Fifty games in, the season isn’t over for the Orioles.
But it’s sure feeling like it.
As if a 21-29 record and a minus-59 run differential entering Memorial Day weekend weren’t discouraging enough, the Orioles are 12-22 since that April 13 comeback win over Arizona that lifted them two games above .500. What felt like a potentially galvanizing victory from six runs down on the night new manager Craig Albernaz was struck in the face by a Jeremiah Jackson line drive into the dugout was instead the high-water mark of the season.
Unless the Orioles start doing something about it — and fast.
The math already isn’t working in Baltimore’s favor from a historical context, but it isn’t quite as dire as last year’s disastrous 16-34 start through 50 games that definitively sunk the season before June. The current state of the American League leaves the door cracked — at least for now — with the Orioles entering Friday 3 1/2 games back from the final wild-card spot. To be clear, that’s not justification for a reprieve on the criticism for president of baseball operations Mike Elias and calls for wholesale changes, but there will be plenty of time for all that with four months of the baseball season still remaining.
If the Orioles have any fight — from top to bottom — to try to make something of a 2026 campaign that’s already sinking, they have to start showing it on this season-long 10-game homestand that includes two other struggling opponents and a rematch with first-place Tampa Bay. Of course, putting up a fight would require Baltimore to do something extreme like win consecutive series or three straight games for the first time since mid-April.
Nobody’s telling you to hold your breath here.
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A loser of six straight and 14 of 16 to to plummet to last place in the AL Central, Detroit is arguably even more injured and disappointing than Baltimore, and the Tigers are coming off back-to-back playoff appearances. That said, the Tigers are looking at the last-place Orioles as their own opportunity to stop the bleeding and get back on track.
After being swept at Tampa Bay in such deflating fashion earlier this week, can the Orioles find a way to win a home series against the Rays like they managed to do recently against the Yankees at Camden Yards in the wake of a humiliating four-game sweep in the Bronx?
And finally, Toronto will come to town for four games next weekend still trying to overcome a World Series hangover that’s left the Blue Jays under .500 since early April.
A 7-3 homestand would put this team four games under .500 with four months to play, which would at least be a pulse. But the Orioles obviously need to start playing much better than the club they’ve been for the better part of two months now. The word “inconsistent” has been uttered too often as a euphemism for being just plain bad since mid-April.
Since their last three-game winning streak from April 11-13, the Orioles have played like a 105-loss club. In other words, nobody wants to hear about how talented they are or how they’ve shown they can play with anyone after managing to win a game or two, which just reeks of complacency.
Is Gunnar Henderson going to start looking like Gunnar Henderson again for more than a game or two at a time? Even the biggest stars need to make adjustments.
Can Pete Alonso be more like the slugger who can carry an offense for a couple weeks at a time? Yes, his strong defense at first base has been a pleasant surprise, but his production at the plate has been more like what you might have expected to see on the back half of his five-year, $155 million contract.
8Kyle Bradish has looked much more like the high-end starter he’s capable of being in recent starts, and we’ve seen a better version of Shane Baz over his last two outings. The struggling Trevor Rogers and Chris Bassitt at least pitching above replacement level moving forward would help a starting rotation currently last in the AL in ERA and ease some pressure on a bullpen that’s faltering more and more lately with closer Ryan Helsley still on the injured list.
Can any other members of a once-vaunted young core emerge in the way Samuel Basallo has in his first full season in the majors? Jackson Holliday is finally back, and the organization seemingly isn’t giving up on Coby Mayo, who’s at least swinging the bat better of late.
As former manager Buck Showalter would bluntly say during times of adversity, play better.
This team needs to pitch better, hit better, and field better to turn this around.
Will all of that come to fruition?
Probably not, which is why a flawed roster is already in this position that goes beyond the injuries that haven’t relented for a couple years now. If the next 10 days bring much of the same lackluster play, then the season truly is toast and the need for wholesale changes will be the main topic of discussion in the weeks and months to come.
This homestand already feels like it could be the last stand for the 2026 Orioles, which is quite a place to be before Memorial Day for a second straight season.
