ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Orioles and Rays meet in a three-game series that could jostle them within the division and wild card standings.

The Rays are a half-game ahead of the Orioles for third place in the American League East. The same distance that separates them in the wild card race, with the Orioles dropping out of a third-place tie last night.

The teams have split 16 games against each other, but the Orioles are 1-5 at Tropicana Field.

A big series awaits them.

Terrin Vavra is starting in left field tonight. Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.

BOSTON – Austin Voth is packing his bags today and leaving the Orioles again, this time confident that he’ll start Friday night’s series opener against the Rays in St. Petersburg, Fla.

It doesn’t always work out.

Voth had left the team to make tonight’s start in Boston, with the Orioles getting him on an earlier flight rather than putting him on the charter, but last night’s rainout moved Dean Kremer to tonight.

Rather than skip Voth, manager Brandon Hyde chose to hand him the ball on Friday. Jordan Lyles and Spenser Watkins would follow if kept in order, but those spots are TBA.

“We’re still figuring some things out there the last two days in Tampa,” Hyde said. “Dean was ready to pitch last night, and we’re just pushing those two guys back.”

Tonight’s game between the Orioles and Blue Jays has been postponed due to rain and will be made up as part of a traditional doubleheader on Monday, Sept. 5.

The first game starts at 1:05 p.m. The second game is slated to begin about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the opener.

Fans holding tickets for the originally scheduled 1:05 p.m. game on Sept. 5 should use them for both games of the doubleheader.

Tickets for tonight’s game aren’t valid for the doubleheader. Fans may exchange the value of their tickets toward any remaining regular season home game this season, including the doubleheader, based on availability.

The first 15,000 fans ages 15 and over attending the doubleheader will receive a Ryan Mountcastle t-shirt.

I have mentioned a few times lately that not all days at the ballpark are created equal. Some are more special. We keep getting days like that around Birdland lately, and Saturday was sure one of them.

To have Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson and Eddie Murray at the Yard was pretty awesome, for the fans and the Orioles team too. The ceremony for the 30th anniversary celebration of Oriole Park at Camden Yards was well done, and brought back some nice memories of some wonderful moments over the years.

Then the Orioles' winning streak continued with a 6-3 win over Pittsburgh as 41,086 cheered them on. It was awesome to see Oriole Park rocking like it was Saturday. When I headed home the fans at the Yard were still rocking at the postgame concert.

I was just excited I had recognized a few of the songs. Had set the over/under at two and I went over. Yay for me. But that just capped off a great day and night for the fans of Birdland.

The Hall of Famers, No. 33 and No. 5, spent time talking to the Orioles players before the game. And after that they talked with reporters, and Murray was asked if this current club reminds him of the 1979 team that made Oriole magic a thing.

Perhaps fueled with some momentum from the pregame ceremony and celebration of 30 years of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, the current group of Birds got off to a fast start today against Pittsburgh.

Not long after the fans cheered Hall of Famers Brooks Robinson, Eddie Murray and Mike Mussina with gusto, among others that returned, the 2022 Orioles scored once in the first and twice in the second off Pirates right-hander JT Brubaker to take an early 3-0 lead.

The Pirates would close the gap but the Orioles did their part toward making the day a party and a success with a 6-3 win over the Pirates before an enthusiastic crowd of 41,086 at the ballpark. That is the second-largest crowd of the year behind opening day. 

Before the game Robinson and Murray spoke to the Orioles players. Manager Brandon Hyde said it meant so much to his team.

“Priceless day for our guys,” said Hyde. “We were so honored to have Brooks and Eddie in our clubhouse to say a few words of encouragement. Just greatness in our clubhouse. Our guys felt it, they were appreciative. The whole ceremony was fantastic. I think our whole team was out there for it to recognize some great moments here over the last 30 years and the people that were a part of it. Really impressed with everything, but the cherry on top was Brooks and Eddie being in our clubhouse.”

After recording their fourth 1-0 win of the year Friday night against Pittsburgh, the Orioles host the Pirates again today and a win in either of the next two games will give them their 16^th series win of the year. They are 15-14-4 in series play thus far through the Texas series.

