The Orioles series with the Twins this week at Camden Yards was a reminder of the 2021 season when Cedric Mullins produced the only 30-30 season (doubles and homers) in O’s history and finished ninth in the MVP voting.

That player may still be in there somewhere, whether he is flying across the outfield one night to make his Superman-like diving catch or hitting a walk-off homer two days later.

Mullins can make impactful plays on offense and defense and even last year, a year he produced just a league-average OPS of .721 and dealt with groin injuries, we saw examples of that.

Last Aug. 13 at Seattle, in an important series between two playoff contending teams, Mullins became the first player to both rob and hit a home run in the ninth inning or later of the same game over the last 10 seasons. And according to ESPN Stats & Info, that game marked his first career go-ahead homer in extra innings.

Also last year, during what was for him a down year, he hit for the cycle, had a five-hit game and hit two grand slams.

The Orioles are mashing some home runs to start the 2024 season. Through Wednesday’s games, they ranked as the most homer-happy team in all of Major League Baseball.

They led the majors in homers and homers per game and actually, and yes, it’s very early, they are a record pace for Orioles homers.

The most any O’s team ever hit was the 1996 Birds with 257. At their current pace, if maintained, this team would hit 270.

And sure, maybe that pace won’t be maintained. But last year the O’s scored a lot of runs thanks in large measure to outstanding runners in scoring position hitting stats. 

By the way, this O’s group is faring well there too, third in the AL as of yesterday with a team average of .293 with RISP.

It has been an eventful home season for the Orioles. They began it by scoring 11 and 13 runs their first two games this year at the Yard. They had two walk-off wins at Camden Yards heading into yesterday’s game.

Now Oriole Park is home of the mound where 34-year-old right-hander Albert Suárez returned to the big leagues. He was last in the majors in 2017 with San Francisco and yesterday made his first big league appearance in 2,395 days.

Yes, it had been a minute, if over six years is that.

This game was special for Suárez, who spent time the last five seasons pitching in Japan and Korea. The Orioles signed him last Oct. 12 and he would get another shot to once again make a big league roster.

He had some impressive moments for the club in spring training and showed velocity he didn’t show with the Giants in 2016, when his fastball averaged 92.0 mph and a year later when it was at 93.5.

Albert Suárez walked into a mostly empty Orioles clubhouse this morning with a smile on his face and a determination to work the room.

Suárez approached Dean Kremer, who stood up and hugged him. Yennier Cano and Ryan O’Hearn came over to embrace him. He moved on to Grayson Rodriguez and Craig Kimbrel, cut across to the other side and made a direct path toward Colton Cowser, who paused his conversation with a broadcaster.

That was everyone. Nothing left to do except go back to his own locker and prep for his first major league game in seven years.

These guys knew him from spring training but were unsure after he was reassigned in late March if they’d interact again except maybe a rehab assignment. They’d be coming to him. That was the likeliest scenario on April 17.

The Orioles selected Suárez’s contract, putting him on the 40-man roster, and watched him earn the right to stick around. He unpacked his bags and locked up the Twins, tossing 5 2/3 scoreless innings and celebrating Cedric Mullins' first career walk-off home run in a 4-2 victory before an announced crowd of 15,860 at Camden Yards.

After a 7-4 win over the Minnesota Twins Monday at Oriole Park, in a game in which the Orioles never trailed, they host Minnesota again tonight with a chance to win this series. 

The Orioles (10-6) are on a pace to win 101 games, matching their 2023 total, at this early stage of this season. The O’s begin play today 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees for the American League East lead. They are 6-4 at home and 5-1 in series-opening games.

The Orioles hit three homers last night. They have hit nine in their past three games, 14 in the last five games and 24 on the season. That is a total that leads the AL and is one behind the Los Angeles Dodgers for the major league lead. The Birds average 1.5 homers per game, second in the majors to Milwaukee's 1.6

The Orioles hit two or more homers eight times this season and they are 7-1 in those games.

The Baltimore offense is starting to pick up. In winning five of their past seven games, the Orioles have scored 42 runs while hitting 15 homers. In those games the team batting average is .283 with a .343 OBP, a .504 slugging and .847 OPS.

Cole Irvin had his back to home plate and a huge smile on his face. Both arms raised. Eyes wide. A combination of pure joy and utter disbelief.

Cedric Mullins saved him from allowing a run in the top of the first inning, and did it in remarkable fashion. Now it was Irvin’s duty to show his appreciation in the proper fashion.

Accept the lead that came quickly to him and don’t lose it. Care for it until handing it over to the bullpen.

Relievers became responsible for it by the fifth, sooner than manager Brandon Hyde desired but a group effort that got the series started on a winning note. And Mullins wasn’t done contributing.

Jordan Westburg delivered a two-run double in the first inning, Ryan O’Hearn led off the third with a homer, Mullins finished with a sacrifice fly and two-run homer, and the Orioles never trailed in a 7-4 victory over the Twins before an announced crowd of 14,611 at Camden Yards.

It’s Jackie Robinson Day around Major League Baseball. Today, every player on every team is wearing No. 42.

