For the Orioles, a home opener where their on- and off-field ambitions were front and center

From the attack plan at the plate and their potential improvement on the mound to the chairman's letter on the club's future, everything the Orioles want to be was on display Monday.

Robinson Chirinos took a 3-2 curveball on the outside corner for ball three to load the bases in the Orioles’ pivotal second inning, and turned to the dugout with a fist-pump on his way to first base. Before him, Jorge Mateo started the little two-out rally with a walk of his own, the notorious free-swinger’s fourth on in this young season. 

A few pitches later, Cedric Mullins put the Orioles ahead for the first time all season, a 2-0 advantage they kept on a day where they shook off the stink of the sweep in Tampa Bay and at so many levels showed the best crowd at Camden Yards in years what they were about.

There’s a process-oriented hitting program under progressive coaches Ryan Fuller and Matt Borgschulte that will take a day when they make strong swing decisions and hit the ball hard consistently without great outcomes every night. There’s a pitching program that still can make an impact on the talent that has already reached the majors, even if the emphasis is on those below them. And then there’s the top-level priorities of the organization that, well, we’ll get to that.