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.

The Battle of the Beltways was split last year, with the Nationals and Orioles sweeping three-game series on their respective home fields. A Nationals win tonight would ensure a season split for the second year in a row.

The two rivals split two games in June at Camden Yards. The Orioles won the first game of this two-game set in D.C. last night. The Nationals hope Patrick Corbin and a resurgent offense can earn the split tonight. 

Corbin was charged with three runs and seven hits with six strikeouts over four innings in a rain-shortened loss to the Orioles on June 22. He also gave up home runs to Austin Hays (who ended up hitting for the cycle in a game that was called after just six innings) and Anthony Santander. In his career, Corbin is 1-4 with a 5.50 ERA in seven appearances (six starts) against Baltimore.

Tyler Wells makes his 22nd start of the season tonight, but just his second since coming off the injured list last week with a left oblique strain. The right-hander completed only two innings on 34 pitches against the Blue Jays in his return. In that June 22 matchup against Corbin, Wells tossed five scoreless innings with four walks and four strikeouts.

While Wells continues to stretch out, old friend Austin Voth is expected to back him up as a long reliever out of the bullpen. The Nats designated Voth for assignment on May 31 and the Orioles selected him off waivers on June 7. In 19 relief appearances with the Nats, Voth had a 10.13 ERA and 2.143 WHIP. In 18 games (14 starts) with the Orioles, Voth has a 2.82 ERA and 1.209 WHIP.

WASHINGTON – Orioles second baseman Rougned Odor has his right hand wrapped after being hit by a pitch Sunday and leaving the game. However, Odor said he probably could pinch-hit tonight and expects to be in Wednesday's lineup.

Odor still has some soreness in the hand. Ramón Urías is starting at second base.

“A lot better today,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “When he came out of the game a couple days ago, it was really swollen, but a lot of treatment on it today, an off-day yesterday was really helpful, and should be available off the bench tonight.”

Austin Voth won’t start against his former team in this two-game series, but he’s available out of the bullpen.

Off-days yesterday and Thursday enable Hyde to adjust his rotation, and Voth is being skipped. Voth will jump back into it for his next turn.

With a 3-2 series-opening win on Friday, led by a three-run rally in the sixth and a strong bullpen performance, the Orioles are in position to win another series with a victory either today or tomorrow.

The Orioles (73-65) are four games behind Seattle for the final wild card spot as play begins today. They are 4.5 games back of Toronto and 5.5 behind Tampa Bay after the Rays lost to the Yankees today. New York now holds a 4.5 game lead over Tampa Bay for the AL East lead.

In Friday's win after starter Austin Voth gave up two runs over four innings, five bullpen pitched threw scoreless ball the last five innings for the Orioles. Right-hander Jake Reed got the win and righty Dillon Tate got the last four outs to record his fourth save.

The O's trailed last night 2-0 to the last of the sixth after Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run homer for Boston in the top of the third. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles have won 11 games this season in which they trailed by multiple runs in the sixth inning or later. The only team with more comeback victories of that kind this season is the Cleveland Guardians with 12.

The O's have outscored their opponents 579-564 (+15) this season. They have outscored their opponents 389-331 (+58) in 87 games since June 1 after being outscored 190-233 (-43) in their first 51 games. Baltimore has not had a positive run differential in a season since 2016 (+29).

Kyle Stowers drifted back to the right field fence tonight, leaped for Xander Bogaerts’ fly ball and held up his glove after his feet again touched dirt. It was empty.

The Orioles couldn’t afford to experience that feeling hours later as they filed into the clubhouse.

A team that prides itself on its resiliency, confidence and closeness needed to tap into the supply. The games are going away. The Orioles are fighting to stick around.

Rookie Brayan Bello carried a shutout into the sixth inning before the Orioles rallied for three runs to take the lead, which they protected with a backup closer in a 3-2 victory over the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 16,451 at Camden Yards.

Dillon Tate inherited a runner from Bryan Baker with two outs in the eighth and overran Kiké Hernández’s slow roller for an error. He struck out pinch-hitter Reese McGuire, returned for the ninth and recorded his fourth save after Alex Verdugo reached with one out on an infield hit.

The Orioles have 25 games left in the 2022 regular season and three left on this current homestand. After Thursday’s off-day, they host Boston for a weekend series beginning tonight at Oriole Park.

The Orioles (72-65) lost three of four games to Toronto, scoring just eight runs in the three losses in that series. They have lost four of five games overall and now are 4 1/2 games back of Toronto for the final American League wild card berth. They are five back of Seattle for the second wild card spot and six games behind Tampa Bay for the No. 1 wild card spot.

Righty Alek Manoah held the Orioles to three hits over eight innings as Toronto won 4-1 Wednesday night. The Birds went just 3-for-30 in that game and were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. They saw 22 of their last 23 batters retired in the game after they had taken a 1-0 lead in the first on a Ryan Mountcastle RBI double.

Mountcastle went 4-for-16 with two doubles and five RBIs in the series against Toronto. In eight games this month, he is batting .290 with a .979 OPS to go with three homers and 11 RBIs.

