless innings to close out his major league debut in Texas. How he remained on the active roster, with option rules prohibiting a call-up unless replacing an injured player. No off-days that might cause him to be skipped.

The T-shirt giveaway in his honor.

So many clues.

The Orioles confirmed Saturday that Rodriguez would face the Athletics in the second game of the series.

“I guess I’m excited, first off, just being able to pitch in Camden Yards, something I’ve dreamed of ever since I was drafted,” Rodriguez said yesterday morning. “I guess it’s going to be another little dream come true for me.”

ARLINGTON, Texas – With a large rooting section from his hometown of Nacogdoches, Texas, in the stands today, Orioles right-hander Grayson Rodriguez made a strong big league debut in his home state. But it didn’t start out great for him. 

After allowing two runs and giving up some loud contact in the Rangers' first inning, he settled in nicely and at times looked very much like what he is: one of baseball’s best pitching prospects. And the pitcher who has gone 25-9 with a 2.49 ERA in 70 games on the Baltimore farm. The pitcher ranked No. 6 in the Baseball America top 100 and No. 7 by MLBPipeline.com.

He struggled as games got deeper in spring training, but not today.

Texas went 2-for-5 against him in its two-run first inning, then just 2-for-14 from the second through the fifth inning.

Right-hander Austin Voth replaced him to start the sixth in a 2-2 tie. But Texas third baseman Josh Jung took him to the opposite field for a two-run shot to right. That blast was enough for the Rangers to go on to win this one 5-2 as the Orioles failed to sweep the series.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Left-hander John Means elevated his full-mound bullpen session yesterday.

Means said he threw changeups for the first time, counting 10 of them among his 30 pitches.

“I felt great,” he said. “I was excited about it all day.”

Means estimated that he’s done five or six bullpens, throwing every other day for the last few weeks.

More changeups are coming next week, followed by some breaking balls in April.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles are playing under the lights again tonight, which allows the team to report to the clubhouse later than usual. Temperatures are supposed to dip into the 50s. Also a good way to prepare for a March 30^th Opening Day in Boston.

Left-hander Cole Irvin gets the start against the Blue Jays and Kyle Bradish could find his innings on the Camden Yards field. Two starters who are in the Opening Day rotation. No need to proceed with caution regarding Bradish. He’s done everything required to hold onto his spot.

We’ve gotten clarity on some topics and remain in the dark on others.

The last bench spot is an example of the latter, with me saying again that I’m sticking with my original and follow-up mocks but also am intrigued by the performances from backup first base candidates Ryan O’Hearn, Franchy Cordero and Josh Lester. And especially how Lester went from disappearing to dominating.

The Undertaker being flat on his back and then sitting up in the middle of the ring comes to mind.

DUNEDIN, Fla. – Sometimes in spring training games a pitcher could be working on something new or trying to add his repertoire. O’s right-hander Austin Voth did that today as the Orioles faced the Toronto Blue Jays.

Toronto hit two-run homers in the sixth and seventh off right-hander Mike Baumann as the Blue Jays beat the Orioles 8-6.

The O's rallied in the ninth on Connor Norby's RBI single and Heston Kjerstad's 105 mph RBI double, but fall to 5-8-2. They host Boston tomorrow with right-hander Grayson Rodriguez on the mound.

Voth, who allowed two runs and three hits in 2 2/3 innings, threw a sweeper for the second time this spring today. It’s a pitch with big movement that often breaks the width of the plate. Per Statcast, his sweeper today sat right between his cutter and curveball in velocity. The sweeper averaged 83.2 mph with his cutter at 89.2 and curve at 77.9 mph.

“This is the second outing that I started throwing a sweeper,” Voth said outside the Baltimore clubhouse. “I want to incorporate that a bit more. I know that is going to be a big pitch for me down the road. And then, backdoor cutters to lefties and also throwing it frontdoor as well. Just trying to get a better feel for my spin right now.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – We’re a little more than two weeks into Orioles spring training and they haven’t made any roster cuts. There are still 71 players in camp, though Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, Dean Kremer and Darwinzon Hernández are leaving for the World Baseball Classic. The same competitions are unresolved through seven games.

Pitchers John Means, Dillon Tate and Seth Johnson will go on the injured list. Closer Félix Bautista sounds confident that he’ll be ready for Opening Day. So does DL Hall, except we don’t know whether a Triple-A assignment remains in the cards or he’s assured of heading north with the club.

