The Orioles have talked about going to a six-man rotation, certainly by the brutal stretch in June with only one day off. In the meantime, Cole Irvin pitches out of the bullpen and waits to find out if he’s bouncing between roles again.

Too many starters? We heard it before Kyle Bradish and John Means were reinstated from the injured list. Tyler Wells and Grayson Rodriguez were sidelined by inflammation in the elbow and shoulder, respectively. These things, yes, have a way of working themselves out.

Means made his fourth start yesterday and tossed three scoreless innings against the Cardinals with only one hit allowed. He threw 51 pitches and Irvin replaced him after inclement weather forced another interruption.

Toasted ravioli and rain delays. It’s what St. Louis does.

Was a storm the only reason Means came out of the game? Unfortunately, no.

ST. LOUIS – It was just a series when a lot went wrong for the Orioles. And for the first time in over two years, they have been swept three straight in the regular season.

The St. Louis Cardinals, who entered this series with a 20-26 record, did the job today, overcoming a 3-0 deficit to beat the Orioles 5-4 and complete the sweep at Busch Stadium.

Something even went wrong as the O's tried to rally in the ninth against reliever Ryan Fernandez. Austin Hays singled and went to third on pinch-hitter Cedric Mullins' single. Then pinch hitter Kyle Stowers lined one deep to right and Lars Nootbaar made a great catch. Hays scored from third but the Cards doubled Mullins off first base. No doubt he wanted to steam home with the tying run, but the ball was caught.

"I thought it was gone off the bat," Hays said of Stowers blast, adding that Mullins made what looked like a good decision in taking off on contact. "He's got a good chance to score on that ball if it gets down."

The Birds also contributed to their demise by making two errors as St. Louis scored three in the sixth to get the lead.

John Means hadn’t faced the Mariners before tonight since throwing the sixth no-hitter in Orioles history back in 2021. Dylan Moore pulled his first pitch down the left-field line for a double.

Even the mere hint of a repeat wasn’t happening.

Jordan Westburg belted a leadoff home run Wednesday in his first career game atop the order, and Gunnar Henderson did the same tonight after returning to it.

A much more reasonable replication.

The Orioles inflicted damage over and over against Bryce Miller. The first six batters reached against him and the first five scored. Nine came to the plate. And Means found his rhythm.

After a walk-off win on Adley Rutschman’s two-run homer Wednesday afternoon allowed them to split their two-game series with Toronto, the Orioles' homestand will end this weekend as they host the American League West-leading Seattle Mariners.

Wednesday’s win – after the O’s went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base – improved the Birds to 3-2 on what is now a rain-shortened eight-game homestand.

The Orioles have won four of six games and also eight of 11, 15 of 22 and 19 of their past 27 games. They are 15-9 at home and 9-5 in series-opening games. When that series opener is at home, they are 5-3.

Over the last 14 games, the Orioles have been in the bottom third of the majors in scoring runs, but they have been No. 1 in the majors in team ERA. That has allowed the Orioles to go 10-4 at a time when they have scored 3.7 runs per game in the last 14 contests to rank 21^st-best in the majors in this span. The team is batting .219 in this stretch with an OPS of .691.

Baltimore batters have produced just seven runs the past three games. The O’s went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the Toronto series and are batting .167 (8-for-48) with RISP their past seven games.

Grayson Rodriguez will rejoin the Orioles without going on an injury rehab assignment.

The exact date of his return wasn’t shared this afternoon during manager Brandon Hyde’s media session, but a six-man rotation is in the works.

John Means is starting tonight against the Mariners in order to avoid an extended rest. Cole Irvin, who was supposed to start Wednesday against the Blue Jays before the previous night’s postponement altered the rotation, is in the bullpen tonight.

Means faced the Diamondbacks on May 11, which puts him on five days’ rest.

The Orioles must play 30 games in the next 31 days and 43 in the next 45 barring any weather interruptions.

Gunnar Henderson returns to the leadoff spot for tonight’s series opener against the Mariners at Camden Yards, with Jordan Westburg moving down to seventh.

Westburg hit leadoff for the first time in his major league career Wednesday while Henderson occupied the cleanup spot.

An opposing right-handed starter has returned the club to its usual order.

Kyle Stowers gets the start in left field, Colton Cowser is in center and Ryan O’Hearn is in right. Anthony Santander, who bruised his knee Wednesday, is the designated hitter.

Cedric Mullins, in a 5-for-59 slump, was on the field today for earlier batting practice. He joins Austin Hays on the bench.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. grounded a pitch from Kyle Bradish up the middle Wednesday afternoon with two outs in the third inning, and George Springer surely thought he was going to score from second base. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson couldn’t make a diving stop. He appeared to be the last line of defense.

Jorge Mateo had other ideas, and his ridiculous range.

Mateo darted past the bag and corralled the ball to hold Springer at third base. Unfortunately for the Orioles, Bo Bichette followed with a fly ball to the right field warning track that Anthony Santander couldn’t grab before his knee slammed into the wall, resulting in two runs and a 2-1 lead.

The Fielding Bible Award winner at shortstop in 2022 is excelling at second base this year, to the point where he’s pretty much got regular duty rather than working in a utility role.

