BALTIMORE -- After 14 games, the Orioles are essentially three turns through their starting rotation. Every starter has pitched three times, except for Cole Irvin, who was pushed back a day in Boston earlier this week to allow ace Corbin Burnes to avoid pitching on seven days’ rest.

Burnes will take the mound for the fourth time on Sunday, and he’ll look to serve as the stopper.

Baltimore dropped its second straight game to Milwaukee on Saturday, as right-hander Dean Kremer allowed eight runs (six earned) over four innings in an 11-5 loss at Camden Yards.

So far, Burnes (1.93 ERA, 20 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings) and Grayson Rodriguez (2.50 ERA, 21 strikeouts in 18 innings) have been electric. But Tyler Wells (5.87 ERA in 15 1/3 innings) and Irvin (8.10 ERA in 10 innings) have struggled.

Kremer has been inconsistent, much like he was last season when he had allowed one earned run or fewer in 13 starts and four earned runs or more in nine starts. His tough outing on Saturday came after yielding only one unearned run in seven innings at Pittsburgh last Sunday.

“I didn’t command the glove side as well as I have been in the last two outings, and everything was kind of leaking armside,” Kremer said. “They put some good swings on it.”

Added manager Brandon Hyde: “He wasn’t as sharp as he was the last few starts.”

The Orioles’ rotation ERA stands at 4.25, but there’s potential for that to improve as the season progresses. Let’s break down the outlook of the team’s staff.

Short term
Burnes will take the mound against his former team on Sunday hoping to prevent Baltimore from getting swept in the regular season for the first time since May 13-15, 2022, at Detroit. The O’s streak of 95 consecutive multi-game regular-season series without a sweep is the third-longest in AL/NL history, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

When Burnes faces the Brewers for the first time, does he feel he’ll have an advantage because he knows their hitters so well?

“I would say I have an advantage over every lineup,” Burnes said. “I know I put in plenty of homework, I put in plenty of time in between starts to have a plan to go out there and get outs. I would say I've got the leg up on anyone I face.”

The Orioles will be glad to have their ace -- acquired in a Feb. 1 trade with the Crew -- on the mound to help get the rotation on track after Kremer’s Saturday outing and a tough start for Wells on Friday (four runs allowed in four innings).

“Hoping that we get a really good start out of [Burnes],” Hyde said. “He’s been wonderful for us so far.”

Long term
It may not be long before Kyle Bradish (right UCL sprain) and John Means (left forearm strain) give Baltimore’s rotation some needed reinforcement.

Means has made three starts for Triple-A Norfolk on a rehab assignment that general manager Mike Elias said Saturday is “chugging along.” The 30-year-old left-hander will have another outing during the upcoming week, and he’ll be ready to return in late April or early May.

Bradish has been throwing live batting practice and bullpen sessions and will begin a rehab assignment during the upcoming week (likely with Double-A Bowie). If the 27-year-old righty can pitch anything like he did last year -- when he recorded a 2.83 ERA in 30 starts and finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting -- it would be a huge boost for the O’s.

In the meantime, pitchers such as Wells and Irvin will look for better results in attempts to maintain their spots in Baltimore’s rotation.

“I'm going to go out there and continue to do my job and do my job well. It's always my goal,” Wells said. “I didn’t give the team a chance to win [Friday], and that really pisses me off.”

Longer term
Maybe it’s not too early to already start thinking about the July 30 Trade Deadline.

Burnes and Rodriguez would be dangerous atop the rotation in a postseason series, but the Orioles will need one or two more starters to make a deep run. Maybe they won’t have to make a move because arms will emerge from the group of Bradish, Means, Kremer, Wells and Irvin.

However, as Elias discussed the team’s 8-6 start on Saturday, he was looking ahead -- albeit only a little bit.

“If the team continues to play well and continues to be in a playoff position, I’m certain that everyone involved -- from my office on up -- will be looking for opportunities to add at the Deadline if there’s deals that make sense,” Elias said. “But we’re a long way from there, and we’ll take it as it comes.”