Players walked into a brightly lit clubhouse yesterday feeling as though they were in the dark.

Félix Bautista left the previous night’s game one strike away from his 34^th save, accompanied by head athletic trainer Brian Ebel. Didn’t bother testing the elbow with a warmup toss. Grimaced, spun, flexed the hand and exited.

They headed home unsure of his status, and arrived in the same state of concern and confusion. He told them that he wasn’t in pain. It came in a flash on his 102.3 mph fastball, between the elbow and biceps.

Bautista woke up feeling fine, but a series of tests revealed an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament. Exactly what no one in the organization wanted to hear. Anything related to the UCL conjures images of Tommy John surgery and a lost 2024 season.

We aren’t there yet, but we knew more by the afternoon than when the doors opened much earlier.

The Orioles were confused in the first inning tonight. They did not, however, forget that they were the superior team. But also one that isn't immune to injuries. To adversity that can shake them to the core.

They did exactly what was expected of them. Beat the worst club in the National League. Freed themselves from the reverse lock. And then they held their collective breath while trying to remain calm.

Ryan Mountcastle hit his 18^th home run, Austin Hays hit his 12^th, and Gunnar Henderson’s two-run shot off Brent Suter in the eighth inning gave the Orioles a 5-4 win over the Rockies before an announced crowd of 28,872 at Camden Yards.

It came at a cost, the exact price unknown but feared to be high until told otherwise.

Fans were on their feet cheering in the ninth with two outs and a 1-2 count on pinch-hitter Michael Toglia. The place was electric. And then it fell silent.

Cole Irvin and Kyle Gibson see nothing wrong with it. Never to be accused of reliever bias in Cy Young Award voting.

Give it to the best pitcher, whatever role he fills. Whether he’s on the mound to start the first inning or the ninth.

Orioles closer Félix Bautista is aware of the chatter surrounding his candidacy. Irvin dresses only a few lockers away and gladly will lead the conversation.

“The fact that he’s in the discussion just points to how good he is,” Irvin said. “It’s impressive what he’s done this season. I mean, he’s averaging nearly two strikeouts an inning, and this is the best of the best in this league. So, for him to be doing that speaks to the quality of pitcher he is, and he’s been this season, and he’s most certainly deserving to be nominated, or even a candidate for the Cy Young.”

Bautista warmed and then sat last night, leaving him at 32 saves, a 1.52 ERA and 0.944 WHIP in 54 games, and 16.5 strikeouts per nine innings. He retired the side in order in the ninth the previous game, only the fourth time he hadn’t recorded a strikeout.

First baseman Ryan Mountcastle made a diving catch and slapped his mitt on the bag, almost in one smooth motion. A double play with style points that kept the deficit at one run. A moment that the 2023 Orioles tend to use as a springboard to a comeback.

The Blue Jays scored again to stretch the lead. They handed reliever Mike Baumann his first loss in the 10th inning.

It doesn’t always work.

Jordan Westburg roped a game-tying double down the left field line off reliever Yimi García in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Orioles stranded two in the ninth and Brandon Belt hit a first-pitch homer off Baumann in the Blue Jays’ 6-3 victory before an announced crowd of 20,612 at Camden Yards.

The Orioles (77-48) had a chance to rise more than 30 games above .500 for the first time since Sept. 25, 2014. They’re 27-14 in series openers, and 8-3 against the Jays.

They played nine straight games on the West Coast, going 6-3 and tonight the Orioles begin a stretch of nine straight games at home. They will host the Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox for three games each through Aug. 30.

The Orioles (77-47), now a season-best 30 games over the .500 mark, lead the AL East by three games over Tampa Bay, by 8.5 over Toronto, by 11.5 over Boston and by 17 games over the New York Yankees. Tampa Bay begins a series tonight at home versus Colorado.

The Orioles were off on Monday after a 12-1 win at Oakland Sunday to complete their seventh three-game sweep of the season. They scored 28 runs in the Oakland series after scoring 17 runs in the first six games of the road trip.

The Orioles are 24-14 on the year against AL East teams. And, since losing their first two division series of 2023, they are 8-0-2 over their past 10, going 22-10 in the 32 games in those series.

They are 8-2 this year and have outscored Toronto 60-31, going 3-0 at Toronto in May, 2-1 at home in June and 3-1 at Rogers Centre in a series that ended Aug. 3.

The Orioles are back home tonight and trying to improve their record to 28-13 in series openers.

Anthony Santander is out of the lineup again with lower-back soreness. Ryan McKenna is in right field.

Gunnar Henderson is batting third. Austin Hays is the cleanup hitter.

James McCann is catching, with Adley Rutschman serving as designated hitter.

Ryan Mountcastle has reached base in 26 consecutive games. He went 11-for-13 against the Blue Jays during a four-game series in Toronto.

The Orioles' West Coast road trip began with an impressive series win at Seattle against a red-hot Mariners team, and they won the last two games of the series in 10 innings. They lost two of three at San Diego, but a win today would give them a three-game sweep at Oakland to end the trip.

A winning road trip is already secured and so is a series win at Oakland. But they will end the trip at 6-3 with a victory this afternoon.

