SAN DIEGO — As Colton Cowser caught Luis Arráez’s flyout in center field, Tyler Wells clapped his hands and kicked his leg in the air.

He had done it.

For 16 months, he had waited for this moment, his first start back after ulnar collateral ligament repair surgery on his right elbow with an internal brace augmentation. And, after all the anxiety, all the late-night thoughts, it went about as well as he could have hoped. Wells pitching five innings, allowing just two runs in the Orioles’ 6-2 win over the Padres on Tuesday night.

“It’s one of those things, it’s kind of a glory to God moment,” Wells said. “Because you kind of sit there and you start to kind of play the whole journey back in your head over and over. ... You just kind of replay it in your head and just kind of, like, take a deep breath. And, getting all the hugs from the guys and just all the welcome backs, it was really special.”

His journey was long. After making just three starts in 2024, Wells tried to rehab his elbow without surgery before deciding in June 2024 to undergo the procedure to repair the ligament. He was away from the team for most of the last 14 months, rehabbing in Sarasota, Florida, last year and staying behind in Baltimore this year when the team was on the road.

So to make it back, especially with his 5-month-old daughter, Ava, in attendance, was rewarding. He knows she won’t remember it. But when she’s older, he hopes, she can look back at this day and remember to never give up.

“I think it’s probably the most special thing in my heart to be able to go out there and just show her that chasing dreams is kind of like, you know — I’m 31 years old now and I’m still chasing it and I’m still enjoying every second of it,” he said. “I just hope that she can look back and really cherish that.”

When she does, she’ll have plenty to smile about.

Wells had to wait what felt like an eternity, he said, for the Orioles’ offense to get through the top of the first. He paced in the dugout waiting his turn, but once he took the mound he was ready.

“Actually, it’s surprising as to how calm I was,” he said. “I definitely thought I was going to have much more of an adrenaline rush, but I think that helped contribute to the success tonight with just being calm, cool and collected.”

He started strong. Wells struck out Padres leadoff hitter Fernando Tatis Jr. looking on three pitches and survived an 11-pitch at-bat against Manny Machado to produce a 1-2-3 inning. He continued to look sharp in the second, when he allowed a hit to former Oriole Ramón Laureano but nothing more.

In the third, left fielder Dylan Beavers couldn’t make a play on a ball hit by Freddy Fermin that bounced out of his glove as he ran into the wall. Fermin scored on a home run from Arráez. From there, Wells allowed just two more hits, another single to Laureano in the fourth and another double to Fermin in the fifth.

With two outs and Fermin in scoring position, pitching coach Drew French visited Wells. His pitch count was at 79, and Arráez was going to be his last batter, his last chance to control how his comeback ended.

After the quick meeting and breather, Wells composed himself. It took six pitches, but he accomplished what he needed to, inducing the flyout to Cowser. As he walked off the mound, a high-five from catcher Samuel Basallo awaited before a much longer line of players and coaches in the dugout got their turns.

“He kind of looked like himself in a lot of ways — the five pitches, the cutter, slider, curve, changeup, four-seamer,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “I think you also have to appreciate it a little bit coming off the extensive layoff and the surgery. So I’m really happy for Tyler. He looked great.”

Wells’ velocity sat at 92.7 mph and topped out at 94.3, on par with 2023, when he was one of the Orioles’ most consistent starters in the first half of the season and returned at the end as a high-leverage reliever.

“I was happy with the stuff; I was happy with the command,” Wells said. “I was happy with the way that I competed. I think that it was a lot of fun.”

Although his future as a starter isn’t clear — and highly dependent on how the Orioles handle the offseason — he will get a chance to stay in the rotation for the rest of the season.

Where he fits in next season can wait. For now, all that matters is that, for the first time since April 12, 2024, Wells pitched in a major league game. And, thanks in large part to Emmanuel Rivera, Wells got his first win since July 8, 2023. Rivera had four RBIs, tying his career high. Jeremiah Jackson hit a home run for the second day in a row.

Albert Suárez, who has been out since March 30 with a right subscapularis strain, also made his return Tuesday, pitching a scoreless eighth and ninth.

“I think tonight was a good win for the rehab department,” Suárez said. “It was good. It feels good.”