If you squint hard enough at the first ten days of the 2026 season, you can find reasons for optimism. Trevor Rogers looks like an ace once again. The new bats showed some life in a gutsy comeback against the Twins. And the bullpen delivered some big moments early. But if you open your eyes all the way, the picture is uglier. A 3-6 start that ended with an Easter sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Pirates has this team looking uncomfortably like the 2025 version that everyone was desperate to leave behind. The rotation depth took an early blow when Zach Eflin went down with elbow discomfort in just his first start, Chris Bassitt has been a disaster in two outings, and the offense has vanished for stretches at a time. The new era under Craig Albernaz hasn’t exactly hit the ground running.
Opening Day was a pitchers duel that lived up to the billing. Trevor Rogers picked up where he left off last season, spinning seven shutout innings and inducing three double plays to wiggle out of jams all afternoon. Twins righty Joe Ryan matched him nearly pitch for pitch, allowing just one hit through 5.1 innings. The game was scoreless until the seventh, when Samuel Basallo singled to ignite a rally against the Minnesota bullpen. Colton Cowser delivered a sacrifice fly and Blaze Alexander ripped an RBI single to give Baltimore a 2-0 cushion. Ryan Helsley slammed the door with a strikeout of the side in the ninth for the save.
Saturday’s game was a frustrating step backward. Kyle Bradish showed some rust, allowing three runs in 4.2 innings. Taj Bradley and the Twins bullpen were dominant, combining to punch out 16 Orioles on the day. Jeremiah Jackson provided the lone RBI with a single in the second, but the offense was otherwise lifeless in a 4-1 loss.
Sunday’s rubber match was a roller coaster. Shane Baz got roughed up early as the Twins loaded the bases in the second and Tristan Gray cleared them with a three-run double to deep right-center. Down 4-0, the O’s offense finally came alive. Tyler O’Neill crushed a three-run homer off Bailey Ober in the fourth to pull Baltimore within one. Dylan Beavers then laced a go-ahead two-run double in the sixth. After Royce Lewis tied it with a solo shot in the seventh, the Orioles answered immediately. Alonso delivered a clutch opposite-field single to break the tie, Adley Rutschman followed with an RBI double, and Coby Mayo added an RBI single to blow it open. The bullpen held firm the rest of the way, with Yennier Cano striking out Lewis with the bases loaded in the eighth and Helsley navigating a dramatic ninth for his second save.
The feel-good vibes from Sunday’s comeback didn’t last long. The Rangers came to town Monday and roughed up Chris Bassitt in his Orioles debut, allowing four runs on six hits with four walks. The Rangers’ Jack Leiter was outstanding in contrast, striking out eight in six strong innings. Gunnar hit his first homer of the season in the first to tie it briefly, but Texas pulled away on RBI singles from Brandon Nimmo and Jake Burger plus a sacrifice fly from Joc Pederson and the O’s went down quietly in a 5-2 loss.
Tuesday brought the worst news of the week by far. Zach Eflin, making his first regular season start since back surgery last August, was dealing early, then something went wrong in the fourth. After walking Evan Carter, Eflin threw one pitch to Ezequiel Duran and immediately signaled for the trainer. Right elbow discomfort, and with the dreaded “second opinion” looming, appears to be headed for Tommy John. Without Eflin, the bullpen was asked to cover 5.1 innings for the third time in five games, and they buckled. Pete Alonso hit his first homer as an Oriole to tie the game in the fourth, and Gunnar chased deGrom with a two-run double in the fifth, but it wasn’t enough in an 8-5 loss.
Wednesday’s finale offered some redemption. Rogers took the mound for his second start and delivered again, tossing six solid innings of two-run ball to move to 2-0 on the year. The offense finally showed up across the lineup, with Jackson, Ward, and Leody Taveras each driving in two runs. Basallo launched a monstrous 437-foot homer to center that smacked the batter’s eye, and Beavers added a solo shot in the sixth, leading to an 8-3 win to close out the series at .500.
