HOUSTON – The homer hose is curled up like a snake on the Orioles’ bench, retaining its name and purpose. Only water is poured into it unless the celebration is tied to a clinching. And it can strike at any moment.

Ryan O’Hearn chugged from it in the first inning tonight, and Austin Hays took his turn in the third. Hays guzzled again in the seventh, as did rookie Heston Kjerstad. Hydrating in Houston and hoisting the Orioles closer to a division title.

O’Hearn and Hays accounted for five early runs, twice providing leads, and the Orioles kept mashing in a 9-5 victory over the Astros before an announced crowd of 35,050 at Minute Maid Park.

The magic number is eight to claim the first American League East title since 2014. The Rays also won and remain 2 ½ games behind the Orioles.

The bullpen covered 4 1/3 innings, including two by Jack Flaherty, and the Orioles won their 95^th game and 31^st series. They’ll attempt to record their 10^th sweep before flying to Cleveland.

HOUSTON – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde ran out of pitching. He also was running out of ideas.

His club regained the lead over the Astros tonight on Cedric Mullins’ three-run homer in the top of the ninth inning, and he had to get creative to avoid losing control of the situation. But typical of the 2023 Orioles, they figured it out.

They seem to thrive on weird.

Aaron Hicks came out of the game in the bottom half of the inning with a cramp, creating a chain reaction and some confusion in the Orioles’ 8-7 win before a stunned crowd of 34,456 at Minute Maid Park.

Cionel Pérez inherited the ninth and recorded two outs after Hyde surrendered his designated hitter by putting Heston Kjerstad in left field and moving Austin Hays to right. Ramón Urías entered at third base and committed a throwing error on a routine chopper by Yordan Álvarez.

The Orioles played the Tampa Bay Rays four series this year. The Rays did not win one series although they were in great shape to win this last one after winning the first two games.

They scored 11 runs in winning one close game and one blowout. Then the Orioles won one blowout and one close game.

The Tampa Bay offense, which began this series second in the AL in runs per game and second in team slugging and OPS, was held to four runs the last two games - games the O's won by a combined 13-4 score.

Over 20 innings on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon, Baltimore pitchers held the Rays to 10 hits and three earned runs. Starting pitchers Grayson Rodriguez and Dean Kremer combined to allow one run over 13 innings.

The Orioles went 2-0-2 in four series versus Tampa Bay this year and won the season series 8-5 for their first season series win over Tampa Bay since 2016.

In a game in which they trailed by two runs in the eighth, and by one in the ninth and the 10th today, the Orioles produced a stirring comeback win.

One that lifted them back to a two-game lead atop the American League East at 93-56. They split the four-game series with the Rays, winning the last two games.

Cedric Mullins' sac fly with one out in the 11th scored Adley Rutschman from third and the O's had a walk-off win, 5-4 in 11 over Tampa Bay. An amazing comeback victory. And Mullins third career walk-off plate appearance. 

Before they sealed the win, Baltimore produced some late-game drama today. After Tampa Bay hit two homers to take a 3-1 lead in the eighth, the Orioles rallied to tie it with single runs in the eighth and ninth. They were down to their last out when they tied the score in the ninth and also in the tenth.

Down 3-2 to the last of the ninth, the Orioles rallied against Rays closer Pete Fairbanks. He came on in the last of the eighth with the Rays leading 3-1 and the O's pulled to within a run on Adley Rutschman's 19th homer.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde didn’t notice any panic inside his clubhouse this afternoon. His players behaved in the usual way, talking at their lockers, watching college football on the six televisions suspended from the ceiling, playing chess at one of the tables. Jordan Westburg grabbed a plate of food. Teammates headed outside to toss a ball.

Four losses in a row annoyed but didn’t rattle.

“I just think they’re disappointed, but they’re going to bounce back, ready to play tonight,” Hyde said before batting practice. “I haven’t sensed anything. You can hear them interacting well. We had a good hitters meeting a while ago, but we do every day. So, I think they’re ready to go.”

Grayson Rodriguez was amped, retiring the first nine batters and striking out four of six. Curtis Mead swung through a 100.1 mph fastball to end the second, the second-fastest strikeout pitch by an Orioles starter in the Statcast era. No one crossed the plate.

Gunnar Henderson was fired up, too. His first two swings of the game produced a leadoff single in the first and a 428-foot, two-run homer in the second, and he delivered a run-scoring single in the fourth. He also set one Orioles rookie record and tied a Hall of Famer on another list.

One day ahead of the start of a showdown series with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Orioles are wrapping up their three-game series with the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Orioles (91-53, .632) lead the American League East by 2.5 games right now over the Rays, which won 5-4 this afternoon against the Twins. The Orioles beat the Cardinals 11-5 Monday night but were held to nine hits in a 5-2 loss last night where they went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

Before their offense was held down last night, the Orioles had scored 48 runs in the previous five games, 74 in the last nine and 155 in the previous 22 games.

The Orioles, who have 18 regular-season games left, lost for just the second time in the last 10 games. Overall they have won 14 of 19, 17 of 23 and 20 of 28 games. They are 28-12 in the last 40 games.

