With the Orioles clobbering Toronto in a 12-2 final to begin the 2025 season on a high note and improve their all-time Opening Day record to 47-25, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. How do you quell major concerns about your pitching staff? Hit a club-record six Opening Day home runs to give your pitchers plenty of cushion to open the season. It won’t be that easy every night, of course, but there’s no excuse for this team not to hit in 2025.
2. Homering on six straight Opening Days is one of the crazier records you’ll find, but Tyler O’Neill reaching base all five times ranks up there with the best Orioles debuts we’ve seen. There’s no denying his ability if he can find a way to stay on the field.
3. There was no shortage of heroes, but Adley Rutschman homering twice on the heels of his awful 2024 second half that included only three homers was easily the most encouraging development of the day. There was no doubt about either one of those long balls either.
4. Rutschman has gone 10-for-14 with three homers, two walks, and nine RBIs in three career season openers. He’s also 15-for-26 with four homers against Blue Jays starter Jose Berrios. It was the perfect combination to start putting 2024 behind him.
5. Cedric Mullins is the last man standing from the rebuild-era outfield and now entering a contract year, so you have to feel good about his two-homer day with the latter busting the game wide open. He’s in line to have another solid season if he doesn’t face too many lefties.
6. Zach Eflin gave Baltimore exactly what it needed with six innings of two-run ball that included only two hits allowed. He didn’t miss many bats after the first couple innings and survived some harder contact the second time through the order, but he mixed six different pitches effectively.
7. Eflin became the 44th different Opening Day starter in Orioles history and the second major league pitcher since 1939 to start back-to-back season openers against the same opponent for two different teams. He fared much better than he usually has against the Blue Jays.
8. Based on fielding metrics available in the public space, you’d question continuing to play Ramon Urias at third base and Jordan Westburg at second rather than the other way around, but the infield defense was sharp as they turned a pair of 5-4-3 double plays.
9. Seranthony Dominguez began warming up before Mullins’ three-run homer pushed the lead to 9-2, and the right-hander entered to walk two and allow a single in the seventh. He escaped unscathed, but issuing free passes isn’t what you’re looking for with that kind of advantage, especially after a poor spring.
10. There was plenty of fanfare for Anthony Santander as the Blue Jays even recognized his 2024 Silver Slugger Award — with the Orioles — before the game, but he went 0-for-4 while watching his old teammates have all the fun. We’ll be keeping score on him and O’Neill all year.
11. The Orioles scored 12 runs, homered six times, collected 14 hits, and showed good plate discipline by walking five times. And they did it while superstar Gunnar Henderson was preparing to begin a rehab assignment at Triple-A Norfolk. Not too shabby.
12. Baltimore didn’t need two full innings at Rogers Centre to exceed its total run output from last October’s Wild Card Series sweep. Too soon?
