The Orioles offense took a while to get going today. But right-hander Tyler Wells was pretty good almost from the first pitch.

Wells held Kansas City's offense in check before his hitters could provide a big inning for Baltimore in the series finale.

The Orioles beat the Royals, 6-1, to win their fourth series of the year and to complete a 6-4 homestand. They are 12-17 for the year and have won four of five, six of nine and are 9-9 over their last 18 games.

The Orioles, who begin a road trip in St. Louis tomorrow, closed out this quick rain-delayed two-day, three-game set with a win and are 3-1-1 in their past five series.

Wells allowed a first-inning run when leadoff batter Bobby Witt Jr. singled, stole second and scored on Ryan O’Hearn’s two-out single to right-center. Then he shut down the Royals over the next five innings, needing just 49 pitches from the second inning on.

The Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle is mostly fine today after rolling his ankle during a stolen base of second in the first inning of Game 2 last night. Mountcastle stayed in the game then and is back in the lineup today, batting fifth as the DH in the series finale with Kansas City.

“Yeah, watching that, that didn’t looked good. But we dodged a bullet there and he feels good today. Think a little bit sore, but not too bad,” manager Brandon Hyde said of Mountcastle, who is 9-for-17 over his past four games.

The Orioles will start right-handers Kyle Bradish and Spenser Watkins in the first two games of their series at St. Louis, which begins tomorrow night. But Thursday is TBA and they seem unlikely to bring Jordan Lyles or Bruce Zimmermann back on short rest. After rainouts over the weekend and a doubleheader Sunday, Thursday likely will not feature someone currently in the rotation. 

“I think we’re seeing how the next couple of days go and then we’ll figure it out. Right now, we have no idea at this point. We’ll weigh some options here the next couple of days,” Hyde said this morning.

Hyde needed his bullpen for only 4 2/3 innings in Sunday’s doubleheader and the ‘pen is in good shape today. He said all pitchers used Sunday are available today.

The Orioles have reached the end of their homestand. A makeup game today against the Royals, followed by their flight to St. Louis.

Tyler Nevin is starting at third base after playing right field yesterday in Game 2.

Trey Mancini is the first baseman and Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter.

Anthony Bemboom is catching.

Cedric Mullins is 13-for-36 (.361) with five doubles and two home runs during an eight-game hitting streak.

The Orioles and Royals wrap up this rain-delayed two-day, three-game series this afternoon in Baltimore after splitting a twin bill on Sunday. Kansas City took the opener, 6-4, while Baltimore won the nightcap, 4-2.

The Orioles have lost just one of their past four series, going 2-1-1 against the Angels, Yankees, Red Sox and Twins. They are 3-4-1 in series play on the season ahead of the rubber match of this series today. They are 2-1-1 in home series.

The Orioles (11-17) have won three of their last four games and five of the past eight. They are 8-9 in the last 17 games.

Right-hander Tyler Wells (0-2, 4.50 ERA), who has an ERA of 2.70 over his past two starts, will make his sixth outing of the season today and his sixth career start. Wells has thrown 18 innings, allowing 18 hits and nine runs with four walks to 14 strikeouts. He has a 1.222 WHIP with a 2.0 walk rate and a 7.0 strikeout rate.

While the Orioles are 0-5 in his starts, those last two versus the Yankees and Twins were pretty good ones. Over a combined 10 innings, Wells gave up seven hits and three runs with no walks and eight strikeouts. Opponent batters hit .194/.194/.306 with .500 OPS against him in those games.

The Orioles were supposed to be off today, but Saturday’s rainout has forced a noon game onto their schedule.

I’m off anyway, but only when it comes to ballpark duty. The mailbag is filling up. I can’t ignore it any longer.

Time to take a letter dump.

You ask, I answer, etc. This is the latest sequel to the original. And as you know, sequels usually disappoint.

I’ll try my best to slow the trend.

Looking at playing three games in about a 24-hour span as Sunday’s doubleheader began at Camden Yards, O’s manager Brandon Hyde was hopeful his starting pitchers could get deep in both games. They did that and more as the O’s split a doubleheader with Kansas City.

Had the defense not let down in Game 1, the Orioles may have swept the Royals. But they settled for a split, winning the second game behind lefty Bruce Zimmermann.

After right-hander Jordan Lyles gave up two earned runs in 7 1/3 in Game 1 in the longest outing by a Baltimore starter on the season, Zimmermann had another strong outing in the second game.

