KANSAS CITY -- When Colton Cowser arrived at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday morning, the 24-year-old Orioles outfielder was still feeling immense remorse. He repeatedly made sure that Craig Kimbrel knew it was unintentional when he ¡°yeeted¡± the ball from the closer¡¯s milestone 422nd save into one of the ballpark¡¯s trademark fountains immediately after Saturday¡¯s game.

¡°I still feel terrible about what happened yesterday,¡± Cowser said. ¡°I¡¯ve apologized to Craig so much.¡±

Even though Cowser successfully located the ball -- and collected it from a ballpark employee who used a long net to scoop it out -- it was soaked after sinking to the bottom of the fountain. To make up for it, Cowser got a container of rice and put the ball inside of it, leaving it on the top shelf of the empty locker next to Kimbrel¡¯s to dry out.

Then, Cowser made up for it with his bat, too. He hit a third-inning leadoff homer in Baltimore¡¯s 5-0 series-clinching victory over Kansas City that -- fittingly enough -- landed in a fountain.

¡°We preferred him hitting one into the fountain instead of throwing one into the fountain,¡± manager Brandon Hyde said.

Cowser¡¯s blast traveled a Statcast-projected 430 feet and was the fifth homer of his 46-game big league career -- all of which have come over his past 10 contests.

After Cowser¡¯s latest home run, a Kauffman Stadium employee attempted to use a giant net to try to collect the ball from the fountain in right-center field. It was a case of d¨¦j¨¤ vu for Cowser, who watched as an employee scooped Kimbrel¡¯s ball out of a fountain in left-center less than 16 hours earlier.

It wasn¡¯t clear whether Cowser¡¯s homer ball Sunday was retrieved, but he hoped that it was not.

¡°Hopefully, they keep that one down there,¡± Cowser said. ¡°That one deserves to stay down there after what happened yesterday.¡±

Kimbrel, who was never mad at Cowser for Saturday¡¯s incident, didn¡¯t have any immediate plans for the ball that moved him into a tie with Billy Wagner for seventh on the AL/NL all-time saves list. Of course, it needed to dry first.

¡°There¡¯s a lot of water that needs to come out of there,¡± Kimbrel said with a grin. ¡°We¡¯ll see what happens.¡±

While the rice potentially worked its magic in the visiting clubhouse, Cowser helped the Orioles (14-7) go out and notch their sixth win in seven games. His homer off right-hander Seth Lugo continued his hot start to his rookie season, during which he¡¯s batting .373 (19-for-51) with a 1.195 OPS in 20 games.

It was immediately followed by a 433-foot blast from Jordan Westburg, who also has five home runs this season and is batting .333 (24-for-72) with a 1.031 OPS through 20 games.

¡°Those were loud, too,¡± Hyde said. ¡°Both are swinging the bat extremely well.¡±

The pair of third-inning solo homers were more than enough offensive support for Cole Irvin, who blanked the Royals for 6 2/3 innings. It was the 30-year-old left-hander¡¯s longest outing since Sept. 17, 2022, when he pitched seven frames for the A¡¯s at Houston.

¡°Cole was great, efficient, working counts,¡± Cowser said. ¡°Showed a lot of poise. Really happy for him and the start that he put together.¡±

Added Hyde: ¡°That¡¯s definitely the best start [Irvin¡¯s] had since we got him last year.¡±

Baltimore added two more runs in the sixth via Ryan Mountcastle¡¯s RBI double and Westburg¡¯s bases-loaded walk and another in the ninth on Ram¨®n Ur¨ªas¡¯ RBI infield single en route to its first shutout win of the year. It also marked the first time Kansas City had been shut out in 2024.

¡°Just a quality team game, felt like we did all the little things right today,¡± said Irvin, who worked around four hits and two walks while striking out a pair.

The Orioles have won five of their first seven series, and they have taken two of three from the Royals twice during that span. They played well throughout the three-game set in Kansas City.

However, this weekend¡¯s series will more so be remembered for Cowser¡¯s repeated fountain antics. He¡¯ll surely hear more about it from his teammates on the flight to Anaheim, where the O¡¯s open a three-game series vs. the Angels on Monday.

¡°It was kind of funny, I guess. I don¡¯t know,¡± Cowser said. ¡°I¡¯m not going to think it¡¯s crazy funny. But I put a good swing on it [Sunday], so pretty proud of myself there.¡±