The play Wednesday wasn’t the only example of the vast territory he can cover. Remember how he hustled to first base to take the relay throw on a double play? How often does that happen?

Grayson Rodriguez is eligible to return from the injured list on Wednesday and he seems to be trending in the right direction.

Rodriguez said he threw about 30 pitches this morning in his latest bullpen session, about double his amount Wednesday in D.C.

“I felt great,” he said.

Rodriguez said he’ll probably throw another ‘pen in the next few days, and the Orioles can decide whether he should go on a brief rehab assignment.

The right-hander’s preference, of course, is to get back on the active roster.

The late-inning bullpen decisions today by the Orioles were lacking in intrigue and excitement. Nothing about the closer. Nothing about protecting a lead. The top story angle also was being reset.

And then, the threat arrived when Anthony Santander hit a home run with two outs in the eighth inning to tie the game. Perhaps there was hope for hysteria after all.  

The movements and usages of the relievers were back to being Baltimore obsessions, but the Orioles didn’t let the game carry to a save situation. Better to just walk it off and win the series.

The Orioles fell behind in the fifth inning before Santander’s 410-foot shot to center off Diamondbacks reliever Kevin Ginkel, and Jordan Westburg poked a single down the right field line on Bryce Jarvis' first pitch of the 11th to score Colton Cowser in a 5-4 victory before an announced crowd of 27,882 at Camden Yards.

Danny Coulombe retired the three batters he faced without the automatic runner budging from second base, Craig Kimbrel hit Christian Walker but stranded runners on the corners in the 11th with a strikeout and force play, and the Orioles improved to 26-12.

CINCINNATI - Before Sunday’s game, first-year Orioles pitching Drew French met with reporters, who of course asked about the recent great run of O’s pitching.

Then they went out and recorded another scoreless start and held the Cincinnati Reds to three hits and one run in Sunday’s 11-1 win to complete a three-game sweep.

In the series in Cincinnati, O’s starters pitched 19 1/3 scoreless allowing just six hits. In the series, O’s pitchers gave up two runs and 11 hits with five walks to 26 strikeouts.

The team ERA is down to 3.31. That ranks fifth-best both in the American League and in MLB.

What has been the key to this amazing run, French was asked?

CINCINNATI – As the Orioles watched left-hander John Means roll through seven scoreless last night, getting more swings and misses than he had since his 2021 no-hitter, they had to be excited and elated.

Here it was just May 4 and now both Kyle Bradish and Means are back. The team is 22-11 and in first place. A staff that was already pitching well added an All-Star and a pitcher that finished fourth in the American League Cy Young Award vote in 2023.

In a span of three days, Bradish and Means looked as good as ever, proved they are healthy and combined to allow one run over 11 2/3 innings.

At one time, John Means Day meant a losing O’s team had something to look forward to. Now Means just wants to fit in with a first-place club and do his part.

“You know, this team is playing so well, you just want to join them, you want to feel that energy they are feeling," he said. "So to be back and be able to feel that, pretty incredible.”

CINCINNATI – It was April 17^th in Jacksonville, Florida, and one-time O’s ace John Means was pitching in his fourth injury rehab game with Triple-A Norfolk.

He didn’t get out of the first inning, threw just 34 pitches and gave up five runs and two homers.

But things were very different tonight. Very different.

Means, who had his best rehab game last Sunday with seven scoreless on one hit for the Tides, picked up tonight where he left off there as the Orioles beat Cincinnati 2-1 to take the first two in this series in front of 33,202 at Great American Ball Park.

There was much drama in the ninth as the Reds, down 2-0, got a run off Craig Kimbrel and had bases loaded and one out. But Yennier Cano got the save with a strikeout and flyout to end this thriller and make Means a winning pitcher.

CINCINNATI – The Orioles are on a real solid pitching roll here and try to keep that going tonight with the return of left-hander John Means to the Baltimore rotation.

The O’s produced a four-pitcher, two-hit shutout last night and beat Cincinnati 3-0 in the series and road trip opener in front of 25,861 at Great American Ball Park.

They are now 21-11 and have won four of five and nine of their past 13 games. They are 9-4 on the road, 8-3 in series-opening games and 4-1 when that series opener is on the road.

In the last five games, O’s pitching has allowed 0, 2, 2, 2 and 0 runs. That is six runs allowed in that span, for an ERA of 1.20, giving up 24 hits in 45 innings with a .157 batting average against and .486 OPS.

Over those five games, Baltimore starters have an ERA of 1.52 and in that stretch, the bullpen pitchers have allowed just one run over 15 1/3 innings with one walk to 16 strikeouts.

CINCINNATI – O’s lefty John Means is back on a major league mound tonight for the first time since Sept. 29, 2023, versus Boston. After not getting in a game in spring training and making six rehab starts at Triple-A, he faces the Cincinnati Reds in Game 2 of this weekend's series.

“Yeah, excited to watch him,” manager Brandon Hyde said today. “Long road back. The long road back was last year and now with the setback that he had it pushed the season back for him a little bit. But he’s excited to get out there. Hoping everything goes well and he finishes feeling good and healthy. We’re all looking forward to watching him pitch.”

