The Orioles just completed a grueling June schedule that provided only one day off.

Their reward as the calendar flips to July is a day off that won’t feel like it after playing a rare Sunday night game and flying cross country to Seattle.

But such challenges are the Orioles’ new reality.

“Those are good-team problems when you have ‘Sunday Night Baseball,’ ” manager Brandon Hyde said.

There’s no escaping baseball’s national spotlight, and the Orioles aren’t running from it. They hosted national television games Saturday and Sunday against the Texas Rangers, including ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” — the sport’s weekly primetime slot normally reserved for big market teams with large payrolls.

But “The Worldwide Leader in Sports” had no choice but to take a break from airing the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers and show what’s going on in Baltimore. The Orioles are once again one of the majors’ best teams, on pace for 102 wins after they eclipsed the century mark last season.

This weekend’s series featured a scintillating rematch between the reigning World Series champion Rangers and the Orioles, the team Texas swept out of the American League Division Series. The Orioles nearly swept the Rangers for a tiny bit of payback, winning the first three games before Sunday’s lopsided loss.

“We got a year of experience and the playoff experience under our belt,” superstar Gunnar Henderson said. “But at the same time, I felt like we know going into the season what to expect. … Just feel like all the guys are really buying in because we want to push through and make the playoffs a good run this year.”

The two national broadcasts were among approximately 10 the Orioles have on their 2024 schedule, including seven more the rest of the season. In two weekends, their final two games of the first half against the Yankees at Camden Yards are on Roku and FS1, respectively. Their remaining games broadcast nationally are against the San Diego Padres (July 27 on FS1), Cleveland Guardians (Aug. 3 on FOX), Tampa Bay Rays (Aug. 10 on FOX and Sept. 8 on Roku) and the Houston Astros (Aug. 22 on FOX).

As the Orioles have soared over the past year, they’ve gained national notoriety. Stars like Henderson and Adley Rutschman are among the game’s biggest stars. Six players, including Henderson and Rutschman, are finalists to start the All-Star Game. And with what’s expected to be a heated race with the Yankees for the AL East title — and perhaps the circuit’s No. 1 seed — there are more big games and series to come.

“I’ve never even heard them talk about it. I don’t think it fazes them at all,” Hyde said about the increased attention. “These six guys that are getting All-Star consideration, I’m so happy for all of them. It’s so well-deserved. Guys like Gunnar and Adley, I don’t think they think twice about it, honestly. They just like to go play, and whoever’s watching is watching.”

Henderson got his latest taste of what it means to be one of baseball’s biggest stars Sunday. He was mic’d up during the third inning of ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball” broadcast, revealing that he would participate in MLB’s Home Run Derby on July 15. Announcer Karl Ravech before the game gifted the young shortstop his own custom pair of LEGO-themed cleats.

Hyde said Henderson, fresh off his 23rd birthday Saturday, is “the same guy every single day,” adding that the outside pressure is nothing compared with the “high expectations” the 2019 second-round pick has for himself.

Designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn, who is among Baltimore’s sextet vying to start the Midsummer Classic, has been impressed with how “nothing fazes” Henderson.

“He was born for this,” O’Hearn said. “It’s pretty special for me to be teammates with a guy like that. I’m a massive Gunnar Henderson fan, and I will be for his entire career.”

ESPN analyst and former MLB pitcher David Cone called the game alongside Ravech and Eduardo Pérez on Sunday. Cone, a former Cy Young Award winner and a five-time World Series champion, gave a shocking comparison for Henderson to a player from Cone’s era.

“He’s such a rare talent,” Cone said. “With that power and defense and speed and combination? Maybe Alex Rodriguez when he first came up? I guess you can maybe go back to that era, that Nomar Garciaparra era in the 1990s. He would fit right in there.”

Pérez doesn’t think the added pressure — first evidenced by the club’s intense and drama-filled series in New York last month — is a challenge for the young Orioles because many of them were selected early in the draft and had those expectations placed upon them at an even younger age. Rutschman was the first pick in 2019. Heston Kjerstad and Jordan Westburg were first-round picks in 2020, and Colton Cowser was in 2021.