Zimmermann allowed five hits and two runs over six innings, tossing 85 pitches in the 4-2 victory. He is now 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA for the year and the Orioles are 4-2 in his 2022 starts. In four home starts, Zimmermann is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA. He allowed two earned runs or less for the fifth time and delivered his second quality start.

The two starters ate innings, gave their team big outings and preserved the bullpen for the upcoming road trip.

Following game two, the Orioles made the following roster move:

• Returned 27th man RHP Travis Lakins, Sr. to Triple-A Norfolk.

The left field wall can’t keep every baseball in front of it. The Orioles have cleared it a few times in defiance of the new measurements, but there are more denials than dugout celebrations.

Ryan Mountcastle thought he hit a game-tying, two-run homer off Kansas City’s Zack Greinke in the fifth inning of the opening game of today's doubleheader, but umpires held him at second base with a run-scoring double. The Orioles lost the challenge, took the lead, lost it and fell to the Royals 6-4 in Game 1 at Camden Yards.

Rougned Odor was a hero in the seventh with his go-ahead, two-run double, but he committed an error with two outs in the ninth by failing to backhand Nicky Lopez’s grounder, Jorge López threw the ball into right field on a pickoff attempt and Michael A. Taylor singled to left.

A dramatic swing in the game and Odor’s afternoon.

Cionel Pérez allowed back-to-back singles, with Salvador Perez bringing home Taylor with an insurance run.

When we last saw them on the field, the Orioles were beating the first-place Minnesota Twins on Wednesday and Thursday nights. They pounded out 12 hits and scored nine runs over the third and fourth innings Wednesday in a 9-4 win. They hit five solo homers in Thursday’s 5-3 victory to split a four-game series.

But the Orioles (10-16) and Kansas City Royals (8-15) have been rained out Friday and Saturday nights. So now this is a two-day, three-game series with a doubleheader this afternoon and a single game to wrap up the series tomorrow at 12:05 p.m.

The Orioles have won four of six games and are 4-3 on this homestand and 7-6 in home games in 2022. They are 14-5 in their past 19 home games against Kansas City since the 2015 season.

K.C. began the year 5-5, but is 3-10 since and most recently has lost five of its past six games. The Royals have been shut out three times in the past five games and four times on the year. They are 2-6 in road games. Manager Mike Matheny is sitting on 699 career wins.

When Baltimore bashed five homers Thursday, it marked the club's first time hitting at least five in a game since June 19, 2021 versus Toronto, when they hit six longballs. According to Elias Sports Bureau, this was the 11th time in team history that the O’s have hit five solo home runs in a game, with the last time also coming on June 19, 2021, when five of their six homers were solo shots. The Orioles have hit at least five in a game 67 times in team history, going 59-8 in such games.

This morning, the Orioles made the following roster move:

• Added RHP Travis Lakins, Sr. from Triple-A Norfolk to serve as the 27^th man for today’s doubleheader.

For left-hander Logan Allen, 24, joining the Orioles gives him another chance to establish himself as a pitcher in the major leagues. And it might be his best chance yet, not because of the opportunity he could get as much as who is here to greet him.

As he joined the Orioles officially this week – picked up via waivers from Cleveland on Thursday and added to the roster the next day – he is reunited with someone he has known since his childhood days in Orioles assistant pitching coach Darren Holmes.

Saying he is “really, really excited (to be here). Great opportunity, great organization,” this morning in the clubhouse, Allen noted his connection with Holmes.

“He was, like, my first coach ever. Taught me how to pitch,” he said.

Allen will be used out of the bullpen initially with the Orioles but could find his way into the rotation at some point, and manager Brandon Hyde noted they have that option with a pitcher who has made 15 career big league appearances as a starter and 15 in relief.

It was the bottom of the eighth inning on Thursday night at Camden Yards. There was one out and the Orioles and the first-place Twins were tied 3-3. If the Orioles could pull off a win, they would split a four-game series with a good club. If they were to lose, they would have lost three of four in the series.

Hard-throwing right-hander Jhoan Durán fired a splitter toward the outer half on his 1-1 pitch. Austin Hays drilled the ball deep toward the new left field wall. You better hit it good to clear that thing, and Hays did – just barely, but it got over – for a go-ahead homer.

It was a big hit, against a good club, late in the game that put his team ahead. If there was a time to show some emotion, this was it. Hays did just that. He came speeding around first base as the ball cleared the wall. Hays looked back toward his dugout and shouted something to his teammates. The emotion of hitting a big homer was washing over him.

Ryan Mountcastle followed with another homer and there was more emotion. A small crowd at Camden Yards sounded much larger.

