There haven’t been the 2023 Orioles and this season’s team. The former was a 100-game winner, an AL East division champion and a team that historically outperformed the mediocre expectations placed upon them before the season. The latter currently has a sub .500 record, is scraping and clawing to stay in the playoff race and has largely failed to meet the expectations they had back in March. And yet, for both teams, a second-half, four-game series in Tropicana Park could very well have defined their
seasons.
The Orioles’ recent series win against the Rays was reminiscent of Baltimore’s first road series after the All-Star break back in 2023. Three years ago, the O’s came into Tampa deadlocked with the Rays atop the AL East. Tampa Bay was supposed to be the juggernauts that would run away with the AL East after starting the season 23-6. Baltimore, on the other hand, was the team everybody just kept waiting to fall off.
Instead, the O’s went into Tropicana Field, won three out of four games and took a division lead they would never relinquish. Game 1 of that series saw a Félix Bautista masterclass. The eventual AL Reliever of the Year pitched a scoreless 9th to send the game to extras, and after Colton Cowser’s RBI single in the 10th, worked out of a two-on-no-out jam to seal the Orioles’ victory.
After a shutout loss in Game 2, the O’s won a rollercoaster ride of a Game 3. Baltimore took a 5-0 lead after a five-run 4th inning off All-Star Shane McClanahan. The bullpen trio of Danny Coulombe, Yennier Cano and Shintaro Fujinami would then slowly give that lead back to Tampa, setting the stage for another dramatic 9th inning. Facing Rays’ closer Peter Fairbanks, Adam Frazier led off the inning with a single, moved to second on a sacrifice and scored on a Ryan O’Hearn single. Bautista then pitched another perfect 9th to put the O’s up 2-1 in the series.
Game 4 was another back-and-forth affair, with the O’s taking a 3-0 lead before the Rays stormed back to tie it on a homer in the 5th. O’Hearn then untied the game with solo shot in the 6th and Anthony Santander added an insurance run in the 7th. Bautista then pitched his fourth inning of the series, striking out the side around of pair of singles to secure the series win and forever etch his name in Orioles lore.
The recent series win in Tampa doesn’t carry the exact same weight as their triumph three years ago. Instead of leaving the Trop with the division lead, the O’s leave tied with the Rangers for the final AL Wildcard spot. Instead of finishing the series 23 games above .500, Baltimore still sits three games under .500. Losing the series finale yesterday also ended the series on a sour note, as the O’s faield to gain ground on the other Wildcard hopefuls while ceding control of their destiny back to Texas.
And yet, it’s undeniable that this year’s team now has an air of hope they didn’t have before their series with the Rays. The overarching truth in the AL this season is that no team is that much better than any other team. Just like the 2023 Orioles went to Tamp looking to prove their AL East title aspirations were no fluke, these O’s went to the Trop looking to prove they can stay in this playoff race to the very end. And they did just that.
Perhaps more important than Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s wins against the Rays was the way the Orioles won. This team was supposed to an offensive, force led by Pete Alonso and Gunnar Henderson, that outscored even the best of teams en route to playoff contention.
For seemingly the first time this season, both Henderson and Alonso were firing on all cylinders at the same time. Gunnar kicked off the series by going 4-fo-4 with a home in Friday’s win, and finished the four-game set 7-for-16 with the homer, two doubles, two RBIs and five runs. Alonso was even more unstoppable. The reigning AL Player of the Week went 8-for-16, reaching base 11 total times, while adding two homers, a double and three RBIs.
The offensive explosion by the Orioles two stars is the culmunitation of two hot streaks that have gone from embers to full on flames. After struggling for most of the season, Gunnar is finally turning a corner in August. The star SS is now hitting .245 this month with a .477 slugging percentage and an OPS over .800. Strikeouts have been a problem for Henderson all season, but he’s been exceptionally disciplined hitter of late. In 15 games this month, his strikeout rate has dropped 12.7% while his walk rate has jumped to 2o.6%.
Alonso has been the steady heartbeat of this team for months and now its finally become the platform for actual success. Since the beginning of June, Alonso is slashing .296/.400/.554 with 15 HRs and 44 RBIs. As MASN’s Brett Holander put it, Alonso is the clear favorite (and perhaps only contender) for Most Valuable Oriole and is delivering exactly what the front office paid him $30+M/year to provide. When the Orioles traded Adley Rutschman and others at the deadline, it was obvious more would be asked of Alonso if the O’s wanted to remain in playoff contention. And the Polar Bear has continued to answer.
This team has also built a surprising identity off the strength of their pitching rotation, and we saw that epitomized against the Rays. Kyle Bradish and Trevor Rogers each delivered qualtiy starts and Chris Bassitt was strong in his return from the IL. Really, Brandon Young was the only starter who didn’t deliver, exiting after four subpar innings in Monday’s loss.
This team is still flawed (looking at you, bullpen) and still have the unenviable task of navigating the hardest remaining schedule in the American League. But in going to Tampa and taking three of four from the Rays, the 2026 Baltimore Orioles showed the heart of the a team willing to fight for its postseason destiny. A heart that’s largely been missing in Baltimore since 2023.