“When they signed, there was pressure on them getting to the big leagues and being able to perform,” Pérez said. “And when they got to the big leagues, to play like big leaguers right away.”

But O’Hearn’s perspective is a bit different than most of his teammates given he’s in his seventh MLB season and will turn 31 later this month. He views the increased attention and pressure that comes along with it as a “privilege.”

It’s not a surprise that O’Hearn feels that way. Eighteen months ago, he was a castoff from Kansas City. He was designated for assignment in January 2023 and was an afterthought when the Orioles acquired him for cash considerations. Now, he’s going up against Houston Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez to start the All-Star Game for the Junior Circuit, hoping Orioles fans back him in phase two of voting as they did in the first.

“If you look at it any other way, you’re doing yourself a disservice,” he said. “We’ve gotten here with how we’ve played as a team last year and so far this year to earn the attention and the spotlight. Of course, with that comes pressure and maybe just a heightened tension around some games. I think if you denied that you’d be lying. It’s part of being a human.

“I’m excited to play in big games with these guys because ultimately that’s what we want to do at the end of the season.”

But positive vibes in the summer mean nothing in the fall. The Orioles learned that in October. The 2023 season was magical, and it appeared that team — the AL’s top seed — had everything it needed to make a World Series run. All it took was three games for it to end in a thud.

October isn’t top of mind for the Orioles, who are tied atop the division with the Yankees and still have 78 games remaining. But that doesn’t mean they don’t remember the pain of the ALDS sweep. With Henderson’s ascension, Corbin Burnes atop the rotation, a litany of high-pressure series during the season and the experience of last season’s disappointment, the Orioles’ hope is they’re better prepared in three months when they get back to the postseason.

“The experience that we had last year is definitely something we can draw back on,” O’Hearn said. “We’ll be better prepared for what it might be like in the playoffs — and we’ve still got to get there. I really like our team, obviously, and our experience last year is definitely going to help us prepare for October, if and when we get there.”

What’s to come?

Six games on the West Coast — three against the class of the AL West and three versus the club occupying the division’s caboose.

The Orioles open July with one of their seven days off this month (four because of the All-Star break) before taking on the Mariners (47-39). Seattle boasts perhaps the best rotation in baseball with No. 1-quality starters George Kirby, Logan Gilbert and Bryce Miller taking the ball. Grayson Rodriguez will start Tuesday, but the Orioles have yet to announce their starters for the final two games with Burnes’ status up in the air as he returns from the paternity list and right-hander Dean Kremer’s availability an unanswered question as he makes his way back from a triceps strain.

Baltimore (53-31) then ends the road trip in Oakland against the lowly Athletics. It will be the Orioles’ final series at the Coliseum before the Athletics play at a minor league ballpark in Sacramento for the next three seasons.

What was good?

The Orioles just completed their most challenging month of the season. They had one day off and played mostly playoff-caliber teams, including nine games against the other three best teams in MLB. Despite the June gantlet, Baltimore went 17-12, hit a club-record 60 home runs and moved into a tie atop the division.

The Orioles’ rotation began to regress in June, losing Kyle Bradish, Danny Coulombe and others to injury. But their bats picked up the club’s arms, scoring an MLB-best 163 runs (5.6 per game) and hitting .273 with an .846 OPS.

“Going into the month, we knew this was going to be difficult,” Hyde said. “The way our guys grinded through that month, I’m really proud of those guys.”

What wasn’t?

Cole Irvin had a 2.87 ERA on June 7 after going eight straight starts with two or fewer earned runs allowed. Just a few weeks ago, Irvin was the Orioles’ second-most consistent starting pitcher behind Burnes. Now, it’s possible he’s not in the rotation for much longer. Over his past four starts, Irvin allowed 29 hits and 22 runs (17 earned) in 18 innings for an 8.50 ERA and 1.89 WHIP. Last week, he gave up 13 runs (nine earned) in his two starts, both losses, to see his ERA inflate to 4.13.

With Kremer on the precipice of returning, the Orioles will need to create room for him in their rotation. Bumping Irvin or Albert Suárez to the bullpen or optioning Cade Povich to Triple-A are among their likely options.