Good morning, Camden Chatters.
Your eyes do not deceive you. Take a gander at the AL East standings and you’ll find the Orioles atop the division (well, along with the Yankees and Rays in a three-way tie). The O’s, who a week ago at this time were practically left for dead, are back above .500 and currently sitting in first place.
Now, before we get too excited, let’s note that the American League as a whole is in a weird morass of extreme mediocrity. No one team is particularly good or particularly bad.
Every club in the AL has between six and nine wins, and between six and 10 losses. The O’s, despite their first-place standing, are only 2.5 games better than the two worst teams in the AL, the 6-10 White Sox and Astros. All it would take is one bad series to knock the Orioles back to one of the league’s worst records.
Still, let’s enjoy this moment while it lasts, because there was no guarantee that the once 3-6 Orioles would get back above the even-water mark. The 2025 Orioles, most notably, never had an above-.500 record after their fifth game of the season, when they were 3-2. This year’s version has so far managed to avoid turning a slow start into a never-ending death spiral, so that’s cool.
And the Orioles are playing legitimately good ball of late. The O’s have won five of their last six games, including a decisive 6-2 victory in their rubber game against the Giants yesterday. Cade Povich pitched brilliantly on his birthday, Pete Alonso and Samuel Basallo each showed much-needed signs of life with two hits and a homer, respectively, and the O’s bullpen continued to pitch above expectations. Check out Tyler Young’s recap of the well-played win.
Of course, even with the good news of the series victory came yet more injury trouble, because the Orioles can’t have nice things. In a brutal three-game stretch, the O’s suffered three separate injuries — to Adley Rutschman, Tyler O’Neill, and Ryan Mountcastle — that have already landed the former two on the IL and will probably send the latter there as well. Barely two weeks into the season, the Orioles already have 12 players on the injured list. Their depth is being tested very early. For now, they’ve added catcher Maverick Handley to take Rutschman’s spot and outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez in place of O’Neill. No word yet on who might be the next man up from Triple-A Norfolk to replace Mountcastle.
To muddle their way through, the O’s will need to continue getting contributions from up and down the lineup like they did against the Giants this weekend. Middle-of-the-order bats Alonso and Basallo took a step toward hitting the way we’re expecting them to, while bottom-of-the-lineup guys like Colton Cowser, Coby Mayo, and Jeremiah Jackson showed signs of life. Let’s see if the O’s can keep the offense going — and perhaps move into sole possession of first place! — against the Arizona Diamondbacks, who roll into town for a three-game set starting tonight.
Links
Eflin says elbow injury felt like ‘my heart was ripped out of my chest’ – MLB.com
It’s hard not to feel terrible for Eflin, who worked so hard to return from his back injury, only for his 2026 season — and most of 2027 — to be taken away after just one start. Best wishes in recovery to Eflin, someone who is by all accounts a great guy.
Should Orioles have brought back Cedric Mullins? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com
I was as big a Mullins fan as anyone, but his performance with the Rays so far doesn’t exactly look like someone who would be an upgrade for the Orioles.
Rutschman gets scratched from the lineup, Mountcastle breaks his foot while running, and O’Neill injures himself fainting. It’s certainly been an eventful few days.
Pete Alonso, Samuel Basallo power Orioles offense in 6-2 win vs. Giants – The Baltimore Banner
If those two guys start clicking at the same time…look out, opposing pitchers.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! The only Oriole in history born on April 13 is fan favorite Steve Pearce, who turns 43 today. Pearce spent parts of five years with the Birds but was best known for his out-of-nowhere breakout season in 2014, when he mashed 21 homers and posted a .930 OPS for the AL East champion Orioles. Enjoy your day, Steve!
On this date in 1954, the Baltimore Orioles played their first game in franchise history, getting shut out in Detroit, 3-0. The former St. Louis Browns managed seven hits but none with runners in scoring position as Tigers starter Steve Gromek went the distance. The Orioles’ pitcher for their inaugural game was Don Larsen (the future World Series perfect-game-thrower with the Yankees), who went all eight innings but coughed up three solo home runs.
And on this day in 1966, newly acquired superstar Frank Robinson made his Orioles debut in style, hitting a home run and scoring twice to lead the Birds to a 5-4, 13-inning Opening Day win at Fenway Park. It was the beginning of what would be a Triple Crown and AL MVP season for Robinson and an eventual championship for the Orioles.
Random Orioles game of the day
On April 13, 2010, the Orioles suffered a 10-inning loss to the Rays in Baltimore, 8-6. The O’s seemed to be cruising along just fine, carrying a 3-0 lead into the eighth behind Brian Matusz’s seven shutout frames, but everything fell apart when the Rays rallied for five in the inning. Matusz struck out the first batter of the eighth before the next four batters all singled, and three more hits off the O’s bullpen gave Tampa Bay a 5-3 lead. Luke Scott tied the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth, sending the game to extras, where Carlos Pena’s three-run dinger in the 10th decided the game for the Rays.
It was the Orioles’ fifth straight loss in what became a nine-game losing streak, en route to a 1-11 record to start the 2010 season. That was a rough, rough year.