The Orioles (76-47) have a chance to go 30 games over the .500 mark today and take a 2 1/2 game lead over the Tampa Ray Rays atop the American League East. Toronto is 8 1/2 games back with Boston 11 behind and New York 16 games out.

The Orioles scored eight runs in three games in Seattle, scored nine runs in three at San Diego and have scored 16 runs in the first two games at Oakland. They have 25 hits in this series with five doubles, a triple and three homers.

They have gone 8-for-22 (.364) with runners in scoring position this series after going 8-for-34 (.235) with RISP the first six games on the trip.

OAKLAND – Using an opener tonight didn’t work for the Athletics. Bringing in a rookie behind him didn’t work.

The idea of a Jerry Garcia tie-dye promotion also backfired, with the Orioles truckin’ around the bases.

The Orioles scored three times in the first inning, built on their lead with Gunnar Henderson’s long two-run homer in the second, and defeated the Athletics 9-4 before an announced crowd of 8,942 at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum.

Henderson had three hits and three RBIs by the fourth inning, and the Orioles improved to 75-47 overall, 39-24 on the road, 27-13 in series openers and 16-5 in openers away from Camden Yards.

The win also assured that they would go 79 consecutive series without being swept. They still lead the Rays by two games in the division.

OAKLAND – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde didn’t know which pitcher would start for the Athletics tonight until receiving a text message yesterday afternoon from manager Mark Kotsay.

“Pro move by him,” Hyde said.

Hyde’s club would face an opener, left-hander Francisco Pérez, who’s never started in the majors. Pérez made four relief appearances with the Guardians in 2021, 10 with the Nationals last season and two with Oakland this year.

Pérez hasn’t started in the minors since 2019.

“Usually, if you change your starter, it’s kind of an unwritten professionalism type of thing to let the other team know, as much advance as you can give them. And then you want to reciprocate it, too,” Hyde said.

OAKLAND – Aaron Hicks remains out of the Orioles lineup as they resume their West Coast trip with three games against the Athletics.

Jordan Westburg is batting ninth and playing third base. Adam Frazier is the second baseman.

Adley Rutschman stays in the leadoff spot, followed by shortstop Gunnar Henderson.

Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter and attempting to extend his on-base streak to 24 games. Cedric Mullins is batting sixth, followed by Austin Hays.

In Kyle Gibson’s last start in Seattle, he allowed a career-high nine runs and tied his career high with 12 hits. He faced the Athletics on April 10 and held them to one run in 6 1/3 innings.

SAN DIEGO – Be careful with the soft spots in the schedule.

The footing can get slippery.

The Orioles are playing teams below .500 in four out of the next five series, beginning with the Padres and including a trip to Oakland. A reprieve on paper. A trap on the field the past two nights.

Left-hander Blake Snell held the Orioles to two runs over six innings, the bullpen was sturdy, and the Padres won again 5-2 before an announced sellout crowd of 42,318 at Petco Park.

The Orioles have gone 3-3 on their West Coast excursion, and their lead over the second-place Rays is down to two games going into the off-day.

Getting to play pro baseball has always been important to the Orioles Ryan Mountcastle. Even long before they drafted him No. 36 overall in the 2015 MLB Draft out of Paul J. Haggerty High School in Florida.

Back then he had designs on being a big league player and that dream came true for him for the first time in August of 2020.

But Mountcastle’s love for the sport perhaps grew even stronger recently when he dealt with vertigo and watched his stats suffer and then missed time on the injured list.

“New appreciation for baseball, life, everything,” he said during the Seattle series. “That was a tough three weeks for me mentally and just to be back I’m super grateful.”

When the Orioles beat Seattle 1-0 in 10 innings Saturday, it was Mountcastle who drove in the game’s only run. He hit a 101-mph pitch from Seattle’s Andres Munoz to center field. It left his bat at 109.5 mph.

SAN DIEGO – Aaron Hicks is starting in left field and batting eighth tonight after his reinstatement from the injured list earlier today.

Cedric Mullins is in center field and batting sixth. Austin Hays sits against Padres right-hander Yu Darvish.

Adley Rutschman stays in the leadoff spot, followed by shortstop Gunnar Henderson.

Jordan Westburg is playing second base and batting ninth.

Ryan Mountcastle, the designated hitter tonight, is slashing .418/.488/.672 with four home runs and 13 RBIs during his 20-game on-base streak.

SAN DIEGO – The Orioles made the anticipated outfield switch today, reinstating Aaron Hicks from the 10-day injured list and optioning rookie Colton Cowser to Triple-A Norfolk.

Hicks strained his left hamstring July 24 while diving for a fly ball in Philadelphia – incorrectly ruled a catch – and returns after two rehab games with Norfolk.

Cowser is 7-for-61 with two doubles, four RBIs, 13 walks, 22 strikeouts and 15 runs scored in 26 games.

Cedric Mullins returned over the weekend in Seattle and won yesterday’s game by robbing Ty France of a home run in the bottom of the ninth inning and delivering a two-run shot in the top of the 10^th. His return cost Ryan McKenna a spot on the roster.