The 1-0 win came via a six-hitter which was a combined effort of right-handers Dean Kremer and Félix Bautista and lefty Cionel Pérez. Kremer allowed four hits over 6 1/3 innings and his ERA had been 6.94 his previous five starts. Pérez got five big outs and lowered his ERA to 1.15. Bautista got the final three outs, the last two on strikeouts with two men in the ninth. It was his fourth save, but first save chance since the trade of former closer Jorge López to Minnesota.

The O’s have won four in a row and their pitchers have allowed just seven earned runs in those four wins. Last night was Baltimore’s 10^th shutout of the year and second in the last eight games. The team ERA is 2.57 in those eight games.

Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Kremer is the first Baltimore pitcher since Jim Palmer in 1978 to start three games in a season that ended in 1-0 O's wins. The Orioles won their fourth 1-0 game, the most by an MLB team since the San Francisco Giants won five in 2019. The last year in which the Birds won four games by a 1-0 score was 1983, and before 2022, the O's did not have a 1-0 win since July 4, 2018 versus Texas.

In the last turn through the pitching rotation, Austin Voth, Spenser Watkins, Jordan Lyles, Kyle Bradish and Kremer have allowed three earned runs over 28 2/3 innings for an ERA of 1.14. With the win last night, Kremer improved to 4-3 with a 3.43 ERA.

The Orioles will try today to move five games above .500 for the first time since June 7, 2017, also against the Pirates, who remain in town through the weekend. They’re 1 ½ back for the last wild card spot and two behind the Rays for third place.

Last night’s 1-0 win bumped the Orioles’ run differential to plus-eight.

The Orioles lead the majors with four 1-0 victories, their highest total since 1983, their last championship team.

The pitching staff has allowed three runs or fewer in five consecutive games, their second-longest streak of the season.

Austin Voth has posted a 2.84 ERA in 11 games with the Orioles, and today marks his eighth start. He retired all six Pirates batters he faced in an April 15 relief appearance for the Nationals – his only career game against them.

CINCINNATI - Orioles outfielder Austin Hays said he is humbled by O’s fans support of him in his time with the team and now he wants to give back.

He has started “The Austin Hays Scholarship” and some youngsters currently in high school and college can get a $20,000 boost for their education.

It is for kids from low-income families and only for Maryland students. An essay is needed, and applicants can apply for the scholarship through August 28 at go.bold.org/AustinHays.

“I was talking to my agent and we just thought it was a really good time to try and give back to the Baltimore community that has given a lot to me and my family over the years,” Hays told me Sunday before the game in Cincinnati.

“Been around here now since 2016 so it feels like I have gotten so much out of the community and the organization, so I was able to talk to the team and get them to partner with me in donating to the scholarship and they would match it. We can help out an underprivileged kid in the community that is in high school or college and needs a little help trying to pay for school. Not everyone has the same opportunity. Just want to do my part to help the community.”

CINCINNATI – The Orioles rallied to pull out a close game in the late innings in the series opener on Friday night and for most of today, it looked like the team might need something similar in the series finale against Cincinnati at Great American Ball Park.

They were locked in a scoreless duel with Reds top pitching prospect lefty Nick Lodolo. And then they fell behind by two runs. They would get even but they would not get their win.

Brandon Drury's 20th homer of the year was a solo shot with two outs in the eighth off the O's Félix Bautista and that lifted the Reds to a 3-2 win in the series finale.

Drury hit a 1-2 splitter that just had enough to go out in left at 372 feet to snap the 2-2 tie and give the Reds the series win.

Bautista's 1.50 ERA was among the best for relievers as he took the mound today.

CINCINNATI – For the Orioles, pitching has told a lot of the story this weekend. The pitching kept the team in the game Friday night until the offense rescued the night with a four-run rally in the ninth. Last night, the pitching put the team in a hole and they could never quite dig out of it in an 8-2 loss.

The Orioles (51-50) and the Reds (39-61) play the rubber match game of this three-game series this afternoon at Great American Ball Park. A win gives the O’s another series victory as they head off to Texas to begin a series there on Monday night.

The Orioles are 14-13-4 in series play this season and 5-8-2 in road series.