After a day off, the O’s traveled to Pittsburgh for their first road trip of the season and promptly got swept in three games. Friday’s series opener was overshadowed by the debut of 19-year-old phenom Konnor Griffin, the consensus top prospect in baseball, who laced an RBI double in his first big league at-bat off Bradish. The kid then scored on a Jared Triolo single, and the Pirates piled on four runs in the second inning. Bradish couldn’t get out of the fourth, allowing four runs on six hits with three walks in another short outing. The O’s fought back with a homer from Gunnar off Gregory Soto but it was too little too late in a 5-4 loss.
Saturday was even more painful. Shane Baz was much improved in his second start, limiting the Pirates to just one unearned run over 5.2 innings while pitching against the team that drafted him. But the defense let him down in the eighth. Coby Mayo couldn’t cleanly field a grounder from Marcell Ozuna, and Anthony Nunez let an easy grounder to end the inning squeak under his glove, helping the Pirates scratch across the tying run. In the ninth, Bryan Reynolds roped a one-out double off Helsley, and after an intentional walk to Ryan O’Hearn, Nick Yorke lined a walk-off single over Beavers’ head in left to end the game.
Easter Sunday added salt to the wound. Chris Bassitt was even worse than his debut, lasting just two innings while allowing six runs on six hits. Former Oriole Ryan O’Hearn did the most damage, crushing a two-run homer in the first and ripping a two-run double in the second. Oneil Cruz added a mammoth 415-foot two-run shot later in the game. Braxton Ashcraft was dominant for Pittsburgh en route to an 8-2 drubbing that completed the sweep.
Any hopes of a hot start to 2026 have evaporated. The O’s limp out of Pittsburgh at 3-6, already looking up at the rest of the division. While nine games is far too small of a sample to make any rash judgments or start panicking, the early returns are not great for the rebuilt O’s.
Taylor Ward made a compelling case for player of the week, batting .290 with a career-high four-hit game against the Rangers and driving in runs in both the Twins finale and the Rangers finale. He’s been one of the more consistent presences in the lineup and seems to be settling in nicely after a slow start.
But just like last season, when in doubt, the answer is Trevor Rogers. The lefty was the best player on the field in two of the Orioles’ three wins this week. He was masterful on Opening Day with seven shutout innings and three double plays against the Twins, then came back on Wednesday and delivered six innings of two-run ball to move to 2-0 and save the O’s from a sweep at the hands of the Rangers.
In a week where the rest of the rotation combined for an ERA somewhere in the stratosphere, Rogers was the only starter who consistently gave this team a chance to win. He’s the ace of this staff and it’s not particularly close right now. If Rogers keeps pitching like this, some of the rotation concerns become a lot more manageable. If he doesn’t, well, we’ve got bigger problems than we think.
Down on the Farm
The Norfolk Tides took two of three from Nashville at home to open the season before heading to Memphis and running into a buzzsaw, dropping multiple games to the red-hot Redbirds on the road.
The main attraction in Norfolk remains Jackson Holliday’s rehab assignment. The former first overall pick went hitless in his first two games back, looking understandably rusty after missing all of spring training following hamate bone surgery. He found his footing once the Tides headed to Memphis, doubling in back-to-back games and driving in a few runs, but has cooled off since.
Through seven games, Holliday is hitting .217/.280/.304 with two doubles and three RBI. It’s not the kind of line that screams “call me up tomorrow,” but the at-bats have generally trended in the right direction and he hasn’t reported any issues with the surgically repaired hand. If all goes well, Birdland could see Holliday back in the big league lineup by mid-April, and this team could use his bat in the worst way.
Creed Willems has been the most impressive bat in Norfolk to start the year. The catching prospect is slashing .292/.400/.625 with two homers, two doubles and seven RBI through his first taste of Triple-A. He blasted his first career AAA homer on Wednesday, a go-ahead two-run shot against Memphis, and has looked comfortable at every level he’s been at. Willems continues to track as one of the more interesting bats in the system.
On the pitching side, Brandon Young turned in a solid 2026 debut, holding Memphis to one run on five hits across five innings with four strikeouts and no walks. His 1.80 ERA and 1.00 WHIP through that first outing were exactly what you want to see. With Eflin’s injury creating potential openings in the big league rotation, Young’s development takes on added importance. Less encouraging was Dean Kremer’s first start since being optioned. Kremer allowed three runs in 4.2 innings and was pulled after just 62 pitches, finishing with a 5.79 ERA. He struck out six, which is a positive sign, but it wasn’t the kind of performance that demands an immediate promotion. If the Orioles need to call for rotation reinforcements, the answer might not be as simple as just bringing Kremer back up.
