Birds Take 2 of 3 From The Yankees; Thoughts Through The First Quarter Of The Season

The Orioles started May by being roughed up over four games in the Bronx. The Yankees swept those four games, outscoring the O’s 39-10.

The second 2026 series between these clubs concluded this afternoon, with the Birds taking 2 of 3 from the Bronx Bombers here in Baltimore.

With the win, the O’s improved to 20-24 on the season,
Baltimore is in 3rd place in the AL East, 9.5 games back of division leading Tampa Bay.
The O’s are 12-12 at home, and are currently 1.5 GB of the 3rd Wild Card in the American League.

With 44 games in the books, just over (27%) one-fourth of the season has been played.

Some Positives Do Exist

Today was win number 2 on the season for Kyle Bradish.
The RH was coming off 7 quality innings vs. the Athletics, and despite 3 more walks – was excellent again today with 6 innings of 1 hit ball.

Bradish finding his form is probably the leading reason to believe the O’s can get going and begin to look more formidable overall.
If he’s high-quality the rest of the way, that’s a significant lift to the roster as a whole.

Bradish’s battery-mate today was Adley Rutschman, who contributed with his 6 homer of the ’26 campaign.
Rutschman is now slashing .291 / .339 / .553. This is his best sustained offensive stretch in years now.

In ’24 and ’25, Rutschman had 37 doubles in 893 ab’s.
He has 9 in 103 ab’s here in ’26.

He’s got a Hard Hit rate of 44.0% vs. 38% for his career.
His bat speed is 71, a mile higher than last year, and two miles higher than ’24.

Line Drive % is 22.6% vs. 17.2 % last year.
His Pull % last year was 42.7%, right now it’s 36.9%.
Balls hit to Center last year was 33.7%, right now it’s 40.5%.

Very encouraging production from Adley.

The third thing I’d point to is Samuel Basallo.
The 21 year old has an .817 OPS
That’s outstanding factoring in his age.
I was concerned early on that his offensive approach was going to be limited to him trying to drive every pitch 500 feet to right.
But that’s not the case.  We’ve seen real adjustments from him, including a willingness to use the field.
The ball off his bat is something else.
He’s quickly making the transition from talented young guy who occasionally contributes and adds depth to the lineup to key cog you are relying on now.

Rico Garcia & Brandon Young

Where would the O’s be without these two?

Garcia has allowed 1 hit in 19 innings. He’s got 22 k’s.  He’s been filthy, and reliably excellent.

Brandon Young has made 5 starts, and 4 of them have been useful.  What I really like is that after a tough outing vs. Houston to end April, he’s had back-to-back very competitive outings vs. Miami and the Yankees here in May. The Baseball Savant page isn’t going to wow anyone right now, but he’s giving the O’s a chance when he takes the mound.

Explain Jackson Holliday Getting Time At 3rd Base To Me Like I’m 5

Recovering from his hamate bone surgery, Holliday is back in the Minors on a rehab assignment and getting some time at 3rd.

I don’t get it.

I understand (and love) position versatility.  It has real value.

But you weren’t preparing Holliday for reps at 3rd over the Winter.

He got hurt, and had the surgery.
He needs to show he can stay in the lineup, and not continue to have pain.

He had some extended time in the Majors in ’24, and had his first full season in the Majors in ’25.
There was offensive improvement year-over-year, but there was still plenty of room for growth with Holliday – offensively, defensively, base running – when ’25 ended.

When he rejoins the Major League roster, the O’s need him to show further offensive development.
I don’t like giving him something else to think about.

Of Course Holliday Getting Reps At 3rd Is Related To Jordan Westburg

We seem to be getting closer to notification that Westburg will have surgery to repair a slightly torn ulnar collateral ligament.
That’s unfortunate, and it limits the ceiling of this roster.

If Westburg isn’t going to be able to return here in ’26, Holliday getting time at 3rd gives the O’s another option.

Despite the 3 run homer Monday, and a couple of hits today – Coby Mayo is still batting under .200.
Despite 3 hits today, Blaze Alexander still has an on-base % under .300, and a slugging % of just .289.

In that sense, I get the idea of giving Holliday reps at the hot-corner.

Still, if Holliday is going to add value to this ’26 roster, it’s going to come from him helping offensively and being more consistent there.
I think asking Holliday to worry about another new position, would only negatively impact his chances of helping this team with his bat.

Mayo, Alexander, and Jeremiah Jackson give you enough options for 3rd base, that I dislike the thought-process of giving Holliday time at 3rd now.

Speaking Of Questionable Decisions

Trevor Rogers was activated from the IL yesterday.  He had missed time with the flu, and had not pitched since April 25th where he lasted 1.2 innings against Boston.
Asking Rogers to make his first start back vs. the Yankees felt like a tall ask.
Not surprisingly, he went just 4 innings, allowing 6 er, 2 homers, with 3 bb’s, and 3 k’s.

The O’s were hoping they’d get the good Rogers, and admittedly they didn’t have a lot of options.
But I don’t think they put Rogers in a great position to succeed.
Rogers began ’26 picking up where he left off ’25, with 3 good starts to begin this year.
That was followed by 3 rough outings and the IL trip.
The O’s need Rogers to be a mid-rotation starter at the minimum, and a front-end starter ideally.
I’m sure some people have the mind-set that since he was healthy and available; he absolutely should have gotten the ball.
After those 3 tough outings and the IL trip, I would have been trying to ease him back in and build his confidence back-up vs expecting him to immediately shake off the rust vs. the best offensive team in the American League.

In any event, I’m glad he’s back and currently available.
Bradish getting it going these last two outings is big.
Rogers getting back-on-track would be similarly significant.