We’ve seen some emotion from O’s players this year during some big moments that have led to wins. It’s not unlike things we’ve seen from opposing players when they are beating the Orioles. Such passion can get a team and a crowd fired up. Nothing wrong with letting out a scream or pumping a fist when you just delivered a key hit, homer, or strikeout.

Today’s forecast for a traditional, throwback-style doubleheader calls for cloudy skies. Rather than do my usual over-thinking about why we say “skies” when there’s only one, I’ll simply appreciate the dry conditions and celebrate mothers everywhere who perform a job much harder and more important than mine.

The farm system keeps dividing our attention, and in the best possible way.

Adley Rutschman is back at Triple-A Norfolk, with media and fans debating his debut date in Baltimore. Must happen at home, right? Like Matt Wieters on May 29, 2009.

Is May 16 too soon, a Monday when the Orioles open a four-game series against the Yankees? Otherwise, they could select his contract May 20 to begin a weekend series against the Rays.

The Orioles aren’t home again until May 31 against the Mariners, after they play three games in the Bronx and five – yes, five – in Boston.

Tonight’s scheduled game between the Orioles and Royals has been postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up on Monday, May 9 at 12:05 p.m. ET.

Tickets for tonight’s postponed game will be valid for the May 9 game, no exchange necessary. If you are unable to attend the makeup date no action is required. We will reach out via email to all ticket holders unable to attend the May 9 makeup date with an offer for complimentary tickets in a similar seating area for a wide variety of game options later this season. For more information, please visit Orioles.com/Weather. 

The game will be broadcast on MASN and on the Orioles Radio Network, including the flagship station of Hearst Baltimore’s 98 Rock FM and WBAL NewsRadio AM/FM.  

Complimentary tickets are non-exchangeable and must be used for Monday’s makeup date. 

Fans who purchased tickets on StubHub for tonight’s game will need to contact StubHub regarding their policy for postponed events.

For the second day in a row, the Orioles scheduled home game with the Royals has been postponed due to inclement weather. The clubs hoped to play the opener of what is now a two-day, three-game series tonight, but the game was postponed just after 4:30 p.m. ET.

A straight single-admission doubleheader is still scheduled for Sunday with the first game beginning at 1:35 p.m. And now the teams will conclude this series with a single game on Monday afternoon at 12:05 p.m.

The Orioles revised pitching order for this series now shows right-hander Jordan Lyles (2-2, 4.50 ERA) pitching the opener on Sunday against right-hander Zack Greinke (0-2, 2.57 ERA). Then lefty Bruce Zimmermann (1-1, 2.59 ERA) goes for Baltimore in Game 2 versus righty Daniel Lynch (2-1, 3.86 ERA). Right-hander Tyler Wells (0-2, 4.50 ERA) will start Monday's game for the Orioles opposite righty Carlos Hernandez (0-1, 6.00 ERA).

Tickets for tonight’s postponed game will be valid for the May 9 game, no exchange necessary. If you are unable to attend the makeup date no action is required. We will reach out via email to all ticket holders unable to attend the May 9 makeup date with an offer for complimentary tickets in a similar seating area for a wide variety of game options later this season. For more information, please visit Orioles.com/Weather.

The game will be broadcast on MASN and on the Orioles Radio Network, including the flagship station of Hearst Baltimore’s 98 Rock FM and WBAL NewsRadio AM/FM. Complimentary tickets are non-exchangeable and must be used for Monday’s makeup date.

When the Orioles scored a season-high nine runs last Sunday at home versus Boston, they followed up that game by scoring one and two in the next two games against Minnesota. But when they tied that season high by scoring nine runs on Wednesday night, they came back the next night and hit five solo homers in Thursday’s 5-3 win.

The Orioles scored 14 runs the last two games against Minnesota's good pitching staff, one that was having a heckuva year until the last two nights. The Twins, as a result of those games, dropped to fourth in team ERA in the American League at 3.36.

But Kansas City, which faces the Orioles for three games over the next two days in Baltimore, ranks last in the AL in team ERA at 4.57 and last in WHIP at 1.36. The Royals' rotation ERA ranks 13th at 4.32.

Kansas City, since going 5-5 to begin the season, has lost 10 of 13 games and is 1-5 over its last six games. Can the O’s now take advantage of another team considered more on their level that is now struggling? We begin to find out tonight.

There are signs the O’s offense is continuing to trend up, as we’ve written about over the last week or so.

Tonight’s scheduled game between the Orioles and Royals has been postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up as part of a traditional (single-admission) doubleheader on Sunday, May 8. The first game will begin at 1:35 p.m. ET, followed by game two approximately 30 minutes after the first game concludes.  

