With the Orioles winning two out of three from Kansas City for their fourth series victory of the season, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Monday was the latest improbable win for a club trying to move past 2025, but you can’t make much of such comeback victories without stacking wins behind them, which the Orioles haven’t done. That said, winning a “get-right” series against a struggling opponent was a must, and they did that.
2. Wednesday’s sixth inning brought some of the best approaches of the season from the Orioles lineup as hitters shortened up and stayed on two-strike pitches multiple times. Of course, Coby Mayo’s home run that still hasn’t landed capped the six-run explosion. That sequence of at-bats was encouraging to see.
3. Mayo wasn’t the only struggling member of the young core to contribute in Kansas City as Samuel Basallo was Monday’s hero, Dylan Beavers collected two doubles Wednesday, and Colton Cowser had a pair of hits — one on an 0-2 changeup — in the finale. Baltimore needs more of this.
4. Entering Wednesday with their top relievers unavailable, the Orioles turned to Tyler Wells and Anthony Nunez for the final innings, and they were excellent. Good bullpens need at least four or five arms you can use in any situation, and this group is showing that potential thus far despite injuries.
5. Leody Taveras leads Baltimore regulars in batting average and on-base percentage, has more RBIs than Pete Alonso and Taylor Ward, and hit a grand slam in Monday’s extra-inning win. Especially considering Cowser’s immense struggles, this $2 million signing has been an absolute steal.
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6. The starting rotation entered Thursday ranking 20th in the majors in ERA (4.37) and 17th in wins above replacement, according to FanGraphs. The group has maintained a respectable floor by ranking 11th in innings pitched, but the Orioles are going to need better from these guys across the board.
7. This was a poor series for Gunnar Henderson between being picked off twice in Monday’s game and going 1-for-13 with six strikeouts. The early-season home runs have been a plus, but the 24-year-old is also striking out just over 30% of the time so far in 2026.
8. Speaking of strikeouts, the Orioles entered Thursday with the fourth-worst strikeout rate in the majors (24.8%) after finishing third worst (24.2%) last year. However, what has been encouraging is Baltimore walking in 10.9% of plate appearances, which is good enough for eighth in the majors.
9. After struggling mightily just to throw strikes in Tuesday’s loss, Ryan Helsley went on the bereavement/family medical emergency list on Wednesday. Whether that had anything to do with his performance or not, you hope for the best for him and his family.
10. Adley Rutschman returned from the injured list Tuesday to a pitching staff uncorking four wild pitches, which was far from ideal. However, his two-run homer in the eighth was hopefully a sign that his fast start at the plate won’t be disrupted by the brief IL stint.
11. The Orioles will brace for what the MRI on Jackson Holliday’s hand reveals, but that scene from Norfolk wasn’t pretty. Hamate surgery shouldn’t result in this many complications just returning to play, so you wonder if more is going on with his hand. Jeremiah Jackson becomes even more important now.
12. Despite unimpressive results, Andrew Kittredge has logged six rehab appearances at Norfolk. Keegan Akin has made four appearances for the Tides, and Dietrich Enns has pitched twice in rehab. In other words, Mike Elias has some interesting roster decisions to make with the bullpen in the near future.