O’s pitching has been on a roll recently with two shutouts in the last five games, allowing six total runs and 30 runs allowed the past 12 games with a team ERA of 2.33.

“With the amount of quality arms we have, especially in the rotation right now, the depth we have is huge. And you know, try to keep those guys healthy as much as possible,” added Hyde.

Hyde also today discussed the club’s stolen base success rate. While tonight’s opponent, Cincinnati, leads MLB with 56 steals, the Reds stolen base percentage of 83.6 percent ranks ninth in the majors. Baltimore, with 26 steals in 29 attempts, leads the majors with an 88.9 success rate.

John Means makes his 2024 debut tonight as the Orioles continue their series in Cincinnati following last night’s 3-0 win. And after Cole Irvin ran his scoreless streak to 20 2/3 innings.

Means hasn’t pitched for the Orioles since Sept. 29 against the Red Sox, when he allowed two runs and three hits in 6 1/3 innings. He faced teammates in a simulated game at Camden Yards prior to the Division Series and experienced discomfort in his elbow/forearm area that led to his exclusion from the roster, a delayed off-season throwing program and stint on the injured list.

Tonight marks his latest comeback to the rotation, and he’s with a club that’s 21-11, has won 13 of its last 18 games and is one ahead of the Yankees for first place.

The Reds are a new opponent for Means, who’s posted a career 3.97 ERA in 13 starts against the National League.

Jeimer Candelario is 3-for-8 with a double, triple, RBI and walk against him. Santiago Espinal is 2-for-2 with a double and RBI.

CINCINNATI – One pitcher has been added and left-hander John Means is next. When the veteran O’s lefty starts tonight at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, he will join right-hander Kyle Bradish as another recent addition to the Baltimore rotation.

Grayson Rodriguez went to the injured list, Albert Suárez went to the bullpen and first Bradish and now Means are back.

If it goes as well for Means as it did this week for Bradish, the Orioles will be pretty excited about that.

Means had Tommy John surgery in April of 2022 and finally made it back to the Orioles for the final month last year. His first game last Sept. 12 was the O’s 144^th of the year. But Means went 1-2 with a 2.66 ERA over four starts and helped the club down the stretch.

He would have likely started an American League Division Series game versus Texas but some elbow soreness that week shut him down. The O’s were cautious with him this winter and slowed played his spring where he did not pitch in one game in Florida.

Heston Kjerstad sat at his locker yesterday, slumped in his chair and looking at his phone. He smiled when a visitor approached and asked for a few minutes.

He did the same thing the previous day. Being in or out of the Orioles lineup doesn’t influence his mood.

Kjerstad was making his second start since the Orioles recalled him on April 23. He played right field that night in Anaheim and went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts, and he grounded out as a pinch-hitter for Ramón Urías in the 10th inning on April 26 against Athletics fireballing closer Mason Miller.

The organization’s No. 4 prospect, ranked 29^th in baseball by MLB Pipeline, mostly has just sat. At his locker and on the bench. And without a word of complaint.

“It’s where the game works right now with the lineup,” he said. “I’m just doing the best with my preparation. Stay ready, whether it’s a pinch-hit late in the game or whatever they need from me. Just staying ready with my cage work and everything.

The clarity that must come to the Orioles’ rotation plans weren’t evident this afternoon.

Manager Brandon Hyde confirmed the obvious intention of starting John Means, who was reinstated today from the 15-day injured list. However, he isn’t ready to announce who’s on the mound Thursday afternoon or this weekend in Cincinnati.

“We have some roster moves we’ll have to make for a couple guys,” Hyde said.

The pitching waters became murkier with Grayson Rodriguez going on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. His next turn on regular rest would have come Saturday night.

Hyde said he didn’t know the severity of the injury but was staying optimistic.

The Orioles reinstated John Means from the 15-day injured list this afternoon. How they made room for him wasn’t among the speculated moves.

Grayson Rodriguez was placed on the 15-day IL with right shoulder inflammation, retroactive to yesterday.

Rodriguez rebounded Monday from a rough start by shutting out the Yankees over 5 2/3 innings. He threw 101 pitches to tie his career high and navigated through some clutter with five hits and three walks.

He didn’t exhibit any signs of injury and was much sharper than his outing in Anaheim, when he allowed seven runs and 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings.

For the season, Rodriguez is 4-1 with a 3.71 ERA and 1.412 WHIP in six starts and has struck out 37 batters in 34 innings.

The Orioles haven’t announced their starter for Thursday afternoon, when they close out their series against the Yankees and the latest homestand. The spot remains TBA, with an assumption attached that Kyle Bradish is making his 2024 debut.

Bradish would be working on an extra days’ rest after starting Friday with Triple-A Norfolk. Cole Irvin would be taking his normal turn if he’s the choice.

The Orioles head to Cincinnati for a weekend series. Irvin has made three career appearances against the Reds, including one start, and allowed only one run in 5 1/3 innings. But stats in small samples aren’t swaying the Orioles one way or the other.

The number that really matters is six – an extra starter in a five-man rotation.

John Means will make it seven later this week.