Brandon Hyde practically spoke it into existence.

Hours before the Orioles downed the Cleveland Guardians, 6-2, on Thursday night in what marked Baltimore’s long-awaited first series win, the manager explained his reasoning for pushing Cedric Mullins to the top of the lineup card, sliding Gunnar Henderson back into the No. 2 hole for the first time since Sept. 14, 2023.

“I want to slow the game down for Gunn a little bit,” Hyde said. “Talking with him, let him watch an at-bat before he gets up. He’s a little bit rushed right now.”

Mullins took a few worthy hacks in the first inning but struck out swinging. Henderson watched from the batter’s circle.

Then, true to Hyde’s intuition, the 2023 American League Rookie of the Year and All-Star shortstop drilled a fastball in the bottom half of the plate 393 feet over the new left field wall for his first home run of the season — a sweet escape from a wretched start.

“Just didn’t have to rush in,” Henderson said. “Was able to take a breath and kind of feel comfortable in the box.”

Entering Thursday, Henderson had struck out 16 times. He had only one walk and nine hits, slashing an uncharacteristic .233/.310/.543 through 10 games. Nine of those had him slotted in the leadoff spot. It became clear that Henderson was one of a few players Hyde has recently referenced as being a little too in their own head. He looked a bit jumpy at the plate, Hyde said.So he put the onus on Mullins, who has been playing with his hair on fire lately, to take the lead. Mullins was slashing .455/.635 /1.090 with four homers and only 11 strikeouts over 16 games. Hyde had been thinking about flipping the order for some time. He pulled the trigger Thursday. It immediately alleviated the leadoff pressure from Henderson’s shoulders.

Hyde, who has been under fire from a portion of the fan base for his lineup construction, nailed this move.

The next time around the order, Henderson whacked a sinker down the left field line for a double — his second hit of the night. Adley Rutschman followed with a six-pitch walk. Then, because hitting is contagious and Henderson has historically been the root of all offense in Baltimore, O’Hearn ripped a three-run, go-ahead homer, his second in as many days, giving the Orioles a 4-2 lead.

In Henderson’s nascent four-year career, he’s hitting .316 in games the Orioles go on to win and .195 in eventual losses. Correlation does not equal causation. But Henderson’s offensive production has the ability to jump-start this car fueled by irrational confidence.

He homered. O’Hearn homered. And Heston Kjerstad piled on with a two-run shot in the sixth, enough for a much-needed second straight win. All it took was a relaxed Henderson.

“Anytime Gunny is hitting the ball with authority to left field,” Ryan O’Hearn said, “I think that’s a great sign for us.

“Once he gets hot, watch out.”

Postgame analysis: Tomoyuki Sugano’s start Thursday night was the first time the Orioles got a glimpse of what they signed up for. What they saw in spring training and hoped would roll into meaningful games. General manager Mike Elias dipped into the international market for the star Japanese right-hander on a one-year deal worth $13 million. His first three starts left a lot to be desired. In Thursday’s win, Sugano became the first Orioles starter to pitch into the seventh inning this season.

He finished seven full with three strikeouts, allowing two solo homers — an outing worthy of a Camden Yards standing ovation. What made this performance more impressive is that Sugano normally pitched once per week in Japan as part of a six-man rotation. This start came off only four days’ rest.

Hyde was particularly impressed with how Sugano mixed speeds and showed command over his off-speed stuff. Sugano leaned the heaviest on four pitches, inducing nine whiffs, one shy of tying his season high.

He isn’t getting ahead of himself though.

“It’s only one game that I’ve been able to pitch like this,” he said through team interpreter Yuto Sakurai, “so I have to keep accumulating these outings.”

The battered pitching rotation is Baltimore’s worst kept secret. Grayson Rodriguez had another setback in his road back to the mound. The Orioles are still eager for Zach Eflin, Kyle Bradish, and Tyler Wells to all return at different points this season. They’re going to need to tread water for now. Sugano’s start shows it’s not impossible.

What they’re saying: Hyde on how comfortable Kjerstad looks at the plate right now:

“I think he’s getting more comfortable. He turned around that changeup. You know the power is there. Doesn’t have a ton of major league hits. That was a huge, huge hit at the time to kind of give us a bit of breathing room where I don’t need to bring a bullpen guy in when somebody gets on right away, that kind of thing, to try to keep the game close. The four-run lead there was huge. Happy for Heston. Heston got a couple of home runs this week. Hopefully, boosts his confidence.”

By the numbers: The Orioles are on a winning streak. It’s two games. (Is that considered a streak?) In taking 17 and 18 games into the season, this marks the longest it has taken the Orioles to string a pair together since 1999, when Baltimore’s first streak happened with games 24 and 25.

“I feel like it’s been a long time since a series win,” Hyde said. “It’s a lot more fun. Really happy with how our team played.”

On deck: The Orioles won their first series, recorded back-to-back wins and scored five-plus runs on consecutive nights for the first time this season. They’ll wrap up this lengthy homestand with a weekend set hosting Cincinnati.

Cade Povich is on the bump Friday, and while Saturday is still to be determined, all signs point toward 26-year-old righty Brandon Young making his MLB debut. Charlie Morton is scheduled for Sunday.

This weekend will also mark Austin Hays’ first time back at Camden Yards since the Orioles dealt their homegrown outfielder away at the 2024 trade deadline.

Have a news tip? Contact Sam Cohn at scohn@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/samdcohn.