Right-hander Austin Voth (1-1, 6.15 ERA) gets the start for the Orioles. After pitching to an ERA of 10.13 for the Washington Nationals, he has been much better with Baltimore. For the Orioles, he is 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 games, six of those being starts.

Over 26 2/3 innings for the Birds, he has allowed 26 hits and three homers with 10 walks and 25 strikeouts. He has a 1.350 WHIP with a 3.4 walk rate and 8.4 strikeout rate. The Orioles are 5-1 in his six starts.

Ryan Mountcastle returns to the Orioles’ lineup today for the series finale in Cincinnati, attempting to bust out of a 2-for-33 slump.

Trey Mancini is leading off for the 54^th time in his career and the first since June 29, 2018 versus the Angels. Only Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays have led off this season.

Hays is batting fourth today and playing center field. Mullins isn’t in the lineup.

Mancini played in his 700th career game last night, the 41^st player in club history to reach that mark. He’s in right field today, and 6-for-14 in his last four games.

Fifty-one of Mancin's 54 games atop the order came in 2018. He did it twice in 2017.

The trade watch brought a different element tonight to the first game of a series. Whether news would break. Whether teammates would hug in the dugout.

Trey Mancini wasn’t in the lineup, getting a mental break, according to manager Brandon Hyde. Rumors intensified that Mancini and the Mets were nearing a partnership.

There were no goodbye hugs prior to the final out. The Orioles formed a handshake line on the field after defeating the Rays 5-1 at Camden Yards, returned to a clubhouse that remained intact and cranked up the music.

The bullpen tossed six scoreless innings, and a four-run fifth broke a 1-1 tie and pushed the Orioles back to .500 at 48-48. They remain a half-game behind the Red Sox for fourth place.

The Orioles have recorded back-to-back winning months for the first time since May-June 2016.

The Orioles homestand continues tonight as they host the Tampa Bay Rays to begin a four-game series at Oriole Park. It continues a 10-game stretch with three series against two of the top American League East clubs. Before the All-Star break they lost two of three against the Rays, and coming out of the break they lost two of three to the Yankees with Sunday’s 6-0 loss.

The Orioles (47-48) could get back to .500 with a win tonight. They are 3 ½ games back of the final AL playoff spot. The Orioles have lost four of six, but over longer stretches have won 12 of 16, 17 of 26 and 23 of their past 36 games. 

After going just 1-18 against Tampa Bay in 2021, the Orioles are 5-7 this year. They have gone 1-5 at the Trop but 4-2 at home, winning both series in Baltimore from May 20-22 and June 17-19. The Orioles are 17-23 for the year versus the AL East.

The Orioles are 4-5 in their past nine games against Tampa Bay after going 3-27 in the previous 30. 

Tampa Bay (52-43) is now in third place in the division, ½ a game behind Toronto. They currently hold the No. 2 AL wild card spot. The Rays went into the All-Star break winning six of seven games. That included going 2-1 in the final series at home against the Orioles. But they lost two of three to Kansas City to begin the second half, losing their last two games 6-3 and 4-2, respectively. 

The Orioles began the 2022 season by being swept in a three-game series at Tropicana Field. The Rays came to Baltimore in May and lost two of three, returned in June and again dropped two of three. The unofficial first half ended with the Orioles losing two of three in St. Petersburg.

Guess who’s back for more?

A four-game series begins tonight at Camden Yards, with rain in the forecast and a new reliever in the bullpen.

The Orioles optioned Rico Garcia following yesterday’s 6-0 loss to the Yankees and recalled left-hander Nick Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk this morning.

Vespi still hasn’t allowed an earned run in 21 2/3 innings with Norfolk, and he’s struck out 28 batters. He’s made 12 appearances with the Orioles and allowed eight runs in 13 1/3 innings.

CHICAGO – Since the 2022 Orioles are full of surprises, reaching .500 last night with just four games remaining before the break, they can’t be contained in a single article about unexpected developments. What they’ve done that pretty much blindsided me.

Yesterday, I addressed the obvious shocker of the team being only two games out of the wild card race in the American League. How I wasn’t sold on Félix Bautista’s inclusion on the opening day roster, how Jordan Lyles’ contract seemed a bit puzzling and how I assumed that Keegan Akin would be riding the Triple-A shuttle.

