Here's why Hays and Wells have entered the All-Star discussion 

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles could have close to a handful of players becoming first-time All-Stars this season. Star catcher Adley Rutschman and dominant closer Félix Bautista are near locks to be heading to Seattle for their first Midsummer Classic on July 11.

Austin Hays and Tyler Wells are more under-the-radar candidates. But each is building a strong case for consideration, and that continued with their respective performances on Friday.

Hays homered on the first pitch of the night from Kansas City starter Daniel Lynch, while Wells tossed 6 2/3 strong innings to help guide Baltimore to a 3-2 series-opening victory at Camden Yards. The O’s (39-24) led the entire way after Hays’ home run, his seventh of the season.

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“Haysie really sparked us tonight at the top of the order,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.

That’s been the case a lot of nights so far this year, and especially when Hays bats in the leadoff spot, which has occurred often against left-handed starters, such as Lynch. In 12 starts batting at the top of the order, Hays is 17-for-50 (.340) with two homers, five doubles, five RBIs and eight runs scored.

Of course, Hays has been raking almost anywhere he’s been slotted in Baltimore’s lineup. With a 2-for-4 showing Friday, the 27-year-old outfielder raised his batting average to a team-high .306, which ranks fourth among qualified American League hitters. He also hit a leadoff double in the fifth, coming around to score on Anthony Santander’s double that pushed the lead to 3-1.

But it was Hays’ first career leadoff home run -- the first by an Orioles player this season -- that set the tone for the night. He said he was ready to attack after Wells needed only 11 pitches to retire the Royals’ side in order in the top of the first.

“I felt like I was freed up to get after the first pitch if [Lynch] threw something over the middle, and [I] was able to get a barrel on it and hit it where it was a little more shallow down the line over there,” Hays said.

Shortly after the ball left Hays’ bat, he began backpedaling out of the box, knowing he likely got all of it. Then, he remembered he was at Camden Yards -- where the deep left-field wall has often tormented righty hitters since it was moved back at the beginning of the 2022 season -- and he started to run harder around the bases.

The ball cleared the shortest part of the fence with ease, though, tucking just inside the left-field foul pole for a 357-foot homer, per Statcast.

“I’ve also been in that situation before where you give up the first pitch of the game and it’s a homer,” Wells said. “It’s kind of one of those things where it’s like, ‘Ah, I feel for you,’ but at the same time, too, I’m happy it’s on my side.”

Wells helped ensure the Orioles’ early lead would stand for the rest of the night, as he turned in his fourth quality start of the year by allowing only two runs on five hits and a walk. The 28-year-old right-hander didn’t have his best stuff -- as evidenced by a 17% whiff percentage, per Statcast, that was well below his season average of 27.9% -- but he still struck out four and cruised through the middle innings.

Beginning with a punchout of MJ Melendez for the second out of the fourth, Wells retired 10 consecutive Kansas City batters, a run that carried him into the seventh for his third-longest start of the season.

“I didn’t think he had his best fastball,” Hyde said. “He got better as the game went on. The slider was good. He dumped some curveballs in, too, to get ahead in counts. Used the changeup when he needed it.”

Through 13 appearances (12 starts), Wells has a 3.24 ERA, an MLB-best 0.85 WHIP and a team-high 74 strikeouts over 75 innings.

“I think he’s just building confidence in himself every start,” Hays said. “He’s just growing right before all of us, and we all have just a ton of confidence in him every time he steps out there to do what he did tonight.”

More nights like this and Wells could be traveling to the All-Star Game in a little more than a month. Hays, with his consistently potent bat, just might be among those from Baltimore potentially joining him, too.