There were times this season when Charlie Morton would wake up and have a hard time coming to terms with how badly he and the team were playing.

The Orioles, expected to be in contention for a division title, instead find themselves in last place. And Morton, at 41, brought in to be a veteran leader, instead has had an ERA over 10 at times. The clubhouse started to feel it too, Morton said.

“I said it’s almost surreal feeling how badly it’s going,” he said.

But on Sunday, after a 3-2 win over the White Sox to complete their first sweep of the season, there were signs that things are turning a corner. Instead of the clubhouse after the game being a place of despair, the players were relaxed, laughing while drinking their celebratory beers with loud music and flashing lights illuminating the space.

It’s not because of the change of leadership, Morton said, even though the Orioles have won five of their last seven under interim manager Tony Mansolino.

“No, I think it’s more to do with coming into the season and never getting positive momentum going, and that’s a result,” Morton said. “And then results definitely dictate how you feel about yourself and how you feel as a team.”

This weekend, then, was desperately needed. The Orioles, at 22-36, have a long, long way to go if they have any hope of sneaking into playoff contention. A sweep — and their second three-game winning streak of the season — is finally, at least, a step in the right direction.

But it does come with some caveats. It was against the worst team in the American League, and, although the Orioles are only one slot above the White Sox in the standings, it would have been cause for even more concern if they hadn’t come out on top in these three games. And, even though they won them, these games did not go smoothly and a better team likely would have taken advantage of their miscues.

On Friday, closer Félix Bautista came close to blowing a save. The next day, pitching in back-to-back games for the second time this season, he nearly did again.

And Sunday, well, there’s a whole laundry list of things to unfold.

The baserunning was a mess throughout. In the first inning, Ramón Urías didn’t attempt to run home from third on what could have been a sacrifice fly. Two innings later, Maverick Handley tripped on his way to first and had to settle for one base instead of two. In the fifth, Heston Kjerstad hit a triple, then was picked off.

With the Orioles on defense, a Mike Tauchman fly ball turned into a triple instead of an out, Kjerstad unable to come up with a play that had a 95% catch probability. In the sixth, second baseman Jackson Holliday made an error, missing a routine ground ball to give the White Sox a chance to score.

Mansolino said the staff is proactive — not reactive — and that he doesn’t need to be the one to tell them they messed up. The players already know.

“How great is it to be able to make mistakes, baserunning and defense, and still win the game?” Mansolino said postgame. “When was the last time that kind of happened here this season? And that’s probably more a testament to our pitching and the ability to not let things unravel and blow up.”

That would be the only run to score with Morton on the mound — and it will not count against his ERA. He pitched 6 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts, earning a standing ovation as he came off the mound.

The first five starts of his career with the Orioles were rocky, prompting a move to the bullpen for most of May. But, in his two starts back in the rotation, he’s pitched 12 2/3 innings, allowing just two earned runs. His season ERA has dropped to 6.20.

“I’m just trying to go out there and do my job,” Morton said. “I knew, physically, I’m still OK. I think it’s just some tweaks and trying to get my stuff going in the zone a little bit better and, like I said, the shapes of the breaking ball. It’s nice to feel like I’m more myself than a month ago.”

The White Sox scored their other run in the seventh immediately after Morton was removed, Gregory Soto allowing a solo home run to Tauchman, the first batter he faced.

Bryan Baker, who has become one of the Orioles’ most relied-upon relievers, got the save, his first of the season.

And now the Orioles can head on a six-game West Coast road trip with stops in Seattle and Sacramento with a better attitude, Baker said, because they feel the tides starting to change.

“It’s been a breath of fresh air, for sure,” Baker said. “I think there’s a little bit of a different attitude in here. Obviously, getting the sweep and finishing the homestand strong like that is big. Obviously got a lot of work to do still — we should’ve won that game by about five runs today if we clean some stuff up, and we should — but a win’s a win. It’s awesome to get a sweep against a big league team, and hopefully we can carry that momentum going into this road trip."

This article has been updated.