BALTIMORE -- John Means hasn’t just been waiting to pitch in the postseason since he was a rookie for the Orioles in 2019. The 30-year-old left-hander has been waiting his whole life.

“You dream of it as a little kid,” Means said. “I can’t wait to see the crowds here at Camden Yards. It’s going to be so cool, and I’m just looking forward to it.”

Means, who underwent Tommy John surgery in April 2022, made only four regular-season starts this year, all coming in September. But it’s clear that he is ready to contribute during Baltimore’s first trip to the postseason since ‘16.

In the Orioles’ 3-0 loss to the Red Sox on Friday night, Means delivered another strong outing. He tossed 6 1/3 quality innings, allowing only two runs on a homer by Trevor Story in the fifth.

• Games remaining (2): vs. BOS (2)
• Standings update: The Orioles (100-60) have clinched the AL East title and the No. 1 seed in the AL. They receive a bye for the best-of-three Wild Card Series and advance directly to the best-of-five Division Series, which will begin on Oct. 7 at Camden Yards. Baltimore will play the winner of the Wild Card Series between No. 4 Tampa Bay and the No. 5 seed (Toronto, Texas, Houston or Seattle).

Baltimore, which clinched the American League East title and the AL’s No. 1 seed the previous night, had only three hits while getting shut out for the ninth time this season. So in a game for which the result wasn’t important, the biggest takeaway was another great performance by Means.

After taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his previous outing at Cleveland last Saturday, Means retired the first 13 Boston batters he faced on Friday. That run ended with a one-out double by Rob Refsnyder in the fifth, which was immediately followed by Story’s homer.

It was the second straight outing in which all the damage against Means came on one swing. He yielded only one hit (an Andrés Giménez homer) while allowing one run over 7 1/3 innings in Saturday’s 2-1 win over the Guardians.

Each of the past two home runs surrendered by Means were mislocated changeups.

“I feel like the command is there,” Means said. “I made a mistake tonight and a mistake last time, but other than that, I feel like 99 percent of my pitches are right where I want them.”

Manager Brandon Hyde was again impressed by Means’ two primary pitches, the tandem of offerings that helped make him the Orioles’ best starter from 2019-21.

“He had a really good changeup again, and I thought he located his fastball well,” Hyde said.

Means threw 37 four-seam fastballs and 27 changeups against the Red Sox, inducing 10 of his 11 whiffs on those two pitches, per Statcast. Means’ heater averaged 91.7 mph, which was right on par with his first three outings of the season.

Although Means hasn’t had the best command of his breaking pitches (his curveball and slider), he feels those offerings have been “good enough.” And if he can sharpen them up between now and the start of the postseason, it could make him even more difficult to hit come October.

As for when Means will make his postseason debut, that has yet to be determined. It’s not even a guarantee he’ll make a start, as the O’s have five solid starting options (Kyle Bradish, Grayson Rodriguez, Dean Kremer, Kyle Gibson and Means), so one or two are likely to be moved into the bullpen.

Means has made a good case to start, though. It wouldn’t be surprising if Bradish and Rodriguez take Games 1 and 2 (set for Oct. 7 and 8 at Camden Yards), then Means takes the mound for Game 3 on Oct. 10 at a location that will be determined when Baltimore learns its opponent following the AL Wild Card Series.

No matter how Means is used -- or when he pitches -- he’s eager to get his first taste of October baseball, which has been a long time coming.

“I can’t wait,” Means said with a smile. “It should be a fun time.”