With the Orioles losing two of three games in Arizona to drop to 5-8 on the 2025 season, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. The Orioles aren’t panicking and shouldn’t be after 13 games, but there’s no room for complacency either after last year’s second half. This club hasn’t looked particularly good across the board and hasn’t won back-to-back games, let alone a series. The vibes aren’t great, and some urgency is in order.
2. Baltimore’s strength is supposed to be offense, but it ranks 15th in the majors in runs per game. The Orioles have averaged 3.58 runs per game since Opening Day and scored three or fewer seven times. They’re going nowhere if they don’t hit at a high level much more consistently.
3. Statcast ranks the Orioles fifth in the majors in hard-contact percentage, so there’s been tough luck in a small sample. As others have noted, their pull percentage is down, which may help explain two homers over the last 10 games. Still, feast-or-famine hitting was an all-too-familiar theme from last year.
4. Yes, a starting rotation that was suspect at best is now a disaster with Zach Eflin joining Grayson Rodriguez and six other Baltimore pitchers on the injured list. That said, one has to believe Charlie Morton and Dean Kremer aren’t going to continue sporting ERAs above 8.00, right? Right?
5. Morton walked five and hit a batter in Tuesday’s loss. You’d point to his strikeout rate as a reason for optimism, but the 41-year-old has missed his spots badly at pivotal moments. The curveball that’s been his best pitch for a long, long time just hasn’t been there consistently.
6. Despite my disdain for much modern sports discourse giving players all credit for success and coaches all blame for failure, this club’s sloppy defense and baserunning haven’t reflected well on Brandon Hyde and his staff coming out of spring. Given their rotation, the Orioles must do the little things well.
7. Cedric Mullins has been Baltimore’s best player and is even more valuable to the outfield defense without Colton Cowser. You’d prefer giving Mullins occasional days off against tough lefty starters and to keep him fresh and healthy, but that’s easier said than done with the alternatives for center field.
8. You hoped Monday was a sign of Gunnar Henderson settling in, but he finished the Arizona series 1-for-9 to drop his slash line to .160/.192/.200. As long as he’s healthy, there’s no reason for concern, especially after seeing Boston’s Rafael Devers struggle mightily after missing much of spring.
9. Heston Kjerstad has produced a couple timely hits, but his bat has looked sluggish as he’s struggled to pull the ball with any authority, instead producing lots of soft opposite-field contact and a .241 slugging percentage. The former second overall pick needs to hit for power to be an asset.
10. While ranking last in the majors in starter ERA (5.79), Baltimore entered Thursday fourth in the AL in bullpen ERA (3.35). There haven’t been a ton of high-leverage situations with the Orioles still waiting to record their first save, but the group has held up quite well overall.
11. The exception is Cionel Perez, who’s already allowed as many earned runs (nine) as he did over the entire 2022 season. He’s also walked eight in five innings. Meanwhile, Danny Coulombe — whose $4 million option was declined by Mike Elias — has tossed 4 2/3 scoreless innings for Minnesota.
12. Given the current rotation injuries, expecting much more than staying afloat right now is easier said than done even if the offense awakens, but no AL East team getting off to a blazing start helps. With a nine-game homestand, you’d really hope the Orioles can start feeling better about themselves.
