WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Matt Bowman on Saturday played a crucial role in the Orioles’ comeback win over the Athletics. On Sunday, he was out of a job.

Such is life as a fringe MLB reliever, as the Orioles on Sunday morning activated Scott Blewett for a reunion and designated Bowman for assignment after his 2 1/3 scoreless innings Saturday. The move came amid a 20-inning scoreless streak from Baltimore’s bullpen.

Baltimore acquired Blewett from the Atlanta Braves on Friday for cash. After taking two days to report, the Orioles had to put the right-hander on the active roster Sunday or risk putting him on waivers.

This is Blewett’s second stint with the Orioles after he appeared in two games — tossing 4 1/3 innings without allowing an earned run — for them in mid-April. Blewett, 29, has a 3.91 ERA in 25 1/3 innings this season between stints with the Minnesota Twins, Braves and Orioles.

The Orioles acquired Blewett after he allowed five runs in 1 1/3 innings Thursday in Atlanta’s disastrous 11-10 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was DFA’d by the Braves after the loss and replaced by franchise saves leader Craig Kimbrel, who posted a 5.33 ERA and saved 23 games for the Orioles last season. Kimbrel pitched Friday and was DFA’d the next day.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino said before the Orioles’ rubber match Sunday versus the Athletics that Blewett can provide some length out of the bullpen.

“I think in the modern day of pitchers where not all starters going six, seven, eight innings like they probably did 20 years ago, you’ve got to have a little bit of length in there,” Mansolino said. “Bowman filled that role, he did a great job for us. Now Scott gets a chance to do the same thing.”

Bowman, a 34-year-old Chevy Chase native, has spent the entire season with the Orioles and Triple-A Norfolk. After his critical outing Saturday, in which he stranded two of Charlie Morton’s runners in the third inning and then bridged the game to the rest of the bullpen, Bowman has a 4.57 ERA in 21 2/3 innings. This is the second time he’s been DFA’d by the Orioles this season. Any team can now claim him off waivers. If he passes through, he can elect to remain with the organization and report to Norfolk.

Blewett joins a bullpen that’s been MLB’s best this month, entering Sunday. The last run the relief corps allowed entering the series finale against the Athletics was on June 1 in the seventh inning of a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox.

“They’re allowing the team to stay in games and stay competitive. That’s the biggest thing,” Morton said Saturday after the 7-4 victory. “It’s really admirable, aside from the fact they’re pitching well. The fact that I don’t hear anyone complaining about they’re tired, they’re gassed, they don’t want to pitch, they’re not available. Everybody’s up, and everybody’s willing to go out there and pitch. On a night like tonight, when I go out there and throw two innings and then they pick me up, it’s just huge.”

It’s especially impressive considering the past 18 scoreless innings have come during the first five games of the Orioles’ West Coast road trip in Seattle and Sacramento. The group, entering Sunday, had allowed only 15 base runners (nine hits and six walks) across the 18 frames while striking out a whopping 29 batters.

“Don’t say it too loud; you might jinx us,” Mansolino quipped after Saturday’s win when told of the scoreless streak. “They’ve been really good. I feel like guys are settling in right now.”

Around the horn

Infielder Jordan Westburg, who has missed the past six weeks with a strained hamstring, is “trending” to come off the injured list for the Orioles’ series opener against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, Mansolino said.

Pitching prospect Brandon Young, who has missed the past month with a shoulder injury, threw a three-inning live bullpen session in Aberdeen on Sunday.

Cedric Mullins, who has been out 10 days with a mild hamstring strain, took 10 live at-bats off Young. Mansolino said if the rest of Mullins’ rehab progression goes “perfectly” that he will return during the upcoming homestand.

Have a news tip? Contact Jacob Calvin Meyer at jameyer @baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/JCalvinMeyer.