The Orioles slipped further out of contention with another mediocre week. Once again the Birds were dominated by a division rival, prompting questions about the entire organizational philosophy. They did welcome back Jackson Holliday, who provided some offensive spark, returning after a prolonged recovery from a broken hamate bone. The O’s now sit 12.5 games behind the division-leading Rays, but are still within arms reach of a Wild Card spot due to the floundering American League this season.
The week started at Tropicana Field, where the red-hot Rays made quick work of the Orioles in a three-game sweep before Baltimore salvaged something from a rain-altered Tigers series back at Camden Yards.
Monday’s series opener in St. Petersburg was ugly from the start. Trevor Rogers got roughed up again, lasting just 3.2 innings while allowing seven earned runs on eight hits as Tampa Bay battered the O’s 16-6. The Rays sent 10 batters to the plate in a five-run second inning and added four more in the sixth, capped by Junior Caminero’s three-run homer. Adley Rutschman and Weston Wilson each homered for Baltimore, and Pete Alonso drove in two with a double off the center field wall, but it was never close.
Tuesday was a tighter game but the same result. Kyle Bradish was solid through the first five innings, but Díaz broke a 1-1 tie with a towering solo homer. Bradish finished with two runs allowed on four hits across 5.1 innings with six strikeouts, but the Rays tacked on two more in the eighth off Yennier Cano and Rico Garcia to pull away 4-1. Taylor Ward accounted for the lone Baltimore run with a solo homer.
Wednesday’s finale was the most painful loss of the trip. Shane Baz pitched well enough to win, spinning six innings of two-hit ball while striking out six. Alonso launched his ninth homer of the year in the sixth and Basallo followed with a solo shot of his own to put the O’s ahead 3-1. But Anthony Nunez imploded in the eighth, surrendering four runs on three hits to take the loss and blow his second save of the season. The 5-3 loss completed the sweep and dropped the Orioles to 0-7 on the road against AL East opponents this season.
After a day off, the Orioles returned home to face the struggling Tigers on Friday. Keegan Akin opened the game and rookie Kevin McGonigle launched a leadoff homer on his very first pitch to put Detroit ahead immediately. Chris Bassitt entered in the second and settled things down, working 4.1 innings of relief to earn the win. The offense did the heavy lifting in this one. Alonso crushed a three-run homer off Jack Flaherty in the third to put Baltimore ahead 3-2, and Jackson Holliday, who had been activated from the injured list earlier in the week, belted a two-run homer in the fourth, his first of the season, to blow it open. Alonso added a sacrifice fly later for a four-RBI night. Nunez rebounded from his Wednesday meltdown with a scoreless ninth to pick up the save in the 7-4 win, snapping a three-game losing streak.
Saturday’s game against the Tigers was postponed due to rain, setting up a split-admission doubleheader on Sunday. In the opener, Brandon Young started for Baltimore against Framber Valdez. The Orioles trailed 3-1 heading into the late innings before mounting a comeback. Gunnar Henderson had pulled them within one with a solo homer in the sixth. Ward delivered an RBI single in the eighth off Kyle Finnegan to cut it to 3-2. Then came the moment of the week. Kenley Jansen entered for a four-out save, but Holliday walked with one out in the ninth and stole second. Leody Taveras walked as well. After Jeremiah Jackson popped out the O’s were down to their last strike on an 0-2 count, when Colton Cowser launched a 440-foot three-run walk-off homer to right-center to give the Orioles a 5-3 win, his first career walk-off. For a player who had lost his starting job amid a prolonged slump, it was a cathartic moment at the plate and a desperately needed jolt for the whole club.
The good feelings didn’t carry over to the nightcap however. Rogers continued his struggles, allowing a two-run homer to Dillon Dingler in the first inning and then loading the bases in the fifth before McGonigle lined a two-run single to push the lead to 4-1. Rogers lasted just 4.2 innings, four hits, four runs, two walks and two strikeouts. The line extended his rough stretch, as he has now failed to complete five innings in four consecutive starts, and his ERA ballooned to 6.96 on the year. Troy Melton held Baltimore to just two hits over 5.2 innings in his 2026 debut. Basallo drove in the only O’s run with a sacrifice fly. The 4-1 loss gave the Tigers a doubleheader split and ended the Orioles’ week at 2-4.
There were several worthy candidates for Player of the Week despite the 2-4 record. Gunnar Henderson had a solid week at the plate, collecting eight hits in 25 at-bats (.320) with a homer and a double. He’s been heating up over the last couple of weeks and looks more like the hitter everyone expected to see in 2026. Adley Rutschman didn’t post a flashy batting average (.238), but his six walks in 27 plate appearances gave him a .407 on-base percentage on the week, and he added a homer and a double. When Rutschman is getting on base at that clip, the lineup just functions differently.
Colton Cowser obviously delivered the single biggest moment of the week with his 440-foot walk-off bomb off Kenley Jansen, and his .400/.455/.700 line was excellent. The limited sample of 11 plate appearances keeps him out of the top spot, but if the walk-off serves as a turning point for a player who came into Sunday batting .193 on the year, it could end up being more valuable than any stat line.
On the mound, Shane Baz deserves recognition for his six innings of two-hit ball with six strikeouts in Wednesday’s finale at Tampa. That he got saddled with a no-decision after Nunez blew it in the eighth makes the outing no less impressive. It was easily the best start by an Orioles pitcher all week. Brandon Young also turned in a strong performance in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader, spinning 6.2 scoreless innings on 105 pitches to keep the Orioles in position for Cowser’s heroics.
But the Player of the Week is Pete Alonso, who looked like the guy Baltimore committed $155 million to this offseason. Alonso hit .318/.385/.636 on the week with two homers, a double, and a team-leading eight RBI. His three-run shot off Flaherty on Friday gave the Orioles their first lead of the Tigers series, and his back-to-back homer games on Wednesday and Friday marked his most productive stretch of the season. The production hasn’t been consistent enough to quiet the skeptics yet, and a .226 average on the year still isn’t where it needs to be, but this was the kind of week that shows what Alonso can do when his timing is right. If the Orioles are going to climb back into the race, they need a lot more weeks like this one from the big first baseman.
Down on the Farm
Norfolk went 1-5 in its six-game series at Jacksonville this week, with most of the offensive production coming from the middle of the roster rather than the top prospects. Heston Kjerstad had a modest week at the plate, batting .211 with a homer and four RBI across 23 plate appearances. Creed Willems was quiet with the bat, hitting .235 with no extra-base hits, and Jud Fabian was similarly cold at .200 with no walks and no power. On the pitching side, Cameron Weston continued to flash his strikeout stuff with seven punchouts in four innings, though he allowed two earned runs and three walks. It was a typical Weston outing: the upside is obvious when the whiffs are coming, but the free passes remain a concern.
AA Chesapeake had the more interesting prospect performances this week. Aron Estrada led the way again, batting .280 with two homers and five RBI, continuing his emergence as one of the more consistent bats in the system. Ethan Anderson had a monster power week, slugging three home runs with a .714 slugging percentage while drawing five walks across 26 plate appearances. Tavian Josenberger showed off elite plate discipline, drawing eight walks in 22 plate appearances to post a .500 on-base percentage to go with a homer and a stolen base.
On the mound, Luis De León struck out 11 over eight innings across two outings, though he did allow four earned runs. Evan Yates was dominant out of the bullpen with 5.1 scoreless innings and seven strikeouts. Juaron Watts-Brown had his roughest outing in a while, lasting just two-thirds of an inning and allowing three earned runs on two hits and two walks.