BALTIMORE -- After Corbin Burnes and Grayson Rodriguez both had a stellar start to open Baltimore’s 2024 season, Tyler Wells was eager for his turn to get in on the action.

Burnes and Rodriguez each pitched six innings of one-run ball on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Burnes had 11 strikeouts in an historic team debut, while Rodriguez recorded a career-high-tying nine K’s.

“You look at those first two starts and you’re like, ‘Oh man, that’s pretty good,’” Wells said.

Although the Orioles couldn’t complete a season-opening sweep of the Angels -- falling, 4-1, in Sunday afternoon’s series finale at Camden Yards -- their rotation continued a strong beginning to the year. Wells recorded Baltimore’s third consecutive quality start, allowing four runs (three earned) and notching seven strikeouts over six innings.

With Burnes, Rodriguez and Wells combining for 27 strikeouts, the O’s have opened the season by having their first three starters each record seven-plus K’s for the first time in team history.

Kyle Bradish (right UCL sprain) and John Means (left forearm strain) may have opened the year on the injured list, but the Orioles’ rotation is in good hands, especially with the trio of Burnes, Rodriguez and Wells at the top of the staff.

“We have a quality rotation, and I think that it’s going to continue to show itself,” Wells said. “I think that it’s going to be a strong suit for the team this year.”

Wells hadn’t started a big league game since July 29. The 29-year-old right-hander had a tremendous first half last season, then dealt with fatigue in the second half, when he was sent to the Minors for rest before eventually joining Baltimore’s bullpen upon his return on Sept. 22.

The Angels pounced on Wells early on Sunday, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings. Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer in the opening frame, before the Halos pieced together a rally in the second and capitalized on a throwing error by James McCann that allowed a run to score.

Entering the third, Wells and McCann pivoted from their original game plan. The righty came out leaning heavily on his four-seam fastball, using it 15 times over his first 25 pitches. After that, Wells used it only 10 more times during his 82-pitch outing, mixing more from an arsenal that also includes a changeup (thrown 20 total times), cutter (16), curveball (13) and slider (nine).

Following Zach Neto’s one-out RBI single in the second, Wells retired the final 14 batters he faced, which included striking out the side (Mike Trout, Ward and Brandon Drury) in his sixth and final inning.

“They were aggressive on him early in the game and on time with his fastball. They were aggressive on him early in the count,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Then, he made a couple adjustments where they started mixing pitches a little bit more. He’s got a really good slider and a cutter and a changeup.”

Wells induced 16 whiffs -- four apiece with his four-seam fastball, changeup and cutter, three with his curveball and one with his slider.

In 43 previous big league starts, Wells had induced more whiffs in an outing only three times, all coming last May. He registered 18 in each of those appearances -- May 13 vs. the Pirates, May 18 vs. the Angels and May 29 vs. the Guardians.

Over his first two seasons as a starter (2022 and ‘23), Wells learned the importance of mid-start adjustments, an area in which he continues to grow.

“Whenever you have the two rough innings to start the game, your first thought is, ‘How am I going to continue to push later into the game?’” Wells said. “As a starter, my job is to give the team innings, and quality innings. Obviously, my mind immediately went there and was like, ‘All right, I need to figure this out real quick and I need to be able to go out there and give my team a chance to win.’”

Wells did that, but the Orioles’ bats went quiet after a hot start to the year. Their only run came on a Gunnar Henderson bases-loaded walk in the second, and they finished with three hits.

Baltimore began the season with 24 runs over its first two games to notch a series win.

“That’s baseball, though, right? Just because you have two really good games offensively doesn’t mean that you’re going to have three,” McCann said. “Just like if you have two really bad offensive games, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be another bad one.

“That’s the beauty of 162 games, is you’re going to have your ups, you’re going to have your downs -- as an individual and as a team -- and today, we just didn’t click.”