Catcher Adley Rutschman went 7-for-16 in the series with three doubles, a homer, four runs and four RBIs. He is batting .417 (10-for-24) during a six-game hitting streak with three doubles, two homers and six RBIs.

The Orioles resume their homestand tonight with Gunnar Henderson starting at shortstop against the Red Sox, Austin Hays batting eighth and playing left field, and Kyle Stowers batting ninth and starting in right.

Ramón Urías is the third baseman and batting sixth behind Henderson.

Jorge Mateo is on the bench.

Catcher Adley Rutschman is 10-for-24 during a six-game hitting streak, with three doubles, two home runs, six RBIs, three walks and five runs scored. His 29 doubles this year lead major league rookies and are tied for second-most among Orioles catchers in club history with Matt Wieters in 2013 and Ramón Hernández in 2006.

His 29 doubles also are tied with Hall of Famers Eddie Murray (1977) and Cal Ripken Jr. (1982) for most by an Orioles rookie in franchise history.

Dillon Tate wasn’t expecting to make his earliest appearance in a game in more than a year last night. The bullpen phone rang with no outs in the fourth inning and two runners on base, and he grabbed his glove and a ball.

This wasn’t playoff baseball, but it sure felt and sounded like it.

“It’s just part of the job to be ready when your name is called,” said Tate, who earned the win after allowing one run in 1 2/3 innings in the Orioles’ 9-6 victory over the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.

Manager Brandon Hyde needed to keep the deficit at three runs and turned to one of his high-leverage relievers. Tate inherited runners on the corners, didn’t let the Blue Jays expand their lead by performing a nifty escape act, and watched the Orioles score five times in the bottom half.

The bullpen covered the last six innings and the Orioles moved within 3 1/2 games of the last wild card spot.

The Orioles wouldn’t take the field tonight until everyone gathered in the clubhouse to celebrate backup catcher Robinson Chirinos reaching 10 years of major league service time. They gave him a cake, a signed bat and custom-made sneakers. Manager Brandon Hyde hugged Chirinos twice, called him “brother.”

Chirinos propped the bat on his shoulder while expressing his appreciation and thanked them for the memories.

“And the ones coming,” he said, “because we’re not done yet.”

No, they aren’t.

Ryan Mountcastle pulled further away from his slump with a pair of two-run homers in his first two at-bats, Cedric Mullins and Anthony Santander reached the flag court and center field seats, respectively, in the fourth, five relievers combined for 5 2/3 scoreless innings, and the Orioles locked up their fifth series win in a row with an 8-1 victory over the Athletics before an announced crowd of 30,853 at Camden Yards.

HOUSTON – After a weekend in Houston where O’s pitching gave up just four runs, leading the team to a series win over the club with the best record in the American League, the O’s take some momentum to Cleveland where they open a big series Tuesday night.

They’re all big now, when the club is 1.5 games out of a playoff berth with 35 games remaining.

The Orioles continue to surprise some people around MLB and who could have expected them to head into Houston, win the series with a chance to sweep Sunday? Houston began this weekend with the best AL record at 81-45 which included a seven-game home win streak and home record for the year of 42-18.

But terrific starting pitching led the Orioles to wins by 2-0 Friday and 3-1 Saturday before they lost 3-1 Sunday to end a five-game win streak at Minute Maid Park.

The Orioles continue to show they can play with the AL big boys – both in the AL East and beyond – and outfielder Austin Hays likes their positioning for the stretch run.

The Orioles create their own breaks and catch a few along the way. Or at least, it appears that way.

Doesn’t always lead to a win, but it happens.

Going for the three-game sweep yesterday in Houston, they were tasked with trying to beat Cy Young candidate Justin Verlander. The major league leader in ERA and OPS, and tied for the lead in WHIP. A tough matchup, to say the least.

A brief one, too, with Verlander leaving after three scoreless innings with right calf discomfort.

Nothing related to his surgically repaired right elbow or his shoulder. Just his calf muscle.

HOUSTON – It seemed improbable that the Orioles' run of great starting pitching could last against one of the best hitting teams in the majors on the road.

But it did.

The Orioles were not scoring runs on their end, however, and the game went into the late innings with a 0-0 score at Houston's Minute Maid Park. This after the Orioles had beaten Houston by 2-0 and 3-1 to take the series' first two games. But the Houston bullpen was doing the job after a surprise early exit by Justin Verlander due to injury.

And then the Astros finally broke through and got the big hit they had been waiting for.

Against a drawn-in infield with runners on second and third and one out in the seventh, first baseman Yuli Gurriel poked a two-run single to right field. That put Houston ahead, and they went on to a 3-1 win to avoid getting swept in the three-game series.

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.

While the Orioles keep working out Terrin Vavra at first base before games, the drills beginning Sunday at Tropicana Field, they’ve got shortstop Gunnar Henderson doing the same with Triple-A Norfolk. Taking ground balls, making throws from a new angle.

Henderson is expected to receive some starts at first base this week, perhaps today against the Durham Bulls at Harbor Park.

To get Henderson comfortable at the position would assist the Orioles with roster flexibility if his contract is selected. They’re searching for left-handed options, particularly as injury insurance.