What else did I get wrong?

* Jorge López is an All-Star.

I thought López should stay in the bullpen, and said as much here and on the air. I thought his stuff would play at the back end, but he’d also bring value as a multi-inning reliever if manager Brandon Hyde needed him for coverage.

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 Orioles are putting left-hander Bruce Zimmermann in the bullpen to provide a long relief option rather than an immediate return to the rotation.

Zimmermann was recalled this morning from Triple-A Norfolk. He can back up Dean Kremer this afternoon, or whenever the weather allows first pitch, or Austin Voth on Sunday.

“Our bullpen’s pretty taxed,” said manager Brandon Hyde, “and to have somebody be able to give multiple innings out of the bullpen we felt was important right now.”

Zimmermann allowed three runs in seven innings in his last start with Triple-A Norfolk.

“He had a really nice start his last time out,” Hyde said. “He’s fully rested and ready to give us as many innings as needed.”

The Orioles host the Texas Rangers tonight in the second of a three-game series and seven-game homestand that will also include a series with the Los Angeles Angels.

The Orioles took an early 2-0 lead on the Fourth of July and then fell behind 5-2 in the fifth. They tied the game 5-5, fell behind 6-5 on Marcus Semien's homer in the ninth but tied it 6-6 on Adley Rutschman's RBI double with two outs in the ninth. And they won it 7-6 when Jorge Mateo was hit by a pitch with no outs and the bases loaded in the last of the 10th.

The Orioles (37-44) reached the midpoint of the 162-game season with Monday's win. They have won two in a row and eight of the last 14 games. They are 10-7 over the past 17 games, 13-9 in 22 and 23-20 since they were 10 games under .500 on May 19. They are 30-30 since May 1 and are 19-17 at home.

Most walk-off wins in MLB:

10 - New York Yankees
6 - Orioles, San Diego Padres
5 - Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays
4 - 7 teams tied 

Pitching and defense have been the story of the series for the O’s in Seattle. The first two games, excellence. The finale's 9-3 loss? Not so much.

In the previous two games, the O’s started Tyler Wells and Dean Kremer. Wells entered Monday’s game with a 2.57 ERA in the month of June, and Kremer was even better at 1.71. 

Austin Voth hadn’t exactly been on a similar roll, but was still effective in a small sample size. Voth combined to pitch just 5 2/3 innings in his previous two starts, but the 30-year-old allowed only one earned run while striking out seven in the process. 

In the second inning, the defense started to come back to Earth after a spectacular stretch. Cedric Mullins and Austin Hays collided in the outfield trying to cut off a ball in the gap. Jonathan Araúz committed an error on back-to-back plays, and then Adley Rutschman tried to wait on a swinging bunt down the line that stayed fair. Just like that, three runs came across to score. 

“Thought he threw the ball well,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Just didn’t make a couple of plays behind him that hurt.”

SEATTLE - With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Julio Rodríguez sent a scorcher back up the middle on a two-strike count. The ball ricocheted off pitcher Félix Bautista, and Ryan Mountcastle nearly made a great play to end the inning. 

Instead, the ball got away from Mountcastle, Rodríguez was safe at first, and Jesse Winker drove two runners home in the very next at-bat. Had Rodríguez’s flukey single been an out, the Orioles and Mariners would’ve been knotted at 0-0 entering the top of the ninth. 

Of course, you’re not going to win very many baseball games recording just one hit, which was all the O’s offense was able to muster last night. But the combination of Dean Kremer, Cionel Pérez and Félix Bautista kept Baltimore firmly in the ballgame until the very end. 

“We’re pitching better, they’re keeping us in games. The starting pitching has done a great job,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Dean Kremer was incredible last night, Tyler Wells was awesome the day before … Our bullpen guys have done a great job of keeping the game right there.” 

You would have to go back to June 13, an 11-1 loss to the Blue Jays, to find a game in which the Orioles truly felt out of it. Every other game since then, a 14-game stretch, has either been a Baltimore victory or a loss in which the O’s fell by three runs or fewer.