With the Orioles winning two out of three from San Francisco to move over .500 and into a first-place tie in the AL East by the end of the weekend, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. Losing as many players to injury as games played over the weekend was a potential nightmare eased by regrouping to take two out of three. Baltimore isn’t firing on all cylinders and probably won’t be for a while, but winning five of six is still an encouraging stretch.
2. Even before Zach Eflin’s injury, the rotation was always going to need depth arms to contribute over 162 games. Cade Povich tossed 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball to remind how competitive he can be with better command. His 17 swinging strikes were one shy of his career high.
3. It’s a shame a strong start by Adley Rutschman was halted by the ankle injury, but Craig Albernaz said Sunday’s MRI brought “really encouraging news” suggesting the catcher won’t be sidelined for very long. Dating back to last June, Rutschman has now had three injured list stints.
4. Rutschman’s absence puts a brighter spotlight on Samuel Basallo for the time being. Off to a slow start at the plate, the 21-year-old’s rocket into the Orioles bullpen Sunday reminds what kind of power upside he has. Veteran teammates and coaches are big believers in his talents.
"Sammy Basallo is going to be in this game a long time and put up really, really big numbers. Once Sammy settles in and takes a breath, you'll see the best of Sammy.”
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5. The first to acknowledge his ugly start, Pete Alonso overcame a 1-2 count to work a walk before Basallo’s homer and delivered a pivotal two-run double on an 0-2 pitch Sunday. It’ll be a long five years if you’re already worrying about someone with his track record after 15 games.
6. If there were any lingering doubts about Gunnar Henderson’s power returning after a challenging 2025 campaign, the star shortstop homering in four of five games entering Sunday takes care of that. Offense is down across baseball thus far, but you wouldn’t know it watching Henderson at the plate.
7. As someone who had major concerns about the bullpen even before the injuries to Andrew Kittredge and Keegan Akin, I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from Rico Garcia and Anthony Nunez bridging the gap to closer Ryan Helsley. It’s still early, of course, but the relief has been solid.
8. Jeremiah Jackson’s home run in Saturday’s win was the first by an Orioles hitter not named Henderson in 10 days. A .661 OPS isn’t anything special, but you’d gladly take Jackson’s production over what several other regulars have done — or haven’t done — thus far.
9. You hope the sharp single off a changeup Saturday is a sign of better things to come for Colton Cowser. As for Coby Mayo, it’s going to be tough to continue to play him regularly over the more defensive-minded Blaze Alexander if his bat doesn’t pick up quickly.
10. The Orioles couldn’t afford to have Chris Bassitt resemble Charlie Morton at the start of last season, so the improvement he showed Saturday was certainly a step in the right direction. Bassitt couldn’t quite get through five, but the command was much better from his first two starts.
11. Between the odd sequence of events leading to Tyler O’Neill going on on the concussion list and the freakish foot fracture for Ryan Mountcastle, it was a terrible weekend for two players who just can’t stay healthy. With Rutschman sidelined, both would have figured to see more DH at-bats.
12. Acknowledging my low opinion of City Connect uniforms in general, the new ones paying tribute to Camden Yards are fine. I’d prefer a creative spin on throwback uniforms like Atlanta has done twice now. The classic 1966 uniforms with “Charm City” in script instead of “Orioles” would look pretty sharp.