Tyler Wells is making his first start this afternoon against the Braves. We don’t know whether he’s in the rotation or bullpen on Opening Day, whether the club could pivot and use him in a piggyback role with Grayson Rodriguez early in the season to control the rookie’s innings.

Executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias sounds hesitant to commit to it because you’re basically reducing the ‘pen to seven relievers with Wells serving as a second starter in those games.

Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin are the locks for the rotation. Rodriguez is as close to one as you get without using the word. My mock still has Kyle Bradish and Dean Kremer, knowing that excluding Wells seems ridiculous. I hate to do it. I don’t know how this is going to work.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Ramón Urías led off the second inning today by drawing a walk against Blue Jays left-hander Yusei Kikuchi. Nothing special except that he was the only Orioles baserunner until one out in the ninth.

The club was being no-hit by seven pitchers in a game that didn’t count. Let the debate rage on whether it made a sound.

Lewin Díaz killed whatever drama was building by lining a single into right field off Hayden Juenger. He scored with two outs on Heston Kjerstad’s single into right-center. Kjerstad moved to second on an error but Josh Lester flied out.

The 2-1 loss was played in 2 hours and 20 minutes. The pitch clock can’t take all the credit.

Toronto was held to one run until Phil Clarke led off the eighth with a homer off Kyle Dowdy. Colton Cowser attempted a leaping catch at the fence, slammed into it and came down without the ball.  

SARASOTA, Fla. – The schedules for players leaving Orioles camp for the World Baseball Classic are clearer after this morning’s media scrum with manager Brandon Hyde.

Center fielder Cedric Mullins will play Friday and Sunday before joining Team USA in Arizona. Right fielder Anthony Santander will play Friday, Sunday and Monday before driving to Miami and beginning workouts with Venezuela.

Dean Kremer, who’s pitching for Israel, will work two-plus innings Friday in relief of starter Kyle Gibson. He’s also headed to Miami.

Left-hander John Means said his first half-mound session will be early next week, perhaps on Monday. We’re told there are no setbacks following his Tommy John surgery.

Closer Félix Bautista’s next bullpen is Saturday. The knee and shoulder are fine.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Tyler Wells lost about 20 pounds during the offseason and gained a fiancée last month. Two big wins for the right-hander before he stepped onto a mound.

Wells proposed to girlfriend Melissa after taking a deep breath captured on video, the only evidence of his nervousness. He knew that she’d accept, but the moment still threatened to overwhelm him.

As he's done in his professional life, Wells came through in the clutch.

Prone to what he called “stress eating,” Wells said his weight ballooned to 275 pounds before a stricter devotion to conditioning, inspired also by his two stops on the injured list in 2022, enabled him to recapture his 38-inch waist.

The former Rule 5 pick wants to hold onto his rotation spot but insists that he hasn’t sized up the competition.  

A dozen guarantees on the Orioles were published a few days ago, with me reserving the right to claim that my account was hacked if I’m wrong.

The safer road traveled is the one with plenty of exits and nothing concrete.

Here are a dozen subjects that come with assumptions, educated guesses and a range of possibilities, but they can’t be promised. We just don’t know without a crystal ball and a licensed fortune teller.

Are Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez in the opening day rotation?
We know two-fifths of it – Kyle Gibson and Cole Irvin. Kremer and Bradish earned the right to keep their jobs. How can you argue it? The club is on record that it wants Rodriguez to start. He has his own cheering section. But it would be wrong to write their names in ink. Too many other candidates, including Tyler Wells, DL Hall and Austin Voth.

The Orioles might or might not piggyback a starter.
It makes sense to do it. Could have six starters in a five-man rotation and better control Rodriguez’s workload. Makes sense not to because, as Mike Elias pointed out, the bullpen basically is reduced to seven relievers. That might be plenty on some teams, but the Orioles’ rotation isn't filled with innings eaters. So yes or no.

I wrote Thursday that a week had passed since the Orioles made their last transaction, and the most recent move impacting the 40-man roster came Jan. 11 with the acquisition of left-hander Darwinzon Hernandez from the Red Sox.

And then what happened?

Austin Voth avoided an arbitration hearing by agreeing to a $1.85 million contract that included a team option for 2024. A few hours later, the Orioles announced their acquisition of left-hander Cole Irvin from the Athletics, which caused Hernandez to be designated for assignment.

Irvin’s video call with the media was held Friday morning, and shortly after that the Orioles announced that they signed first baseman Curtis Terry to a minor league contract.

The sounds of silence were shattered.