It would always come down to this heavyweight matchup — the top of the New York Yankees lineup against right-handed reliever Félix Bautista. These sorts of contests, be it April or October, lend themselves to the biggest names in the biggest moments.

And, at 6-foot-8, Bautista is certainly a big name.

The Orioles missed this last season. As Bautista recovered from Tommy John elbow reconstruction surgery, manager Brandon Hyde remarked often how he wished he could’ve called upon the towering fireballer. And, even though Bautista’s heater isn’t at the triple-digit velocities it frequented in 2023, before surgery, Bautista has improved with every appearance.

Take Monday night, when Bautista entered with a one-run lead. He struck out Aaron Judge and Cody Bellinger to end it. And on Wednesday night, as the Orioles grabbed a series win to end a difficult month, Bautista mowed down Paul Goldschmidt and Trent Grisham.

“He is back to being Félix,” Hyde said.

This is a luxury Hyde now has in his pocket. Piece together whatever pitching matchups he wants, then hand a lead to Bautista in the ninth. He retired three straight to secure the 5-4 win over the Yankees.

To close out the game, Bautista fired 99.3 mph and 99.2 mph heaters past Grisham for the strikeout. Those were the fastest pitches Bautista has thrown since returning from surgery.

“That is a really tough assignment for whoever’s going to face him in the ninth inning,” Hyde said. “I thought his stuff was exploding tonight. That was the best fastball we’ve seen.”

Bautista said he knows, as time goes on, his velocity will improve. A part of that is the warmer weather. Another is the adrenaline of these games. And, ultimately, it’s down to Bautista’s increasing strength well more than a year out from surgery.

“I just go out there and try to do my job,” Bautista said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “I’m just focused on going out there and attacking hitters as quickly as possible, and retiring hitters as quickly as possible, so I take a lot of pride in that.”

The heat in these matchups is always near boiling, even at the end of April. It took one awkward landing from a leap to kick off a potential scuffle at second base — the Yankees’ Pablo Reyes jumped for a throw to second, then landed on the head of Heston Kjerstad, who was sliding into the bag.

A few words from Kjerstad. An answer from Reyes. Next thing that happens, the benches cleared and the bullpens followed, a mad rush to a huddle at the edge of the infield dirt, and then more words. Words, no punches, no pushing, just words. It was over as soon as it began.

“We got tangled up as I tried to steal a base,” Kjerstad said. “Emotions from both sides kind of went up. I didn’t think it was too much.”

But it illustrated the fraught nature of this relationship. The Yankees, leading the American League East, will be a major adversary all season, especially if the Orioles mount an uphill climb in the standings.

The first series of the season between these two foes went Baltimore’s way, even though New York outscored the Orioles by 10 runs. That’s the beauty of baseball, sometimes. A cataclysmic 15-3 loss Tuesday didn’t stop Baltimore from taking two of three games.

“We know we’re a good team,” left-hander Cade Povich said. “It’s going to come. It was a crappy month. The month’s over. We have [an] off day tomorrow. Ready to turn it around for this next month.”

The flip side of the everyday nature of the baseball season is when negative results compound, as they have for much of the year for the Orioles. They have yet to find a semblance of consistency, and the difference between Tuesday and Wednesday was another example. The Orioles have won consecutive games only once this season, but Baltimore secured its second series win.

It has much to do with starting pitching.

Povich got out to an inauspicious start when Grisham singled and Judge followed with a two-run blast to center field against a hanging sweeper in the heart of the strike zone. He said that was “obviously not where I’m trying to throw that pitch to him.” Most of Povich’s backdoor sliders to right-handed hitters have stayed there: on the outside part of the plate.

The home run put the Orioles in an immediate hole again, but Povich settled and provided a much-needed start for a pitching staff that has struggled to avoid disaster.

Povich completed 4 2/3 innings with three runs against him, the final of which came on Goldschmidt’s solo homer in the fifth. He didn’t qualify for the win — he would’ve needed to complete five — but he acted as a stabilizer following the nine runs against right-hander Kyle Gibson in Tuesday’s loss.

A two-run deficit was easier to stomach in the first than a five-run deficit. And the Orioles answered with one of their most complete offensive innings in some time, beginning with Ryan Mountcastle’s slump-busting two-run homer in the second. Ramón Urías followed with a solo shot, and Adley Rutschman drove a two-out RBI single. A fifth run came home in the fifth inning from Jackson Holliday’s RBI groundout.

“My job is to keep it there,” Povich said, “to keep us having the lead until the ball is taken from me.”

Still, the Yankees chipped away. Judge knocked a two-out RBI single through the left side of the infield against right-hander Yennier Cano (the run was charged to left-hander Keegan Akin, who began the inning).

That was as close as they’d get, however.

Right-hander Bryan Baker — who handled a heavy pitching load this week by warming multiple times Monday, pitching Tuesday, then warming in the fifth and appearing in the eighth Wednesday — walked the leadoff batter. He retired the next three, which included strikeouts of Bellinger and Jasson Domínguez, and left the mound with a roar of emotion.

The full-count changeup Baker threw to Domínguez was Rutschman’s call, because Baker “didn’t know what to throw” after using all his offerings already. It worked, forcing a whiff.

“The adrenaline really takes over,” Baker said. “I feel great right now. I’ve already worked out after the game.”

Hyde then called upon Bautista, his closer. The Omar Whistle played, the lights flashed and then Bautista pulled the curtain closed on a series win.

“That’s the best he’s looked this season,” Kjerstad said. “To see him throwing it like that — and he’s been throwing it good all year for us — is awesome.”

This article has been updated.