KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Orioles have played 10 games in 2025, and each has featured a unique lineup. Of those 10, Sunday’s card, produced three hours before first pitch, may have been manager Brandon Hyde’s most controversial.

The skipper’s nine hitters featured just one lefty: shortstop Gunnar Henderson, batting leadoff. Switch-hitter Adley Rutschman was next, followed by seven righties. Three of the Orioles’ hottest hitters — Cedric Mullins (.313 average), Jackson Holliday (.333) and Heston Kjerstad (.294) — sat against Royals left-hander Kris Bubic.

Whether it was the lineup, the weather — another cold, windy day at Kauffman Stadium — or Bubic’s impressive fastball, the Orioles’ hitters failed to gain any traction in the series finale, falling to the Royals 4-1. The O’s collected just five hits and failed to homer for the sixth time in their last seven games.

“This is just one of 162 for him,” Hyde said of his decision to hold Mullins out. “He’s had leg stuff in the past and we’re managing it. He’s been playing his absolute butt off, playing unbelievable baseball. So with three righties going the next three nights he’s gonna be in there.”

Replacing Mullins, Holliday and Kjerstad in Sunday’s lineup were right-handers Ramón Laureano, Ramón Urías and Jorge Mateo. More curious than Mateo’s inclusion in the starting group was his position: center field, a spot he hasn’t played since May 15 of last season.

The decision backfired almost immediately.

With one out in the bottom of the first inning, Mateo let the wind take a very catchable fly ball off the bat of Bobby Witt Jr., allowing it to drop for a generously scored triple.

Statcast’s catch probability metric gave Mateo a 99% chance of making the play. Witt scored on a sac fly one batter later.

“I thought I had it,” Mateo said through interpreter Brandon Quinones. “The ball was hit a little harder than I thought it was at first, but then after I was able to recover as the game went on.”

In the batter’s box, Laureano, Urías and Mateo went 0-for-6 with two strikeouts and a walk against Bubic, who came into the game with better numbers against right-handed hitters (.755 on-base-plus-slugging percentage against) than left-handers (.900 OPS) in his career.

After the game, Hyde said Bubic’s reverse splits were not a big factor in his lineup decisions.

“It’s more of we acquired and signed right-handed guys to face left-handed starters and we’re gonna give them an opportunity, especially early in the year here, to hopefully handle left-handed pitching for us,” he said.

Before the game, pitching coach Drew French said he was encouraged by starting pitcher Cade Povich’s poise during the Orioles’ home opener, when he allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings against the Red Sox.

“I think we saw a really good fastball that day,” French said. “Not his best version of his off-speed pitches, but you know, we’re looking to see what those look like today and ultimately like the competitive nature of the spins is what we’re looking for.”

Neither Povich’s fastball nor his off-speed pitches delivered on Sunday. The second-year lefty allowed four runs on a whopping 13 hits.

The positives: Povich did not walk a batter, and he joined Zach Eflin as the only O’s starter to complete six innings this season. The negatives: He notched his first loss of the season, and his ERA still hovers over 6.00.

Henderson, playing in just his third game of the season after missing the first week with an intercostal strain, continued what has been a difficult start. After going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts on Saturday, Henderson went hitless again, striking out twice. He’s reached base just once in his first 13 plate appearances.