The Orioles treaded water once again this week. At least this time it was against a division leader and the best team in baseball. The Birds spent the week on the West Coast for the first two legs of a nine-game trip, dropping two of three in Seattle before impressively rebounding, taking two of three at Dodger Stadium to finish the week at 3-3.
The week brought several outstanding performances from the starting rotation, but the bats were largely quieted by an excellent Mariners staff and Ryan Helsley struggled mightily in his return from the IL.
Tuesday’s opener in Seattle was a quiet night at the plate. Logan Gilbert struck out a season-high 10 over seven innings and combined with two relievers on a three-hitter as the Mariners took the opener 3-1. Taylor Ward led off the game with a double and scored when Samuel Basallo singled him in with two outs, but Gilbert then retired 16 in a row until plunking Pete Alonso to begin the seventh. That was the inning Seattle broke a 1-1 tie, as Cal Raleigh, back from a month-long absence with an oblique strain, lined a bases-loaded, two-run single off reliever Grant Wolfram to bring home Victor Robles and Colt Emerson. Julio Rodríguez added an RBI single. Brandon Young took the loss despite delivering the quality start, allowing three runs in six innings.
Wednesday belonged to Kyle Bradish, who turned in arguably his best start of the year. He struck out a career-high 12 over 7.2 innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and two walks. Gunnar Henderson built the early cushion in the third with his 15th homer, a two-run shot off George Kirby that followed a Blaze Alexander single. Alonso’s infield hit and a two-out Leody Taveras triple made it 3-1 in the sixth, an inning in which Tyler O’Neill also robbed Raleigh of a home run in right. Alexander, who finished 3-for-3 with a walk and a steal, helped manufacture a fourth run in the seventh before Jackson Holliday tacked on a solo homer in the ninth. The lone blemish came from Ryan Helsley, activated and pitching for the first time since April 28, who served up back-to-back homers to Dominic Canzone and Cole Young on his first two pitches of the ninth before closing out the 5-3 win.
Thursday was the flip side. Bryan Woo shut the Orioles out over seven innings, allowing three hits with nine strikeouts, and Baltimore was blanked for the first time all season in a 3-0 loss. The damage was all done in the first, when Josh Naylor singled and moved up on a Taveras error, Canzone walked, Young doubled one home and Emerson singled in two more. Shane Baz settled in after the rocky open, retiring 15 of his final 16 and finishing with nine strikeouts across seven innings, but the offense never solved Woo.
The Orioles looked poised to steal Friday’s opener against the Dodgers before a brutal ninth. Trailing 3-0 behind Roki Sasaki, the O’s erupted in the sixth on back-to-back homers from Gunnar and Alonso, then took a 5-3 lead on Jeremiah Jackson’s two-run single in the seventh. Helsley couldn’t hold it however. Mookie Betts opened the ninth with a solo homer, and Dalton Rushing lined a single to right to plate the tying run. Ryan Ward then scored the winner when O’Neill’s throw home sailed wide of Basallo, a walk-off 6-5 loss that pinned the blown save on Helsley.
Saturday was a reminder of what the rotation can be at its best. Trevor Rogers carried a one-hitter through seven scoreless innings, striking out six, and the Orioles scratched out just enough against Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Alexander drove in two with a double, Coby Mayo added an RBI in a 3-2 win. Shohei Ohtani’s solo homer in the ninth made it interesting, but Yennier Cano closed it for the save.
Sunday was a laugher. The Orioles piled up 15 hits and four home runs in a 12-1 rout to take the series, with long balls from Alonso, Colton Cowser, Ward and Alexander. Cowser did the most damage with four RBI, Alonso drove in three, and Alexander capped a big series with three more hits. Young needed only five innings to earn the win, and Keegan Akin and Wolfram combined for four scoreless behind him. By the late innings the Dodgers were overmatched enough to send infielder Miguel Rojas to the mound.
A few Orioles made their case for Player of the Week in a week that produced two of the rotation’s best starts of the season alongside a pair of standout weeks at the plate.
Colton Cowser put together one of the more productive lines of any Baltimore hitter, batting .375 with a 1.036 OPS across 19 plate appearances. He reached base at a .474 clip on the strength of three walks and saved his best for Sunday, driving in four runs and homering in the 12-1 rout at Dodger Stadium. It was another strong week as Cowser has rapidly turned his season around.
Blaze Alexander was even better, leading the team with a 1.088 OPS while hitting .389 with a homer, two doubles, four RBI and a stolen base. Alexander has made the most of his opportunity recently, boosting his season average to .312 and OPS to .809.
On the mound, Trevor Rogers turned in the single most dominant start of the week. The left-hander carried a one-hitter through seven scoreless innings on Saturday, walking two and striking out six against a dangerous Dodgers lineup. For a pitcher who entered the night at 3-7 with a 5.86 ERA, it was a welcome reminder of the ceiling that made him the staff’s anchor a year ago, and in most weeks it would have been enough to win this award.
This was not most weeks. Kyle Bradish gets the nod for what was arguably his finest outing since returning from Tommy John surgery. On Wednesday in Seattle he struck out a career-high 12 over 7.2 innings of one-run ball, scattering five hits and two walks while throwing 65 of his 100 pitches for strikes. The start graded out to a game score of 75, and the degree of difficulty only sharpened it, coming against a Mariners club fighting for the AL West lead. After two rough outings to start June, this start got Bradish back on the strong form he showed for most of May.
Down on the Farm
At AAA Norfolk, the story was power hitting. Jud Fabian put on a show, launching three homers and driving in six while posting a 1.548 OPS, the kind of week that keeps his name in the mix whenever the Orioles go looking for outfield help. Veteran infielder José Barrero was even louder, going 8-for-23 with five home runs and 10 RBI, a video-game line even if it comes from an org bat rather than a true prospect. Enrique Bradfield Jr. reached base at a .320 clip and swiped two more bags.
On the mound, Dean Kremer continued working his way back toward the majors with a tidy 3.2-inning, one-run start, walking two and striking out five. It was a step in the right direction for a pitcher the Orioles may need sooner rather than later. Nestor German also offered a strong week of length, fanning nine across 10.1 innings with a 0.97 WHIP.
AA Chesapeake leaned on its pitching. Joseph Dzierwa was the standout, spinning six innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts against just two hits and a walk, good for a 0.50 WHIP. Sebastian Gongora picked up a pair of wins over 10.1 innings, striking out eight and putting up a 1.74 ERA. The bats did their part, too. Aron Estrada drove in five, Thomas Sosa added two homers and five RBI, and Frederick Bencosme chipped in two long balls of his own, while Ethan Anderson led the group with seven hits and a pair of homers.
Also worth noting at Chesapeake was Dylan Beavers, who is working through a rehab assignment. The outfielder went hitless across nine at-bats but drew four walks, a rusty but patient first step toward rejoining the big-league club.