Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Breaking news: the 2025 Orioles are, in fact, still bad. I know, I know. I hate to be the one to tell you this.
There was a brief window in which it appeared that the O’s might be poised to finish the season strong. They enjoyed a great homestand last week, going 5-1, and had won eight of their nine games in September. But a visit to the first-place Blue Jays knocked them back to reality, and quick. Toronto completed a three-game sweep of the Birds with a lopsided rout
in yesterday’s finale, 11-2. Stacey recapped the carnage.
The series ruined any positive momentum the Orioles carried into it. Their cobbled-together bullpen, which had showed promising signs in the last homestand, was not up to the task of keeping the Jays’ offense in check. They let a tie game slip away in the opener, blew a ninth-inning lead in the second game, and turned a close contest into a laugher in the finale.
And of even more concern was the continuing slumber of the Orioles’ offense, which — shockingly — was not jolted back to life by Tyler O’Neill’s return from the IL. The O’s scored only seven runs in the three-game series, on the heels of scoring just eight against the Pirates and eight versus the Dodgers. That’s 23 runs in nine games, if you’re counting at home, for an average of just over 2.5 per game. It’s somewhat miraculous that the O’s still picked up five wins in that span, but it’s not a good recipe for long-term success.
Seeing the O’s get trounced by an AL East heavyweight is a stark reminder of exactly how much ground they need to make up if they hope to be contenders next season. They’ve got dozens of holes to fill in this threadbare roster on every side of the ball — rotation, bullpen, offense — and they need to see significant improvements from some of their key homegrown players who have struggled through 2025.
There are an awful lot of problems the team needs to address this offseason, or we’re going to spend a lot of 2026 witnessing the kind of uncompetitive, unsightly losses the O’s just endured in Toronto. Good luck, Orioles.
Links
Blue Jays’ 6-run 7th inning punctuates series sweep vs. Orioles – The Baltimore Banner
Poor Carson Ragsdale finally achieved his dream and made his MLB debut, only for, well, that to happen (gestures at box score). Still, that’s one more game than you and I will ever play in the big leagues, so good for him.
McDermott could get a new chance in O’s bullpen – MLB.com
Yes please. Now’s as good a time as any to see if the newly converted-to-relief O’s prospect can have a role in next year’s bullpen. It’s not as if any of the Orioles’ current relievers are making a particularly strong case.
Why did Orioles keep Cowser over Stowers? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Do people just have short memories? At the time of the Trevor Rogers trade, Colton Cowser was in the middle of a Rookie of the Year-worthy season and Stowers was languishing in Triple-A. Their fortunes may have changed this season, but one was clearly superior to the other a year ago.
Orioles broadcaster apologizes after comments rankle Blue Jays, fans – The Baltimore Sun
I like Brian Roberts quite a bit as a broadcaster and would like him to work more games. I hope he didn’t just blow his chance with his ill-advised comments about Canadian baseball fans.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share your day with two ex-Orioles right-handers, John Pacella (69) and Dave Pagan (76).
On this day in 1977, the Orioles forfeited a game in Toronto when manager Earl Weaver complained of a tarp on the bullpen mound that was held down by bricks. When the umpire refused to have it removed, Weaver pulled his team off the field, citing unsafe conditions. The game was halted in the fifth inning with the O’s taking a 4-0 loss. The 2025 Orioles should’ve taken a page out of Earl’s book and just forfeited this entire weekend’s series in Toronto to save everyone a lot of time.
In 1996, the Orioles crushed five dingers in a 16-6 blowout at Tiger Stadium, setting a new MLB record at the time with 241 home runs in a season. The Birds finished that year with 257 homers, a record that has since been matched or surpassed by 10 other teams. The current co-holders of the record are the 2019 Twins and 2023 Braves, who each hit 307 dingers.
And on this date in 1997, veteran O’s outfielder Eric Davis made an inspiring return from cancer, starting as the Orioles’ right fielder just two months after undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous tumor from his colon. He went on to play eight more regular season games and nine in the playoffs and was back to full health the following year.
