The Orioles have waited long enough for a night like this. They waited 18 games, to be exact, to seal a second consecutive victory. They waited and waited — but never doubted a semblance of consistency would come — and finally they have it.

The sample is, of course, tiny. To say the Orioles have turned the corner, that all the issues that arose through the first 17 games have evaporated, would be to peer at the situation with orange-tinted shades. What can be said occurs in the prism of Thursday night at Camden Yards, when for the second straight game the disjointed pieces from early this season fell into place just right.

Start with Gunnar Henderson’s first home run of the season, and continue to Tomoyuki Sugano’s best appearance since arriving in Major League Baseball. Add the continual breakout of Heston Kjerstad, the power of Ryan O’Hearn and the zeroes from the bullpen, and the formula spits out something familiar.

After all, this is what the Orioles are supposed to look like.

The Orioles won their first series of the year by dropping the Cleveland Guardians in Thursday’s rubber match, 6-2.

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

Added O’Hearn: “We look at this thing in chunks, in series. First series win is a big deal, and I think we’re going to build off that.”

Baltimore is still two games below .500, and its starting rotation is full of questions, be they injury or performance related. What Sugano did in his fourth start since joining the Orioles this winter from Japan quieted at least one aspect of Baltimore’s rotation conundrum. The 35-year-old produced the longest start of any Orioles pitcher this year when he completed seven innings with two runs against him.

Those runs came on back-to-back homers in the third from Daniel Schneemann and Austin Hedges. Beyond those blasts, Sugano allowed three other hits with no walks and three strikeouts.

His command, a calling card in Japan (he walked 16 batters in 156 2/3 innings last year for the Yomiuri Giants), wasn’t as crisp through three starts. Sugano issued five free passes in his first 14 innings — not many but more than he was used to.

Sugano’s efficiency helped him work through seven. He finished at 87 pitches. In Japan, six-man rotations are standard. That offers pitchers a chance to pitch with five full days of rest. This was Sugano’s first start on four days’ rest, and he didn’t seem to have any issue.

“It’s only one game that I’ve been able to pitch like this, so I have to keep accumulating these outings,” Sugano said through team interpreter Yuto Sakurai. “I’m starting to get used to the environment here, pitch by pitch. Especially the slider was really good. It’s getting better as it goes.”

Sugano’s effort was supported almost immediately when Henderson throttled an offering from right-hander Tanner Bibee the other way for a homer. Hyde elevated Cedric Mullins to the leadoff spot Thursday in part to give Henderson a chance to see a few extra pitches before stepping in, and the few extra pitches he saw led to a big result.

“Still just getting the reps that I need to. Didn’t have a spring to do that,” said Henderson, who missed most of camp with an intercostal muscle strain.

The opposite-field homer and double he recorded in the series finale against the Guardians were positive signs, and the strong at-bats from many within the lineup helped to push Baltimore ahead.

“Anytime Gunny is hitting the ball with authority like that to left field, I think that’s a great sign for us,” O’Hearn said. “And, once he gets hot, watch out.”

The same could be said of O’Hearn. He went yard for the second time in as many games, this time with a three-run homer. To even give O’Hearn an opportunity to bat with two outs in the third inning, Adley Rutschman’s walk was necessary.

After the game, O’Hearn said coming to Baltimore “is without a doubt the best thing that has ever happened to me,” as far as baseball goes. He has turned into a major producer in a powerful lineup after mixed results in five seasons with the Kansas City Royals.

“I don’t take it for granted,” he said. “I love showing up for work every day.”

And in the sixth Kjerstad continued to prove why he deserves more regular at-bats. In Wednesday’s win, the outfielder drove a two-run single and three other hard-hit balls that found gloves. Against Bibee, Kjerstad shelled a changeup 400 feet for a two-run blast.

The Orioles have much to figure out. Their pitching staff remains injury riddled, especially after right-hander Grayson Rodriguez suffered a setback in his recovery from elbow inflammation by requiring imaging on a sore shoulder.

But on Thursday the Orioles finally got two things off their back: They won two straight games and a series. It took 18 games, but it happened at last.

“I think guys are showing up every day thinking we’re going to win tonight, and not thinking, ‘Oh gosh, I hope we don’t lose,’ ” O’Hearn said. “Those are two very different demeanors. I mean, obviously, the team is talented. We’ve got a lot of good players. Once you get guys to kind of believe in how good we can be and then the results come after that, it’s fun. And this was a good series.”

This story has been udpated.