Fans holding tickets for the originally scheduled 1:35 p.m. game on May 8 should use those tickets for both games of the doubleheader. 

Both games of the doubleheader will be broadcast on MASN and on the Orioles Radio Network, including the flagship station of Hearst Baltimore’s 98 Rock FM and WBAL NewsRadio AM/FM.  

Tickets for tonight’s postponed game will not be valid for the May 8 doubleheader. Fans can exchange the value of their tickets toward any remaining home game this season, including the May 8 doubleheader, based on availability. For more information and updates about ticket options for games impacted by weather, please visit Orioles.com/Weather. 

Complimentary tickets are non-exchangeable. 

This afternoon, the Orioles made the following roster moves:

• Activated LHP Logan Allen. He will wear No. 61.
• Optioned RHP Travis Lakins, Sr. to Triple-A Norfolk after yesterday’s game.
• INF Kelvin Gutiérrez has cleared outright waivers and been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.

The Orioles optioned reliever Travis Lakins Sr. to Triple-A Norfolk after last night's game to create room on the active roster for left-hander Logan Allen, claimed on waivers yesterday from the Guardians.

Lakins was most vulnerable among the bullpen bunch, surrendering three home runs, including two grand slams, and nine runs total in 8 1/3 innings. The first slam came after he inherited three runners from Chris Ellis in Anaheim.

Allen gives the Orioles four left-handers in their nine-man bullpen, including Keegan Akin, Paul Fry and Cionel Pérez. 

Four relievers combined for 4 1/3 scoreless innings last night in a 5-3 win over the Twins.

Allen is wearing No. 61.

The Orioles today announced plans to celebrate all Birdland moms on Sunday, May 8, as the Orioles take on the Kansas City Royals at 1:35 p.m. ET. As part of the celebration, the first 10,000 fans ages 15 and over will receive a Mother’s Day themed giveaway, and all fans will have the opportunity to purchase limited time concession items.

Mother’s Day festivities include: 

• Orioles Floral Cap Giveaway: The first 10,000 fans ages 15 and over will receive an Orioles Floral Cap.
• Ceremonial First Pitch: Maryland’s First Lady, YUMI HOGAN, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Sunday’s game. First Lady Hogan has three daughters, Julie, Jaymi, and Kim, and four grandchildren.
• Mother’s Day Auction: Game-worn autographed and authenticated Mother’s Day caps will be available for purchase at Orioles.com/Auctions from Monday, May 9, at 5:00 p.m. to Sunday, May 15, at 10:00 p.m. All proceeds will benefit the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
• Community Initiatives: The Orioles donated tickets to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the Red Devils, and the Brem Foundation for Sunday’s game. Each organization focuses on raising awareness for breast cancer, as well as improving the lives of those who are diagnosed.
• Mother’s Day Gear: All uniformed personnel will wear Mother’s Day themed caps and socks. 
• Specialty Concession Items: The Orioles will offer limited time Mother’s Day themed concession items, including a specialty cupcake and specialty cocktails, on Sunday, May 8.
• Mother’s Day Floral Cupcakes: The sweet vanilla sponge cupcake with pink buttercream icing can be purchased at the B&O Market on Eutaw Street, the Birdland Markets on the main concourse, Dempsey’s Restaurant, and the Sweet Spot and Grab n’ Go, both located on the club level.
• Mother’s Day Cocktails: The specialty cocktails include a Strawberry Spritz made with rum and sparkling wine and a Pucker Up Limeade made with vodka, apple pucker, and lemon-lime soda. The limited time cocktails can be purchased at Dempsey’s Restaurant, Craft Cocktails on Eutaw Street, and the Frozen Bar located near Section 46.
• Women’s Gear: As part of the newly expanded women’s apparel line, the Orioles now offer a dedicated one-stop-shop for female fans located behind section 37, featuring gameday wear and everyday lifestyle apparel. The expanded women’s apparel line also features items from WEAR by Erin Andrews, Full Turn, Wild Collective, and Rustic Cuff.

Tickets for Sunday’s game are available starting as low as $15 and can be purchased at Orioles.com/Tickets. Fans can also take advantage of Kids Cheer Free, presented by Baltimore area Chick-fil-A restaurants. Kids Cheer Free, presented by Baltimore area Chick-fil-A restaurants, allows fans ages nine and younger to attend games at Oriole Park free of charge. For each regularly priced individual game Upper Deck ticket purchased, adults can add up to two additional free Upper Deck tickets valid for use only by children ages nine and under.