Good morning Birdland,
The Orioles came into this stretch of games with a chance to make their case as a team deserving of a spot in the AL playoffs. Instead, they have floundered, losing two of three to the Rangers and now the first game of a crucial series with the Twins .
It was made worse by the fact that Dean Kremer was the opposing pitching. Yes, the very same Kremer that the Orioles sent to Triple-A to begin the year, and then dealt him away just a couple of weeks ago to these Twins. Of course he had his best start of the season (seven innings, one hit, one run, one walk, seven strikeouts) against his former club.
Although it may not have really mattered who pitched for the Twins because the Orioles staff had a tough day themselves. Trevor Rogers battled for four innings. Rico Garcia was lit up yet again. Grant Wolfram was up and down. It was a mess.
On offense the Orioles did end up scoring five runs, but four of them came after the game was already out of reach. They still count. They just didn't matter. And it's tough to give them much credit for coming alive after the point in which many of us probably turned the TV off.
That said, Coby Mayo had two hits and three of the team's RBI. His OPS is up to .719 on the year, and he has pulled up to league average with a 100 OPS+. Jackson Holliday had two more hits. His OPS is up to .749 with a 113 OPS+. Can they continue to trend upward and bring this progress into 2027? Fingers crossed.
Links
Orioles minor league report: Mike Elias' farm system looks nothing like the rebuild | The Baltimore Sun There has been a much bigger focus on pitching the last couple of years. Perhaps this is progress from Mike Elias? Or maybe it's just the way the draft board has fallen to him recently.
This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko Included are some quotes from Craig Albernaz about Gunnar Henderson. In short, the team is going to keep sending him out there and simply hope for better results. Eh. I'm fine with Henderson starting everyday. It's not like they have any other great choices at shortstop anyway. But does he need to be in the upper third of the batting order? Just move him down for a bit. It's not that big of a deal! He knows he's struggling. It shouldn't be a surprise to him to hit, like, sixth for a week or two. Banging your head against the wall seems worse.
The Orioles' leadoff crisis: Outs and lost momentum | The Baltimore Banner The Orioles have struggled to find a consistent lead off hitter since Brian Roberts started to have injury issues. That was a long time ago. Even the Buck Showalter-era O's cycled through top of the order options at a prodigious pace. The current Orioles probably want Holliday to be the guy, but he's also one of the few guys getting hits, so he is in the middle of the order for now. The lineup just doesn't make much sense at the moment.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
Dylan Beaversturns 25 today. The former first-round pick debuted in the big leagues last August. He did well down the stretch in 2025, but has struggled a bit more this year.
Colby Rasmusis 40 years old. He played in 18 games for the Orioles in 2018 before deciding to step away from the sport. He had done the same in the prior season with the Rays. This time it was final. Rasmus never appeared in another big league game.
Kurt Birkinsturns 46. He tossed 65.1 total innings for the Orioles between 2006 and '07.
John Mitchellis 61 years old. He was a swingman of sorts for the Orioles in 1990, starting 17 times and working out of the bullpen seven times while compiling a 4.64 ERA.
Dorn Taylorturns 68. He appeared in four games for the 1990 O's.
This day in O's history
1966– Frank Robinson makes a game-saving catch, stealing an 11th-inning home run away from Clete Boyer to preserve a 6-5 win for the Orioles.
1993– The Orioles give up a grand slam to Tigers outfielder Dan Gladden as part of a 15-5 loss. Gladden also hit a grand slam in prior day's game against the Orioles, becoming the 14th player in major league history with a four-RBI homer in consecutive games.
