On Wednesday night, the Orioles celebrated Coby Mayo after he got his first major league hit.

A day later, they optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk and recalled Liván Soto, bringing in a left-handed bat to face a slate of right-handed Red Sox starters. The Orioles begin a four-game series with Boston on Thursday.

Mayo, the Orioles’ No. 2 prospect according to MLB Pipeline and No. 10 overall, made his MLB debut Aug. 2. He got on base twice that night via walks but didn’t reach again until Wednesday, when he got his first hit to snap an 0-for-16 stretch to begin his major league career.

Mayo is not the only Orioles top prospect to have trouble adjusting to major league pitching and not the only one to be optioned shortly after getting his first hit. Jackson Holliday experienced the same thing, going 2-for-34 in his first stint this year before being optioned. He spent two months in Triple-A and is hitting .255 with five home runs since he was recalled July 31.

The Orioles, in a tight division race with the New York Yankees, are no longer at a place where they can allow prospects to figure things out at the major league level, as they could during the rebuild or even with Adley Rutschman in 2022, when he didn’t get an RBI until his 21st game.

“We’ve had a few of our younger prospects come up and go back down,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I think it’s actually a positive experience that [Mayo] had up here. When you go back down, now you understand what the speed of the game is up here, the importance of certain things, just what major league pitching looks like. I think Coby is going to be better for it, just like [Colton] Cowser was, just like Grayson [Rodriguez] was, Jackson earlier this year. ... This is part of being a young player, and now he knows what it’s like up here.”

The Orioles wanted to bring up Soto to have more infield options. He can play second, third and shortstop — Mayo has played only third in the majors — giving the Orioles defensive versatility with Jordan Westburg and Jorge Mateo injured.

Soto was acquired at the deadline, his third time in the Orioles organization this year, alongside Austin Slater for a player to be named later. He has been on the active roster for one day with the Orioles but did not get in a game.

“Adding Soto adds more defensive flexibility for us, a guy who can play three spots in the infield, run,” Hyde said. “If I need to give Gunnar [Henderson] a day off or Jackson, or if I pinch run for Ramón Urías or whatever it may be, it just adds more flexibility for us.”

With only 41 games to go, there is a chance Mayo doesn’t return this year. Even if he gets recalled, he could retain his rookie status next season, because he has had only 17 at-bats and 13 days on the active roster. A player remains a rookie until he reaches 130 at-bats or 45 days on the active roster.

Mayo, who hit .301 with 20 home runs in Triple-A this season, said he noticed a huge difference in the caliber of starters in the major leagues. He’s particularly had trouble with sliders and changeups that are down and away.

“It’s the best level in the world, there’s no level higher than this, and there’s a reason why they’re here,” he said Wednesday.