SCROLL DOWN TO READ ARTICLE
BOSTON—Friday’s 19-5 loss to the Boston Red Sox was another awful display of baseball by the 2025 Orioles. They’ve now played 49 games (16-33), and Friday’s effort was all too familiar.
Let’s look at some of the lowlights:
April 20th Reds 24 Orioles 2
In the first 20 games of the season, the Orioles were a disappointing 9-11. That was actually a high-water mark for the team.
On Easter Sunday, the Orioles laid a giant egg, losing 24-2 to the Cincinnati Reds.
The game featured backup catcher Austin Wynns, who began his career in 2018 with the Orioles, getting six hits. The 34-year-old Wynns, who’s been with four teams since leaving the Orioles in 2021, had seven hits in 2024.
Two position players, infielder Jorge Mateo and catcher Gary Sánchez, pitched for the Orioles. Before Mateo pitched the eighth, the Orioles trailed by “just” 15-1.
Mateo allowed five runs in the eighth, and Sánchez four runs in the ninth.
The 24 runs allowed by the Orioles were the most since they lost 30-3 to the Texas Rangers on August 22nd, 2007.
It was the first time the Orioles used multiple position players to pitch since they lost 24-10 to Toronto on June 24th, 1978 when Larry Harlow and Elrod Hendricks pitched.
April 29th Yankees 15 Orioles 3
The Orioles signed 37-year-old right-hander Kyle Gibson to a one-year, $5.25 million contract on March 21st, knowing they could run short of starting pitching. Without a spring training, Gibson pitched in three minor league games and said he was ready for the majors. He wasn’t.
Gibson gave up home runs to the first three New York Yankees batters, and four of the first five. He allowed five home runs, and the Orioles had another humiliating loss.
He was given four starts, and after 29 hits in 12 1/3 innings and a 16.78 ERA, Gibson was released on Tuesday.
May 17th Brandon Hyde fired
The Orioles had a chance to win what turned out to be Hyde’s final game as manager. Hyde was baffled by a 4-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on May 16th, a game in which the Orioles left 15 runners on base and struck out 15 times.
There was a players’ meeting after the game. On Saturday, Hyde, who had managed the fourth-most games in Orioles history, behind only Earl Weaver, Buck Showalter and Paul Richards, was dismissed.
The decision was announced in a press release shortly after noon. It was accompanied by statements from executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias and owner David Rubenstein. In another misstep, Elias didn’t explain the decision that day, waiting until Tuesday in Milwaukee to address the press.
Elias had put himself into a bind by firing bench coach Fredi González and major league coach José Hernández and replacing them with first-time big league coaches Robinson Chirinos and Buck Britton. Elias didn’t feel either was ready to handle the scrutiny and instead he chose third base coach Tony Mansolino as interim manager.
Mansolino has lost five of his first six.
May 23rd Red Sox 19 Orioles 5
The Orioles actually led Friday’s game, 2-1, after 5 ½ innings. Heading into the bottom of the eighth, they were trailing, 6-3, but Cionel Pérez gave up five runs. Trailing by eight runs, Mansolino was able to summon a position player, infielder Emmanuel Rivera, to pitch.
Rivera gave up eight runs, and the 13-run inning was the second worst in team history. Eighteen Red Sox came to bat, and the Orioles were down, 19-3.
Not knowing the second game of the split-doubleheader would be rained out, Boston manager Alex Cora used infielder Abraham Toro to pitch the ninth. He gave up two runs and the Orioles had an unsightly 19-5 loss.
Note: Zach Eflin (3-2, 5.08) will start Saturday’s first game, which will begin at 1:05 p.m. The Orioles haven’t announced a starter for the second game, but it probably will be left-hander Trevor Rogers, who was set to start the postponed second game on Friday.
Beavers hurt: Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Dylan Beavers was placed on the 7-day injured list with a right shoulder sprain. Beavers, the sixth-ranked prospect by MLB Pipeline, injured the shoulder when he ran into the outfield wall on Thursday.
Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: [email protected].
