BALTIMORE -- With a gaggle of reporters and TV cameras in front of Craig Kimbrel’s locker in the Orioles’ clubhouse on Friday afternoon, the 35-year-old stated his expectation of remaining the team’s closer despite his recent struggles. After all, manager Brandon Hyde said following Wednesday’s win at Washington that he’d be sticking with the 15-year big league veteran.

“I expect to get the ball,” Kimbrel said, “and until that changes, and until I pitch my way out of that, I expect to go out there and close out the games every opportunity we get.”

A few hours later, that changed -- at least for one night.

Hyde navigated the final innings of Friday’s 4-2 series-opening win over the D-backs at Camden Yards a bit differently than he would have up to this point. Instead of waiting to use Kimbrel in a potential save situation in the ninth, the right-hander entered in the seventh and looked to protect a 3-2 lead against the 8-9-1 hitters in Arizona’s lineup.

Kimbrel worked a 1-2-3 frame, setting down Blaze Alexander, Kevin Newman and Ketel Marte in order. Then, right-hander Jacob Webb and left-hander Cionel Pérez combined to pitch a scoreless eighth, before righty Yennier Cano earned the save in the ninth by pitching around Gabriel Moreno’s leadoff double in a scoreless inning.

“I just wanted to give [Kimbrel] a little bit of a different look, and I thought he threw the ball really, really well,” Hyde said. “I didn’t really have a plan after that, except for a few guys I wanted to use there.”

This wasn’t the first time Baltimore matched up rather than used a traditional set closer in Hyde’s tenure. It did so late last year after All-Star closer Félix Bautista sustained a partial right UCL tear on Aug. 25.

This may not be the last time, either. The O’s could continue to match up relievers in particular spots instead of waiting for the ninth to exclusively use Kimbrel, who signed with the club in the offseason to serve as a 2024 fill-in for Bautista (out for the year after undergoing Tommy John surgery).

The Orioles (an American League-best 25-12) will do whatever it takes to continue to win.

“It’s a day-to-day thing for me right now,” Hyde said of his bullpen usage. “I’m just trying to set all these guys up for success the best I possibly can.”

Kimbrel thrived early this season, recording a 0.82 ERA and going 7-for-8 on save opportunities through 11 outings. However, he allowed six earned runs in 2 1/3 innings (a 23.14 ERA) over six appearances spanning April 26 to this past Wednesday, a stretch that featured a bout with upper back tightness, two blown saves and two additional save opportunities that resulted in holds because other members of the bullpen had to come to the rescue.

Shortly after Kimbrel arrived at the ballpark on Friday, he made it clear that he knows his performance needs to improve.

“Let’s make it simple -- I’ve got to be better,” Kimbrel said before the game. “I’m not going to sit here and talk about what I was doing wrong. It was wrong. I gave up runs, I walked guys, I asked our bullpen to come in to get us out of tight situations, which they did a couple of those times and they really saved the game.

“I set us up to lose on those days.”

Kimbrel set up his teammates to win on Friday, though -- teammates who haven’t lost faith in a potential future Hall of Famer whose 425 saves are tied for fifth on the AL/NL all-time list.

“There’s been no confidence lost,” said left-hander Cole Irvin, who allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings to earn a win for the fourth straight start. “He’s one of the best in the game, and there’s no doubt about that.”

“All of us as a whole, as a group, we have all the confidence in the world in him,” Cano said via team interpreter Brandon Quinones.

Cano, an All-Star setup man during his 2023 rookie campaign, earned his second save of the year and the 10th of his MLB career. The 30-year-old has typically struggled more in the ninth (a 5.79 ERA in 28 innings entering Friday) than the seventh (2.37 ERA in 19 innings) and eighth (1.99 ERA in 49 2/3 innings).

This time, though, Cano sealed a victory by getting Marte to ground out back to the mound, stranding a D-backs runner on third to end the game.

“What I’ve tried to learn from last year is approach it as any other inning,” Cano said. “Same thing if it was the seventh or the eighth, doesn’t matter. I’m just going to go out there and do my job.”

As will the rest of the Orioles’ bullpen, whenever they’re called upon.