More Injuries / Helsley / Kremer Updates

Dylan Beavers was 7 of 24 in May, with 4 doubles, and 5 bb’s before going on the IL with an oblique.
He has raised his overall OPS to .699.  He was getting into a good stretch, so it’s unfortunate to see him have this set-back.

Cade Povich had a real nice outing April 12th vs. San Francisco, allowing 1 er over 6.2 innings.
His next two starts after that, he went 7 innings combined against the Yankees and Marlins.
Now he’s on the IL with shoulder inflammation.
The reporting is that the injury is not serious.
Even if you are skeptical about Povich’s potential to help as a starter – I am – losing another potential option right now is not ideal.

Ryan Helsley is eyeing a late-May return, but has yet to resume a throwing program. The O’s need some good news there.

Dean Kremer has begun is throwing program, and that’s positive.

Not Dead Yet

On Mother’s Day, Chris Bassitt gave the O’s 6 innings, allowing just 4 hits, 1 bb, and 1 er. He struck out 6. The prior time out, he had a rough go of it in Miami, but his last start of April was a 1 run outing over 6.2 innings vs. Houston. The overall numbers are still rough, but if can regularly give the O’s a chance in his outings here on out, that’s helpful.

Come On Shane

On April 28th, Shane Baz had his best outing of the year vs. Houston. 5.2 ip, 1 er, 1 bb, 6 k’s.  Was using a 2 seamer which was moving. That was encouraging.
That’s been followed by back-to-back outings where he has allowed 5 er both times out here in May.  8 bb’s in 10.1 innings. ERA is 5.48 (xFIP is 4.54). Baz doesn’t have to be an Ace.
He does need to be a reliable mid-rotation starter.  Consistently better than we’ve seen from him over his initial 8 starts as an Oriole.

Taveras, Cowser, O’Neill

Leody Taveras is 6 of 31 in May, and his OPS has dropped to .727.  If he can stay at his current  .248 / .350  / .376 levels; I don’t think anyone can complain about that at all.
That’s contributing. That’s useful.
If the current slump becomes extended, and he keeps trending towards his .657 OPS career average; than the O’s have decisions to make.

In Colton Cowser 76 ab’s in this ’26 season, he’s sporting a .462 OPS.  Including the 327 ab’s last year, and this is an extended 400 ab stretch of ugliness.
Can he adjust and hit anything off-speed or not?  Beavers injury probably means a few more ab’s for Cowser in the immediate.
He either takes advantage of those ab’s and gets going, or he will be optioned back to Norfolk soon and will have to rebuild himself at AAA.
I haven’t given up on him. There are pieces here which can contribute positively to a winning team.
But you don’t get unlimited run to try and find yourself at the Major League level, when the ML team is trying to win games.
You can’t be a black hole that gives zero production for weeks / months on end.
I’d run him out regularly this next week vs. both RHP and LHP, and tell him it’s sink or swim time.
You get this week to audition. Give us reason to keep you on the roster.

Tyler O’Neill has a career .776 OPS over 2,116 ab’s.  In his healthiest seasons (2021, and 2024) he had very productive years.
His primary issue for his career has been staying available.
Right now, he’s got 2 XBH’s in 62 ab’s.
Now would be a good time to get going.
You aren’t writing his name in the lineup for the glove.
You’ve got to hit your weight son.

Alonso & Henderson

The overall numbers still aren’t pretty, but Pete Alonso has an .884 OPS in May. He’s turned things around.

Henderson is 8 for 48 in May, with 0 homers, 1 double, 1 bb, and 13 k’s.  His average overall is now .197.

One-fourth of the season has been played and the O’s best player is batting under .200 and on-pace for 210 k’s.

I keep telling myself that Gunnar is too talented to keep struggling, and that his end numbers will look strong.
But sometimes years do go sideways even for the best.
After winning his 2nd MVP in ’91, Cal Ripken struggled in ’92 (bWAR was still 4.1, but his OPS was just .689).

In Spring Training and during the early weeks of this season I’ve said numerous times the O’s needed ’24 Gunnar who was MVP caliber vs. ’25 Gunnar who was an All-Star but not as good as he dealt with a shoulder impingement.

At this point, sign me up for ’25 Gunnar.
It’s crazy that he has a .253 on-base % right now.
It’s frankly wild that the O’s are only 4 games under .500 with Henderson being as poor as he’s been.

Seems like an ideal time for the O’s to be making Henderson an extension offer.

The Rest Of May

In the last article I wrote, I talked about wanting to see the O’s get to .500 as May ended.
Hoped they would get Westburg at that point, and could maybe be in position to take off from there.
Westburg returning doesn’t seem likely now, but getting to 30-30 on June 1st remains plausible.

Obviously the O’s would have to play better than they have to-date over a sustained stretch, but going 10-6 over their last 16 games in May is a worthy goal.

5/15 – 5/17 @ Washington (3)
5/18 – 5/20 @ Tampa Bay (3)
5/22 – 5/24 Detroit (3)
5/25 – 5/27 Tampa Bay (3)
5/28 – 5/31 Toronto (4)

The key of course is winning series.
If the O’s were to win the four 3 game series, and split with Toronto, they’d be .500 when June arrives.
That’s not unobtainable.

It is however unlikely given that the offense is 22nd in on-base %, 21st in slugging, the era is 27th overall, and the defense leaves you wanting.
If they could put together a couple of quality weeks, not only would that be an accomplishment in the moment, it would leave you thinking maybe things can come together for them later.
But they’re also in the precarious position where a couple of poor weeks could have them effectively eliminated from the ’26 season by the time we get to Memorial Day.