Today MLB celebrates the 77^th anniversary of the day that Robison broke baseball’s color barrier. On this date in 1947 he became the first black man to play in the majors when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers, wearing No. 42.

O’s center fielder Cedric Mullins said he has been trying to find a way to hang onto his No. 42 jersey each year but the jerseys usually are auctioned off.

What does today mean to him?

“I think it’s about opportunity. That is what it boils down to” said Mullins. “At the end of the day, it’s about guys and players like myself to have the opportunity to play this game on the highest level.

The Orioles avoided a sweep in the Brewers series with yesterday’s 6-4 win, running their streak in the regular season to 96. Jackson Holliday collected his first major league hit with a single in the seventh inning, and he’s batting ninth and playing second base tonight against the Twins at Camden Yards.

Holliday was 0-for-13 before his ground ball reached right field.

“Not so much difficult, just a lot, but it’s been fun,” he told the media at his locker. “It’s quite an experience. I don’t think I’d ever take it for granted, the experience that I’ve had and it’s a good learning experience. If you are 0-for three or four games, that’s going to happen in baseball. I’d prefer it not to happen at the beginning of my career, but it’s going to happen and I’m glad to hopefully learn from it.”

Anthony Santander gets a breather tonight, with Colton Cowser in right field and Austin Hays in left.

Cedric Mullins homered yesterday and has a six-game hitting streak.

BOSTON – They came out of the dugout one by one again today, walking up a red carpet and making a hard right along the third base line. The march of the Orioles. Introduced on another Opening Day, their third if we aren’t counting the first spring training game.

Corbin Burnes started that afternoon and again on March 28 at Camden Yards. He stood on the mound at Fenway Park, the only opportunity in his seven-year major league career, with the emotions from Red Sox fans overflowing after the club’s return from a three-city West Coast trip, the 2004 team reunion and tribute to late knuckleballer Tim Wakefield and wife Stacy.

Burnes retired two batters in the first inning, threw a curveball to Tyler O’Neill, heard the contact and walked onto the grass in front of that same mound. He wouldn’t pitch with an early lead, but it was coming.

One run wouldn’t be insurmountable for an Orioles offense that’s been noticeably small in the clutch.

O’Neill belted his league-leading sixth homer, but Burnes allowed only two hits and none after the first, and Colton Cowser drove in four runs in a 7-1 victory before an announced sellout crowd of 36,093.

PITTSBURGH – Maybe it was the sunshine and dry conditions that flustered the Orioles. They couldn’t get Pirates starter Bailey Falter to live up to his name. They needed him to leave. Nothing good would happen until he was back inside the clubhouse.

The game still ended poorly, but at least there were flickers of hope. Too bad they'd get burned in extra innings.

Danny Coulombe escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the 10th, but the Orioles failed to score in the top of the 11th and Oneil Cruz singled off Jonathan Heasley to plate Henry Davis for a 5-4 walk-off win at PNC Park.

Cedric Mullins made a sensational diving catch to rob Ke'Bryan Hayes, but Cruz lined a first-pitch sweeper into right field and the Pirates stormed the field.

The Orioles went 0-for-14 with runners in scoring position. They scored on a ground ball, two fly balls and a fielder's choice. But they still had a chance.

PITTSBURGH – Baseball in Baltimore can bring five-hour rain delays. In Pittsburgh, they bundle up and tailgate in parking lots while it snows and hails, looking like they’re waiting for the opening kickoff.

Being the Pirates’ home Opening Day was a minor detail. Fans weren’t punting the celebration.

The weather gods added rain and sunshine to the spastic mix. Grayson Rodriguez brought his own repertoire and laser focus.

A heavy jacket and hood also were recommended.

Rodriguez held the Pirates to two runs over 6 1/3 innings, Ryan O’Hearn, Gunnar Henderson and Cedric Mullins hit solo homers, and the Orioles won 5-2 before an announced sellout crowd of 38,400 at PNC Park.

Mike Baumann’s world of baseball firsts spun again Saturday evening. It dumped him on the mound when he assumed that he’d watch the last three outs from the bullpen.

The phone wasn’t supposed to ring. He wasn’t supposed to pitch.

Cionel Pérez faced two batters, gave up a triple and single, and exited with soreness in his right oblique. The Orioles led 13-2. The only drama should have been whether the time of game would stay under three hours.

Baumann was allowed to take as long as necessary to warm up. He motioned that he was ready, threw a wild pitch and surrendered hits to three of the next four batters.

A scoring change removed an error on Baumann for a missed catch and attached it to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle on Nolan Schanuel’s infield single.

The Orioles are 1-0, the record that really matters.

Only 161 more to go, and then more. It’s almost inconceivable that this team isn’t playing deeper into October than 2023 at the least.

I’m not using yesterday’s Opening Day trouncing of the Angels as my sole reason. They don’t appear to be very good - on paper for sure and on the field in their first regular season game. What are the odds of that happening without Shohei Ohtani?

