Good morning, Camden Chatters.
The 2026 Orioles season is, technically, not over. But you’d be forgiven for feeling like it is.
After watching the disgrace that was the Orioles’ four-game series at Yankee Stadium, in which the Birds were swept and outscored by 29 runs without ever holding a lead themselves, it’s fair to wonder if we’ve reached the inflection point of the 2026 season. Up until this weekend, the O’s were certainly not good, but they weren’t an absolute train wreck. They were merely bobbing
around at the .500 mark, mediocre and uninspired, unable to gain any sort of momentum.
Well, folks, now they’ve definitely got some momentum. Just not in the direction they were hoping.
If it’s possible for a single series to ruin a season, this might just have been it. It’s not just that the Orioles lost every game. It’s that they weren’t even remotely competitive. In their first series of the year against a quality division opponent, the O’s were as alarmingly unready to meet the moment as any professional athletes could possibly be. While the Yankees were confident, efficient, and dominant on every side of the ball, the Orioles clowned themselves at every turn. The Yankees might as well have been playing against your beer league softball team. You’d get destroyed, too, but at least you’d be having more fun than the Orioles did. On account of the beer.
I suppose a team is never as bad as it looks at its lowest point. But, uh…are we sure this is the lowest point? It’s jarring that this season is unraveling at exactly the same time the 2025 Orioles did. Last year’s Birds were 13-18 — bad, but not “season over” kind of bad — until they hit game #32, when they began a nightmarish 2-14 stretch that buried them in the standings and led to Brandon Hyde’s firing. This year, the O’s were 15-16 through April. Game #32 was the start of the Yankees series, and so far they’re 0-4 since.
So where do the Orioles go from here? Well, physically, they go to Miami tonight to begin a three-game interleague series against the Marlins. But organizationally, where do they go? It’s easy to say things like, “Tear up the roster!” Realistically, though, not much can be changed right now. It’s only May, so it’s too early for any kind of fire sale, even if the O’s front office was ready to give up on the season, which they understandably are not. There are several struggling Orioles with options whom fans might want to banish to the minors, but who would replace them? There’s not a lot of depth at Triple-A right now, especially with Enrique Bradfield Jr. currently on the IL with a left hand injury.
There are also the growing calls from Orioles fans for Mike Elias to be fired, a sentiment that is getting harder to argue against. If that were to happen, though, it almost certainly won’t be in the middle of the season. Mid-season GM changes aren’t as common as mid-season managerial changes, and there are no indications that owner David Rubenstein is looking for an immediate scapegoat. Elias will get at least a few more months to try to fix this mess of a team, or at least hope that the roster he compiled can start playing like a competent major league team.
The Orioles, believe it or not, will win another game this season. Maybe two! I would even suggest three, but let’s not get crazy. For the second year in a row, though, they’re at risk of seeing the season slip away from them barely after it’s begun.
Links
Orioles sign veteran reliever Trivino to bolster bullpen – MLB.com
The O’s signed a pitcher who proceeded to give up six runs in two-thirds of an inning in his team debut. You can’t make this stuff up.
Orioles trying to turn around a season before it gets away from them – School of Roch
The Orioles said all the right things about how they’ll keep putting in the work and are confident they’ll turn things around. Then they went out and lost 12-1. How shocking that their actions didn’t match their words!
The Orioles manager struck a defiant tone about the team’s struggles. I’m guessing there aren’t a lot of ship-jumpers who are regretting their decision just yet.
Orioles shut down Jordan Westburg as he deals with setback from elbow injury – The Baltimore Banner
In addition to everything else, Jordan Westburg is almost certainly out for the season. I didn’t think a season could get more cursed than 2025, but the encore has been a real head trip.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Two former Orioles right-handers were born on this day: Beau Sulser (32) and the late Chuck Locke (b. 1932, d. 2015).
May 5 is a big day in Orioles history for no-hitters. In less pleasant no-hitter news, they were the victims of a no-no thrown by Angels rookie lefty Bo Belinsky on this day in 1962. It was only Belinsky’s fourth major league start! Belinsky struck out nine and walked four during his historic night at Dodger Stadium. That was the highlight of an ultimately middling eight-year MLB career for Belinsky.
And in much happier no-hitter news, on this day in 2021, the Orioles’ John Means delivered the club’s first solo no-no in 52 years, throwing a 27-up, 27-down, near-perfect game in Seattle. Means unveiled perhaps the most dominant outing in the history of the Orioles. The only Mariners batter who reached base was Sam Haggerty, who struck out in the third but reached on a wild pitch, and he was promptly thrown out stealing. It was a wonderful memory from an otherwise horrific season of O’s baseball, and I sure hope Means is able to battle his way back from injuries and return to the majors someday.
Random Orioles game of the day
On May 5, 2002, the Orioles completed a four-game sweep — and a seven-game season series sweep — of the Royals, rallying back from a late 2-0 deficit to secure a 3-2 win. After being shut out through five by Royals lefty Chris George, the O’s broke out for three runs in the sixth. Jeff Conine tied the game with a two-run homer and Mike Bordick’s RBI single gave the O’s the lead. Starter Calvin Maduro earned the win for the Orioles with 6.1 solid innings, and Rick Bauer, Buddy Groom, and Jorge Julio combined for eight outs of scoreless relief.
The win inched the Birds back above the .500 mark to 16-15 and dropped the sorry Royals to 8-21. By the end of the season both teams were almost equally pathetic, with the O’s finishing 67-95 and the Royals at 62-100.
