Coby Mayo isn’t likely to forget the single he hit in the fourth inning for multiple reasons, and only part of it concerns baseball. The Orioles infield prospect had an eventful day all around, what with another call-up to the majors, the first RBI knock of his career and the bench clearing that followed.

Add it all up and Mayo’s place in Saturday’s 4-2 win against the Chicago White Sox loomed large from a personal level.

It hasn’t been easy for the 23-year-old during his few cameo appearances in the majors thus far. It took 61 plate appearances before Mayo drove in his first run. In that span, he managed only six hits, including the fourth-inning line drive to left that plated Ryan O’Hearn. The moment will be even more memorable for the jawing that followed.

“Didn’t mean for it to escalate,” Mayo said. “I wasn’t trying to do that. It just did.”

Mayo wound up in a rundown between first and second base, and he reached out to make contact with second baseman Lenyn Sosa in an attempt to draw an interference call. Mayo fell to the grass, where he was called out.

As Mayo sat, Sosa spread his arms, apparently wondering why Mayo ran into him — or why he was on the ground. Sosa continued to express that wonder, and when Mayo pushed past him, a light push in retaliation from Sosa sent both dugouts full of players onto the field. The bullpens emptied. They ran in, stood around for a while and then meandered back to their respective places.

That’s one way to memorialize someone’s first career RBI.

Interim manager Tony Mansolino said seeking contact was an instinctual play for Mayo, and while “visually, it probably didn’t look the best,” Mansolino said he thinks “most coaches will probably go, ‘Not a bad baseball play.’”

With the win Saturday, Baltimore (21-36) took the series against Chicago (18-40) before Sunday’s finale. It’s only the fourth time this season the Orioles have won at least consecutive games. With the possibility of a sweep Sunday, they could turn in their second three-game winning streak in a little more than a week.

That’s not a huge achievement, of course. Baltimore remains well back of the division lead, and these wins have come against the worst team in the American League. The Orioles, to this point, have been the second-worst team in the American League.

But there is a glimmer of hope — for the moment, at least, Baltimore won’t occupy the bottom spot in the league.

“Guys are starting to get comfortable in their positions,” said right-hander Dean Kremer, whose quality start helped bring about the win. “I think there’s been less platooning or, it’s consistently the same guys in the lineup, I guess. Guys are getting their reps in. I think for everybody, not just for position players but for pitchers as well, getting in there more often than not is easier to get into a rhythm and I feel like guys are starting to hit their stride.”

Fifteen games below .500 isn’t a good place to be, no matter how much of the season remains. But Mansolino maintains that the Orioles are attempting to “get back into this thing and make a run.”

The belief that there is still a chance for a turnaround brings about an ideological conundrum, and it centers on players such as Mayo and the question of how much time he will spend at first base. In Mansolino’s point of view, “it’s important to balance development, which is what you’re asking, and trying to win the game that night.”

Mayo instead featured as a designated hitter Saturday, and his knock was one of three run-scoring swings.

“Happy to come through with two outs, and driving a run in is always good,” Mayo said. “Just happy with that and the win, too.”

Jackson Holliday led off with a solo home run to right field, and Jorge Mateo — playing center field — lifted a two-run homer in the sixth. Those four runs were more than enough for Kremer, who cruised through six innings despite a smattering of hits against him.

Kremer threw a season-high 102 pitches and allowed six hits and two walks, although he struck out seven and conceded just one run. The hits drove Kremer’s pitch count higher, but it was his second straight strong start, following last week’s 5 1/3 scoreless innings against the Milwaukee Brewers.

“You can’t get everybody out every time,” Kremer said, “so it’s about maximizing your margin for error and minimizing damage as much as you can throughout the lineup.”

In relief, right-hander Yennier Cano gave up a second run when Vinny Capra doubled and Mike Tauchman singled. Left-hander Keegan Akin prevented the inning from unraveling, and right-hander Seranthony Domínguez pitched a scoreless eighth by stranding two runners.

It grew more interesting when the Orioles opted to use right-hander Félix Bautista again in the ninth, even though he threw 29 pitches while allowing a run Friday. Baltimore had stayed away from Bautista in back-to-back situations early this season as he returned to full strength following a late-2023 Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery.

Bautista had pitched on consecutive days only once before this season, May 20 and 21. It didn’t go well. He blew a save in Milwaukee.

The appearance Saturday started out inauspiciously, too, with a leadoff walk. A strikeout preceded a second walk. Then Bautista struck out Luis Robert Jr. and Austin Slater to end it, preserving the series victory, even if it involved shaky command.

“I thought it was a big step for him that, after 29 pitches, to kind of come back out,” Mansolino said. “I think these are important steps for him to kind of get back to the consistency that we’re looking for.”

The performances Friday and Saturday weren’t no-doubters. Against better opponents, perhaps these don’t turn out as favorably. But Baltimore is 6-4 over its last 10 games, and while that’s not making up much ground, the Orioles are at least inching closer to mediocrity.

This article has been updated.