There was a lot to unwrap from a day that began with Nick Vespi’s unexpected inclusion on the roster. I heard earlier in the day that he was summoned to Baltimore but didn’t know why until the Orioles announced that Jacob Webb went on the paternity list. So, Vespi makes his first Opening Day roster and Webb is denied his first.

Gotta admit that a baby is one heck of a consolation prize.

The last game played at Camden Yards pushed the Orioles to the brink of playoff elimination. Today really was the next chapter.

Opening Day healed the wounds. Corbin Burnes was a starter who tried to provide closure.

The ballpark was packed and a chant of “Let’s Go O’s” began immediately after the anthem. Fans already erupted during player introductions, with Burnes maybe edging out Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Félix Bautista. The silence during the pregame “in memoriam” was broken by the image of Brooks Robinson on the video board.

This place couldn’t stay quiet for long.

Burnes’ first pitch was a 95 mph cutter for a strike to Anthony Rendon. The sixth, with the count full, struck him out.

The Orioles won 23 exhibition games, the most in club history. Their .793 winning percentage also ranked first. And it meant roughly the same as crap.

The real stuff begins Thursday or Friday, depending on the weather.

Winning is always better than losing unless your goal is to tank. However, spring training games don’t feature the best players for nine innings. Bullpen moves aren’t usually strategic except to provide innings and work. And the results include split-squads with some of the opponents in Sarasota bringing unrecognizable names on the travel roster.

At least the Orioles’ minor leaguers were high quality. Some of the road lineups were as good or better than the home version.

Daniel Johnson and “Everyday” Errol Robinson were camp superstars because of their clutch hitting after the seventh inning. They aren’t coming off the bench on Opening Day. They aren’t jogging down that orange carpet.

For a player who had a year where he dealt with multiple groin injuries and finished the year struggling so badly, O’s center fielder Cedric Mullins still had his moments in the 2023 season.

He hit for the cycle May 12, had a five-hit game and also hit two grand slams. On Sept. 18 at Houston, he hit a 425-foot, go-ahead three-run homer in the ninth inning. And he became the first player to both rob and hit a home run in the ninth inning or later of the same game over the last 10 seasons on Aug. 13 at Seattle. That was according to ESPN Stats & Info and marked his first career go-ahead homer in extra innings.

He sure had some big moments and games but still hit for him what was a less than expected .233/.305/.416/.721 for an OPS+ of 101.

He’s now 30 and two years removed from the first 30-30 season (homers and steals) in O’s history in 2021. He produced an .878 OPS then and was ninth in the MVP voting.

But his last two years were not close to that, and he was 0-for-12 in the American League Division Series last October and just 2-for-45 his last 14 games, counting the postseason.

BRADENTON, Fla. – The third inning today began to bring out the better spring side of Grayson Rodriguez.

Rodriguez retired the Pirates in order, getting the first two outs on four pitches. Jack Suwinski battled through 11 before flying out. Thirteen of those 15 pitches were strikes.

Making his fourth exhibition start, Rodriguez ventured into the fifth inning in his longest outing. He was removed after a one-out double by Alika Williams.

The Orioles stretched Rodriguez to 76 pitches (51 strikes), 14 more than his previous start against the Tigers. He was charged with two runs and four hits with two walks and a pair of strikeouts.

Before today, Rodriguez had totaled 7 1/3 innings and allowed three runs and 10 hits with five walks and five strikeouts.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Kyle Bradish has graduated from playing catch.

Bradish completed his first bullpen session earlier today, throwing only fastballs from the mound.

“Looking well,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

Bradish extended his long-tossing to 140 feet as part of his progression that led to today’s bullpen work.

The Orioles remain hopeful that Bradish can avoid surgery to repair a sprained ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. He had a platelet-rich plasma injection in January.

TAMPA, Fla. – Cedric Mullins is getting closer to making his return to the Orioles’ lineup.

Mullins exited last Monday’s game with a sore right hamstring after reaching second base in the first inning. He’s hoping to resume playing Thursday against the Pirates in Bradenton.

“Feeling good,” he said. “Progressions have been going really well. Been running with no problems. Just want to give it a couple of extra days to give the legs some endurance and get back at it.”

Mullins has appeared in five games and received 13 plate appearances, going 2-for-9 with four walks and a stolen base. The Orioles break camp in two weeks and Mullins said he’s got ample time to be ready for Opening Day on March 28.

“I remember I had a spring training where I had 13 total at-bats going into the season and played pretty well,” he said. “It’s about the mental prep, as well. But the swing’s feeling good. I’ve been taking some good at-bats.”

SARASOTA, Fla. – Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins expects to return to the lineup next week after exiting Monday’s game with a sore right hamstring.

Mullins underwent an MRI that came back “clean,” eliminating any concerns about an extended absence.

“Kind of what I expected,” he said this morning. “It felt like a cramping sensation, so we shut it down just to be on the safe side. … What I thought basically is what happened, so it’s a matter of working out the tightness.

“We’ll probably slow-play it a little bit, but I expect myself to be back in games sometime next week. Pretty soon.”

Austin Hays is in center field for tonight’s game against the Pirates in Sarasota. Mullins is 2-for-9 with four walks and a stolen base in 13 plate appearances.