The Orioles are 43-27 at home, 37-18 since the All-Star game, 8-3 in September and 24-19 versus National League clubs. They have a .558 win percentage versus the NL and .663 (67-34) against the AL.

Orioles' outfielder Austin Hays is trying to make his July a real outlier this season. So far it is the only month his OPS was not .800 or better.

And it is a real outlier as his OPS in July was just .446. It was a month where Hays made the All-Star team and was a starter for the American League. But his bat was slumping.

And then he started to elevate the ball again and drive it more consistently and he got back on track. In 128 games for the year, he’s batting .287/.333/.462/.795. That is good for an OPS+ of 118, better than the 107 OPS+ he posted in 2021 and the 105 number from last year.

Hays’ current OPS+ number ranks fifth among O’s regulars, behind Ryan O’Hearn, Anthony Santander, Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman.

“I want to finish really strong,” he said yesterday in the Baltimore clubhouse, before going 2-for-4 in the loss to St. Louis. “Just stay focused. Don’t get complacent. I like where I am right now, but still a lot of at-bats sitting out there. Lot of opportunity left. I really want to finish strong. Just as hungry now as I was at the start of the year.”

BOSTON - Kyle Bradish must want to keep his ERA at 3.03. Must like the whiff of a palindrome.

Bradish allowed two runs in six innings last night for the third start in a row and fourth out of five. He registered his 16^th quality start of the season and raised the Orioles’ total to 61. They lead the majors with 44 since June 1.

Are they getting close to the club’s single-season record?

Not at all.

Starters don’t work as deep into games and must complete at least six innings with three runs or fewer allowed to meet the criteria.

ANAHEIM - On the night the Orioles blew out the Los Angeles Angels 10-3 to complete a three-game sweep and win their fifth straight, two players that had strong first halves had big nights.

Both right-hander Kyle Gibson and outfielder Austin Hays have been looking to get it going and last night showed signs that both could be doing just that.

Hays has been swinging it well recently and had a 4-for-4 night with a double, two singles, a homer, three runs and four RBIs. He is now batting .288 with a .799 OPS.

At the All-Star break, Hays, a 2023 All-Star, was batting .314 but that dropped to .279 in mid August. In July he hit .162 with an OPS of .446.

Now in 18 games since Aug. 15. he is batting .338/.413/.646/1.059 with eight doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs. The Orioles are 13-5 in those 18 games.

ANAHEIM – For the second night in a row the second-place Tampa Bay Rays posted a win earlier in the night that the Orioles would later match. Tonight, the Orioles’ 10-3 romp over the Los Angeles Angels in front of 29,021 meaning they not only swept this series but maintained their season-high 3.5 game lead over the Rays atop the AL East.

The Orioles scored five early runs tonight and then added some late-game longballs to enjoy a much more comfortable win than last night when they were behind after eight innings and had to pull it out in the tenth.

Now 88-51, the Orioles are 37 games over the .500 mark for the first time since 1997. They have won five in a row on this road trip after losing the trip opener Friday in Arizona. Overall, the Orioles have won seven of nine, 11 of 14, 14 of 18 and 25 of the last 35 games.

They improved the American League’s best road record to 46-25 and are 34-16 in the second half.

Tonight they recorded their ninth series sweep and eighth of three games. 

Outfielder Anthony Santander began last night’s series in Anaheim leading the Orioles with 26 home runs and 79 RBIs. He’s trying to finish first in both categories for the second year in a row, becoming the first Oriole since Chris Davis in 2012-13.

He’s doing a lot of other things, like how he’s pushing harder through the crowd for Most Valuable Oriole.

Don’t be too quick to concede the award to catcher Adley Rutschman, rookie infielder Gunnar Henderson, starter Kyle Bradish, closer Félix Bautista – whose value becomes more evident if the Orioles collapse from his elbow injury – or anybody else in contention.

Santander’s 33 doubles also ranked first on the club before Austin Hays tied him last night with an RBI double. And Santander was first with 60 extra-base hits, 239 total bases, a .489 slugging percentage and .818 OPS.

In case you missed it earlier, Santander is the first Orioles switch-hitter with at least 25 home runs in consecutive seasons since Hall of Famer Eddie Murray in 1987-88.

Teams can expand their rosters by two players on Friday and the Orioles are meeting to review the options. Time is running out.

“We better be pretty close,” manager Brandon Hyde said this morning.

“We’re going to see how the roster looks after today. Things can change quickly. But we’re talking about it right now.”

The Orioles can find reinforcements on the injured list and in the minors. The task is more complicated than just choosing a couple names.

“There’s a lot of moving pieces right now,” Hyde said. “We’re kind of seeing how everything fits. The off-day tomorrow is a little bit helpful in figuring that out. We’re having those discussions now, every type of scenario that we feel like is going to help our club in September.”  

Ryan O’Hearn is in right field again tonight, as the Orioles continue their series against the White Sox.