Question of the Week
Which is a bigger concern, the hitting or the pitching?
Nine games into the season and the Orioles are 3-6. Depending on which game you happened to catch, you might come away with wildly different diagnoses. Watch Sunday’s 8-6 comeback against the Twins and you’d think the bats are fine but the pitching is shaky. Watch Saturday’s 16-strikeout performance against Taj Bradley and you’d think the offense is the problem. So which is it?
Let’s start with the bats. Through nine games, the Orioles have scored 34 runs, or about 3.8 per game. That’s below where this lineup should be, but it’s not catastrophic. The offense has gone through legitimate dead stretches and Pete Alonso is hitting just .229 with one homer, hardly the impact the $155 million man was brought in to provide. However, when this lineup has gotten going, it’s been explosive. The 8-6 comeback, the 8-3 demolition of the Rangers. Those games showed what this offense is capable of when the approach is right. Gunnar Henderson is starting to heat up with two homers and a team-leading six RBI. Taylor Ward is batting .343 after a career-high four-hit game. Adley Rutschman is at .333. The pieces are there.
The offense also has an excuse that the pitching does not: two of their best hitters aren’t playing. Jackson Holliday and Jordan Westburg, who was transferred to the 60-day IL this week, represent a massive chunk of missing production. Their absence has forced players like Jeremiah Jackson and Blaze Alexander into everyday roles. Solid glue guys, but not the caliber of hitters you want penciling in every day in the AL East. The return of Holliday could give the lineup a boost at the bottom end, and anything from Westburg at this point could be a bonus. The hitting has a clear path to improvement without needing any outside help.
Now let’s talk about the pitching, and this is where things get genuinely concerning.
Trevor Rogers has been brilliant across two starts, tossing 13 innings of two-run ball. He’s been the only reliable arm in the rotation. Everyone else ranges from concerning to disastrous. Kyle Bradish has failed to complete five innings in either of his two starts, with his velocity dipping and his command wavering. The Tommy John recovery and cold weather offer some explanation, but you can’t keep running your number two starter out there for four-inning outings without destroying the bullpen. Shane Baz has been a mixed bag. His second start against Pittsburgh was genuinely encouraging with 5.2 innings of one-run ball, but it’s too early to bank on him as a stabilizing force.
Chris Bassitt has been a disaster. In two starts the 37-year-old has logged a combined 6.1 innings while allowing 10 runs. He needed 100 pitches to get through 4.1 innings in his debut, then somehow outdid that by lasting just two innings on Easter, getting tagged for six runs. His ERA sits north of 14.00. Right now Bassitt isn’t just losing games, he’s systematically wrecking the bullpen by forcing the relievers to cover five-plus innings every time he takes the mound.
And then the biggest blow of all. Zach Eflin went down with right elbow discomfort in his first start of the season and is now headed for a second opinion. That all but guarantees he’s heading for Tommy John surgery and an end to his season. It’s hard to fault the front office for injuries because no one could ever see pitchers getting injured in the modern MLB (or maybe I wrote an article saying they needed more starters).
The team ERA sits at 4.22, and that’s buoyed significantly by Rogers’ two gems. Strip him out and the rest of the staff has been dreadful. The bullpen, a huge question mark to begin with, has already been asked to cover more than five innings three times in nine games. That’s a pace that leads to dead arms by June. Dean Kremer is theoretically next in line to rejoin the rotation, but his first start for Norfolk wasn’t exactly inspiring, allowing three runs in 4.2 innings on just 62 pitches.
Both sides of the ball need to improve if this team is going to climb out of the early hole. But the hitting has a clear path to better days with reinforcements on the way, and the underlying quality of the lineup gives you confidence the production will come. The pitching is actively getting worse. You can’t replace Eflin’s arm with optimism. You can’t will Bassitt into being competent. And you can’t keep asking the bullpen to carry the load of a rotation that can’t get past the fifth inning.
The Orioles front office entered this season believing they had finally assembled the rotation depth that had eluded them for years. Nine games in, those hopes are already fraying. The bats will come around. I’m less sure the pitching will.