Roughly 100 games remain in the 2026 regular season.
That’s a long time, especially considering the current state of the American League East and the rest of the league from top to bottom. Even first-place Tampa Bay has lost eight of its last 10, and the New York Yankees now face the prospects of being without all-world slugger Aaron Judge for much of the summer.
Nothing is decided.
Though the last two weeks have breathed life into a season that appeared to be going nowhere fast for the Orioles, a 9-4 stretch still doesn’t mean much without playing consistent baseball moving forward. After all, it was at this point last year that Baltimore came out of its disastrous first 50 games with wins in nine of its next 11, but a .500 pace from that point forward — 50-51, to be exact — still meant a lost summer, a sell-off at the trade deadline, and a last-place finish.
These Orioles obviously didn’t fall down the mountain as dramatically as they did last year, but a bad week or two would leave the season teetering once again.
Taking two of three at Fenway Park is exactly what a good team should do against a Boston club that’s already fired its manager and been terrible at home. In fact, the series began with a 4-2 victory Tuesday that felt as ordinary and routine as it gets, which is a good thing. Next up is a trip to Canada to take on Toronto, which will be the last opponent currently under .500 the Orioles will play until the last leg of a nine-game West Coast trip late this month.
In other words, there’s no time to exhale.
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That’s especially true for Baltimore’s rotation, which has led the recent surge with the AL’s best rotation ERA (2.58) over the last 15 games. Even struggling Opening Day starter Trevor Rogers joined the fun Thursday afternoon with 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball after being staked to a 6-0 first-inning lead against the Red Sox. While Rogers and Chris Bassitt — who’s now dealing with a bad back — have clearly lagged behind, the trio of Kyle Bradish, Shane Baz, and Brandon Young are currently giving the Orioles a great opportunity to win.
The game becomes so much easier when your starters are consistently affording you a chance.
Offensively, the Orioles still aren’t firing on all cylinders with shortstop Gunnar Henderson carrying a .274 on-base percentage and a sub-.700 on-base plus slugging percentage into the first weekend of June. But they entered Friday ranked fifth in the AL in runs scored per game (4.57) and sixth in OPS (.717) even without Henderson being the aircraft carrier everyone expected.
Since May 1, Pete Alonso has eight home runs and a .290/.343/.524 slash line and continues to save a shaky infield from throwing errors on a nightly basis. This is the player — and the leader — to which the organization committed a five-year, $155 million contract last December.
The Orioles have the best catching duo in baseball with Adley Rutschman’s career seemingly back on track and rookie Samuel Basallo leading the club with an .842 OPS. Jackson Holliday is healthy and showing promising signs with the bat. And though Coby Mayo and Colton Cowser are still depending much more on the platoon advantage for success than you’d like, their surging bats have made this offense much more formidable from top to bottom.
Still, there’s more meat on the bone for this offense beyond Henderson, and that’s a good thing.
You love Taylor Ward being a walk machine, but his leadoff double in Thursday’s win marked just his fourth extra-base hit since April 22. This is someone who hit 61 homers over his last two seasons in Anaheim. One hopes back-to-back three-hit days in Boston can be the start of Ward finding more of a happy medium between the on-base ability and slugging.
8Even if the recent rotation surge continues — and it clearly needs to — there are still deficiencies that remain difficult to ignore when sizing up this team’s long-term prospects.
Injured closer Ryan Helsley’s return can’t come soon enough for a bullpen that’s too often struggling to hold it together outside of sensational right-hander Rico Garcia. The good news is Helsley could be starting a rehab assignment as early as this coming week, but president of baseball operations Mike Elias adding to the bullpen before the trade deadline feels like a must for the Orioles’ playoff chances.
The defense has been better recently, but it’s still an obvious weakness for first-year manager Craig Albernaz’s club. Though Leody Taveras has been one of this club’s most surprising contributors, finding a defensive upgrade in center field to go with Cowser in right would go a long way in helping the pitching staff. And Mayo needs to continue hitting if he’s going to hold off Blaze Alexander manning third base against the majority of right-handed starters.
Yes, the Orioles are flawed, but so is the rest of the American League. That includes the two clubs at the top of the division suddenly dealing with their share of adversity.
While the last two weeks have shifted the primary focus from Elias’ job security to Baltimore trying to get back to .500 and beyond, the Orioles at least need to hold their own over the next two weeks. This is when they can really start solidifying their playoff contender status after not looking the part for most of the first two months.
The opportunity is there to make this recent success the norm rather than a pleasant surprise.