Gunnar Henderson is the shortstop and Adam Frazier is playing second base. Jordan Westburg stays on the bench.

Austin Hays returns to left field.

Anthony Santander, serving as designated hitter, is the first Orioles switch-hitter with at least 25 home runs in consecutive seasons since Eddie Murray in 1987-88.

Henderson is one stolen base shy of becoming the first rookie in team history and 20th in major league history with at least 20 doubles, five triples, 20 homers and 10 steals in a season.

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.

OAKLAND – Jorge Mateo paused before sprinting out of the batter’s box, knowing he hit JP Sears’ changeup a long way, thinking maybe it would clear the fence in left-center field. He slowed as he got halfway to second base, realized that Lawrence Butler wouldn’t make the catch or contain the ball, and slipped into another gear.

The Jorge Mateo gear that few players can find.

Mateo dived across home plate, with the Athletics botching the relay and unable to challenge him. His first home run since April 30, in a month where he hit six of them.

Austin Hays drove in two runs on a ball that deflected off Sears and bounced into shallow left field to pad the lead.

The Orioles wouldn’t just sweep the Athletics. They decided to get creative with it.

OAKLAND – Anthony Santander is out of the lineup again this afternoon, as the Orioles conclude their 10-day road trip and attempt to sweep the Athletics.

Santander is day-to-day with back soreness.

Ryan McKenna is in right field and Gunnar Henderson is the designated hitter. Austin Hays is in left field and batting cleanup.

Jordan Westburg moves down from fourth to seventh. He’s starting at second base, with Ramón Urías at third and Jorge Mateo handling shortstop.

Ryan Mountcastle extended his on-base streak to 25 games last night. Jonathan Schoop is the last Oriole with a 26-game streak in 2017.

The third at-bat ended much like the first two, except the last strike was called.

Austin Hays fell behind 0-2 yesterday in the seventh inning, worked the count full and watched an 89 mph fastball from Astros reliever Phil Maton catch the outside half of the plate. Hays threw back his head in frustration, compounded by Adam Frazier running on the pitch and being thrown out at second base.

The opposite-field two-run homer Wednesday night didn’t unlock Hays, but it offered some relief and encouragement.

Hays is 16-for-90 (.178) in the second half. The home run off Crístian Javier was his first since July 9 in Minnesota, before starting in left field in the All-Star Game.

“Felt good,” he said. “He’s got a good heater, so just trying to get on top of that thing. It was a heater up in the zone, so I was able to center it up and drive it to the right side of the field.”

Jack Flaherty received the ball from catcher Adley Rutschman, flipped it in the air and caught it with his bare hand in a swiping motion. He picked up the rosin bag and spiked it. And he waited for pitching coach Chris Holt.

The frustration was building in the second inning. The pitcher who retired 15 batters in a row in Toronto was unable to slip his start into cruise control.

No serious wreckage, but a rough ride.

And the bullpen lost control again.

Flaherty left the bases loaded after falling behind by three runs in the second inning, and he did it again in the fifth. His follow-up outing with the Orioles, and first career start in Baltimore, was more of a grind, and the Astros prevailed 8-2 before an announced crowd of 25,479 at Camden Yards.

TORONTO – Jack Flaherty’s Orioles debut got off to a rocky start today. But it quickly got better. And it mostly stayed that way, especially thanks to some clutch pitching from the right-hander in the last of the sixth. 

Flaherty allowed one run and four hits over six innings on 92 pitches as the Orioles beat Toronto 6-1 to win three of four in this series at Rogers Centre.

The Orioles (67-42) are 8-2 this year versus Toronto. Their AL East lead grows to two games over idle Tampa Bay.

Since July 20, the Orioles have gone 3-1 in both four-game series against their closest pursuers in the Rays and Jays. They also went 2-1 against the Yankees in that span. They are now 22-10 in their past 32 games over the last 10 AL East series, going 8-0-2 in those series.

“Complete team," Flaherty said of the Orioles. "You kind of new that coming in and you get around them and see what they’re about. They are a complete team. Offense, defense, pitching – they can do it all.”

TORONTO - After he threw yet another quality start for the Orioles last night - as they beat Toronto in the series opener - right-hander Kyle Gibson discussed today's trade deadline.

He told reporters if nothing big happens today, he is fine with it. He loves the current group in the Orioles' clubhouse and sees enough talent there right now to keep winning.

“In 2018 we (the Twins) traded away eight players at the deadline," he said. "Never seen that many traded away. And at the time, we might have been three games out of the wild card. There are teams that absolutely need to play well around the deadline, but I don’t think this is one of those teams. I think we just want to play well to keep going in the right direction.”

He said it's important that players have been able to block out any deadline distractions this year.

“Very important. It’s easy to look around and see moves and get anxious, get antsy. Wait to see where the dominoes will fall for us. Do we have needs? Sure. Are there players that could make our team better? Sure. But I think we have a really darn good team and if we don’t make this massive splash, I think this team is really good. I think the Fuji trade (adding Shintaro Fujinami) is really big for us. The flexibility he adds in the bullpen is huge.