When manager Craig Albernaz was asked what stood out about the Orioles’ 7-3 homestand, I thought he might start with Saturday’s stunning five-run, ninth-inning rally for a 6-5 walkoff win against the Blue Jays a day after the Orioles had blown a 5-0 lead and lost by the same score.
Or Memorial Day’s 13-inning battle against the Tampa Bay Rays in which the Orioles kept having to rally before Colton Cowser ended the drama with his second walkoff home run in two days.
Or last Sunday’s game-winning three-run homer by Cowser with two outs and two strikes in the ninth that touched off Walkoff Week for the Orioles.
But Albernaz took a step back to see the bigger picture and what it might mean to the Orioles as June begins. He started slowly but got to the point he wanted to make.
“Boys played well, they competed, great at-bats,” said Albernaz, whose hitters drew 11 walks on Saturday. “Defense was awesome. Baserunning.
“It was just, we were playing the baseball that we’re capable of. Just all the work that these guys have been putting in relentlessly every day, we’re starting to see the rewards now, and against some really good teams. It’s been fun to watch. Especially with the starting pitching. The starting pitching has really taken a step forward and it’s been awesome.”
On Sunday, Kyle Bradish allowed only an unearned run in seven innings in a 9-5 win over the Blue Jays that ended a homestand that was veering in the wrong direction until Saturday’s improbable comeback. The 29-year-old right-hander has allowed three or fewer runs in five consecutive outings — six earned runs over 31 1/3 innings — for a 1.72 ERA. He’s showing the talent that was evident before Tommy John surgery interrupted his progression.
He’s now leading the charge of a starting rotation that has allowed 18 earned runs in 68 innings in the last 12 games for a 2.38 ERA. It’s a group that veteran pitcher Chris Bassitt thought needed some candid criticism earlier this season when he accused them of being “too cute” on the mound.
“I feel like as a whole, starting staff, we felt like we were putting our team kind of in a hole to start the games and not pitching to what we were capable of,” Bradish said after Sunday’s performance. “We’ve had some conversations about it, about just attacking hitters and putting them on their heels. I think you see that from every guy. There’s a lot more confidence out there and a lot more challenging hitters and filling up the strike zone.”
After the Orioles lost three games to Tampa Bay before returning home, they were 21-29 and weren’t showing signs of a team that might put it together. They appeared to be on their way to a loss to the Tigers in the first game of a split doubleheader before Cowser rescued them with his walkoff homer. They didn’t carry over momentum to the second game, falling flat, 4-1.
Then came their heavyweight bout against Tampa Bay on Monday when they tied the Rays in the last of the 12th on a Cowser headfirst slide at the plate, fell behind 7-5 in the 13th, tied it at 7 and won it on another Cowser homer.
Riding high after the Rays’ series, they lost 2-1 to the Blue Jays, a setback marked by Pete Alonso’s baserunning gaffe in the eighth when he got picked off first with the tying run at second, and Friday’s gut punch when struggling starter Trevor Rogers shut out Toronto for six innings before giving up a pair of two-run homers in the seventh as a 5-0 lead evaporated in a 6-5 loss.
Saturday’s game was headed in the same direction, with Toronto taking a 5-1 lead into the ninth. But as the Orioles demonstrated with their earlier walkoff wins, this team is hard to count out, or to give up on. As tempting as it might be for some of us who keep seeing 2025’s disaster.
After a day off on Monday, the 28-32 Orioles will play last-place Boston, which they lead by two games, and third-place Toronto, which they trail by one game.
Their starting pitching appears to be forming the foundation for optimism. They have a red-hot Colton Cowser, who also enhances their outfield defense. They have Jackson Holliday back, and they have one of the best young players in baseball in 21-year-old Samuel Basallo.
They also appear to have grit and a chemistry that is building. Albernaz, who acknowledged he left Rogers in too long in Friday night’s loss, seems to be clear-headed about what he’s seeing. “It was just, we were playing the baseball that we’re capable of.”
The Orioles and their fans, who were celebrating Orioles Magic during the homestand, will be watching to see if he’s right on the road trips to Boston and Toronto.