Mullins became the first player to rob a home run and hit one in the ninth inning or later of the same game over the last 10 seasons, per ESPN Stats & Info.

SEATTLE – The Orioles today reinstated reliever Mychal Givens from the 60-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation and then designated him for assignment.

Signed as a free agent on Dec. 21, Givens pitched in just four games this year for Orioles. He gave up five earned runs over four innings for an ERA of 11.25. He has not pitched for the Orioles since May 31.

“Well, it’s this time of year," manager Brandon Hyde said of Givens' designation. "We’re trying to win every game we can and we are coming down the stretch and we need guys that are durable, and able to win some games down the stretch. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out for Mike, but we have some other guys here that have thrown the ball extremely well and just want to finish the season strong."

Givens had a 6.60 ERA in 15 minor league games, and just last night allowed three runs while getting just one out for Triple-A Norfolk.

More on the six-man rotation: The Orioles have embarked, at least for now, on a six-man rotation, with Cole Irvin entering the mix last night. Kyle Gibson and Irvin pitched in this series, and Kyle Bradish goes today.

SEATTLE – Locked in a remarkable pitcher's duel for nine innings and held to just three hits in nine innings by Seattle starter George Kirby, the Orioles still pulled out a win tonight to end the Mariners' eight-game win streak.

Ryan Mountcastle's single to center broke the 0-0 tie in the top of the 10th and O's closer Félix Bautista pitched two innings and struck out the side in the last of the 10th to get the win.

The Orioles (72-45) improved to 7-5 in extra innings and remained two games ahead of Tampa Bay atop the American League East.

Placed runner Cedric Mullins stole third base in the 10th and scored on Mountcastle's single to center that produced the lead along with an exit velocity of 109.5 mph. 

Bautista got the game to extras with a scoreless last of the ninth.

SEATTLE – The story of the first game of an important O’s road trip was not hard to put a finger on. Right-hander Kyle Gibson, who had been on a six-start roll, hit a brick wall and that roll was stopped.

As the Seattle Mariners hit three homers off him and extended their winning streak to eight, Gibson and the Orioles got beat 9-2 in Seattle. Their AL East lead is now down to two games over Tampa Bay.

“First game of a long road trip, an important road trip for us. And I just didn’t give the team a chance to win,” said Gibson, who had an ERA of 3.86 in his previous six games with five quality starts.

He pitched 5 1/3 innings and allowed 12 hits to tie his career high. Gibson gave up nine runs to set a career high. He had only given up five runs or more four times this year out of 24 games. And for his career, he had never given up more than eight runs in any of his previous 285 career starts.

But a five-run fourth gave Seattle a 7-1 lead and they were on their way to a comfortable win. Gibson allowed a two-run homer in the first to Cal Raleigh, a three-run shot in the fourth to Julio Rodríguez and a solo blast in the fifth by Ty France. Each homer was hit 100 mph+ with Raleigh’s shot having a 112.6 mph exit velocity.

SEATTLE – When O’s right-hander Kyle Gibson faced the Seattle Mariners on June 23 in Baltimore, he had one of his toughest nights of the year. He had another tough one against the same team on Friday night.

Seattle scored twice in the first and five times in the fourth and hit three homers off Gibson as they beat the Orioles 9-2 to start the three-game series and to start the O’s nine-game West Coast road trip.

Catcher Cal Raleigh hit a two-run shot in the first, 2022 American League Rookie of the Year Julio Rodríguez hit a three-run shot in the fourth and Ty France hit a solo blast in the fifth.

Gibson had another tough night facing Seattle. Over 5 1/3 innings he gave up 12 hits to tie his career-high and allowed a career-high nine runs. His previous most in a start was eight done five times. He had not allowed more than six runs in any start this year.

Seattle was hitting hard from the star tonight. Through five innings, the Mariners had hit seven balls in play over 100 mph and 10 balls at 99 mph or more.

The Orioles are in Seattle tonight to begin their three-city West Coast road trip, and they’re trying to cool off a Mariners team that’s won seven games in a row and 12 of 14.

Cedric Mullins came off the injured list today and is playing center field, but manager Brandon Hyde is batting him fifth behind right fielder Ryan O’Hearn. Mullins is slotted fifth for the fifth time this season.

Adley Rutschman holds onto the leadoff spot, with shortstop Gunnar Henderson batting second.

Colton Cowser is in left field. Adam Frazier returns to Seattle and is starting at second base.

Ryan Mountcastle will attempt to extend his hitting streak to 13 games and his on-base streak to a career-high 18. He’s batting sixth and playing first base.

The Orioles have not been swept in a series this year and will need a win this afternoon at Oriole Park to avoid that fate against the Houston Astros.

Houston rallied in the ninth to beat the Orioles 7-6 Tuesday night. Last night they scored three early runs and five late for an 8-2 win. 

In 18 innings this series, the Orioles staff has allowed 21 hits and 15 runs with nine walks and 20 strikeouts.

Coming into this series the O's team ERA was 2.15 during a 7-1 run. And it was 3.23 as they had won 21 of the previous 28 games.

But Houston has put up seven runs and eight runs in winning the first two games, and the Astros scored 10 runs in seven innings of work by the Baltimore bullpen.