Henderson has started at shortstop and third base as a professional and played five innings at second base last summer with Single-A Aberdeen.  First base is new to him.

This doesn’t signal that Henderson definitely is coming up in 2022. It’s a daily conversation within the organization, and the strikeouts – 62 compared to 32 walks in 53 games with Norfolk before last night – offer a reason to wait.

TORONTO - Brandon Hyde surely didn’t want to make two treks to the mound in the seventh inning. But he had little choice.

Relievers Joey Krehbiel and Cionel Pérez had allowed five consecutive batters to reach base, and the game that had seemed winnable moments ago was slipping away at a frightening pace.

After starter Austin Voth befuddled the Blue Jays over six shutout innings, the Orioles bullpen crumbled in a 6-1 loss in the series finale Wednesday afternoon in Toronto.

"You win two out of three, it’s tough to be disappointed," said Hyde of the three-game series. "You lose the third one after winning the first two, that’s when it’s disappointing. You split the first two and win the third, everyone’s celebrating. Happy with the series win, unhappy we couldn’t finish it off today."

Orioles relievers had combined to throw 6 ⅓ scoreless innings through the first two games of the series. But the group came crashing back down to earth in a disastrous seventh inning that saw three pitchers used, eight Blue Jays reach base and six runs come across the plate.

The Orioles will attempt to sweep the Blue Jays this afternoon, winning five straight games against their division rivals and perhaps take sole possession of the third wild card spot.

They would move past Toronto for third place in the American League East.

To review: the Orioles have won 10 of the last 14 games, 12 of 18 and 26 of 37. They’re 25-27 against division opponents after going 20-56 last season.

A victory today would move the Orioles seven games above .500 for the first time since May 22, 2017. They’ve been six over on three occasions this season.

Adley Rutschman and Terrin Vavra are on the bench today.

We’re not necessarily picking on the four-letter network, and no, I am certainly not picking on MASN. But maybe I am picking on ESPN.

In their ESPN.com MLB preview for this year, they projected a record of 58-104 for the Orioles. Another 100-loss season. Hey, at least they did see the team gaining six wins from last season.

Well, as of last night the Orioles are on pace for 85 wins, a gain of 33. As of Friday night, the Orioles also hold an American League playoff spot after they took a 7-0 lead on the way to a 10-3 rout of the Tampa Bay Rays. At Tropicana Field, where they had won just two of their previous 19 games.

It was a bit of a statement they made in the opener of this huge series.

Hey, so ESPN was wrong about the Orioles, but so were a lot of people. No one could have predicted this. Some might have thought they maybe make a run for 70 wins. But no one thought they were ready to be a .500 club, much less a playoff team.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Opposing teams at Tropicana Field must become educated on the unique ground rules during their pregame studies. Be able to recite the outcome if a ball strikes one of the catwalks. Know whether it remains in play and what happens if it’s caught or lands on the turf.

Adley Rutschman didn’t let the quirks complicate his at-bat tonight in the first inning. He swung hard and hit the longest home run of his young career, perhaps unaware that the ball slammed into the C-ring in right field before it could punch a hole in the roof.

He just circled the bases. No one was going to stop him, or the team trying to move into third place in its division and the wild card race

Rutschman’s 439-foot shot staked Austin Voth to a quick lead, the right-hander carried a no-hit bid into the sixth, Jorge Mateo collected five hits, and Cedric Mullins also nailed the C-ring in the eighth, as if the Orioles were playing a carnival game instead of beginning a crucial series with a 10-3 victory over the Rays.

Voth retired the first 10 batters and didn’t allow a hit until Jose Siri’s infield single leading off the sixth, and the Orioles improved to 59-53. They’re a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay in both races.

The Orioles have arrived in Tampa/St. Pete for their huge weekend series with the Tampa Bay Rays. Tonight, it’s the first of three games between the AL East rivals who are competing for one of three American League wild card playoff spots.

The Orioles (58-53) and Tampa Bay (58-52) are tied 8-8 in the season series and the winner of this series will win the season series and that is big for a potential future standings tiebreaker. The Orioles begin play tonight 2.5 games behind Toronto for the first wild card, two back of Seattle for the second and ½ game behind the Rays for the third.

The Orioles had an identical record as the Rays heading into last night’s games. And while Tampa Bay was off, the Birds lost 4-3 at Boston to fall back out of their standings tie. But a win tonight and they move ahead of the Rays.

Tampa Bay has won four of seven games but over longer stretches is 5-7 in 12 games and 13-12 in its last 25. The Rays are 7-11 in the second half and 27-31 since June 4. The Rays are 33-21 at home and 25-21 versus AL East teams.

In the first series of the year, the Orioles lost three straight at Tropicana Field by scores of 2-1, 5-3 and 8-0. At that point, the Orioles were 3-27 in the last 30 games against Tampa Bay. But they are 8-5 versus the Rays since then and beat them three out of four when the two teams played in Baltimore in late July. But the Orioles are 1-5 this road against the Rays on the road. The Orioles last won a series at the Trop since June 23-25, 2017.