It’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.
That old idiom is exactly how to view this week for the Orioles. They had a disappointing loss in the first game against the Brewers and then followed that up by getting blown out. At this point, the Birds looked to be hitting the skids. However, they came back to win the third game and then went on to sweep a team that always gives them fits in the Royals (who, despite starting their rebuild at the same time as the Orioles, look at least another five years away.)
While the first two games of the week were bad, the last four made up for it and brought this team new life.
So what exactly is leading them to this hot streak? Let’s find out:
Gunnar is Here
We have been writing for weeks that a Gunnar Henderson breakout was coming. Now that it finally has, it wasn’t just a breakout; it was a slaughter. His numbers this week alone were magical, batting .526/.550/.1.053, with three home runs and a double. He is so hot that even his outs are loud and good on Brandon Hyde for batting him leadoff.
Three Up, Three Down: Treading Water, Thanks to Gunnar Henderson
With this hot stretch of games, Gunnar has a higher season OPS than Adley Rutschman, a higher OBP than Anthony Santander and Austin Hays, and a higher slugging than Ryan Mountcastle. If we had to pick just one man to thank for the recent hot stretch, it’s this guy. Gunnar is playing out of his mind right now.
The O’s Should Have Three All-Stars
It is now mid-June, so All-Star voting has begun. The Orioles have had trouble getting players into the Midsummer Classic these last few years. In 2021 Cedric Mullins barely made the starting lineup despite having an unbelievable season, and Trey Mancini was robbed a couple of times because of fan voting. Nobody outside the fanbase wanted to vote for the Orioles because they were terrible, so this time, it has to be different.
Adley Rutschman, Yennier Cano, and Felix Bautista must make the Roster. Adley is one of the premier catchers in Baseball, and Cano and Bautista comprise the nastiest backend of the bullpen in Baseball. The Orioles haven’t had multiple All-Stars since 2016, so this needs to happen.
Now that the Orioles are good, they should get a lot of love, but we in the fan base still need to fill these ballots for the boys.
Urias is Needed
Ramon Urias is such a hot topic. He might be blocking one or two prospects right now, and he was slumping awfully after coming back off the IL. Urias needed to show why he still belongs on this roster and is starting to show life. Since he snapped out of it, he has four extra-base hits and a home run. If Urias is going to be here, he needs to hit, which was a big step forward.
Bench Players Step Up
Who have been the best players on the Orioles this month outside of Gunnar? The answer is easily Aaron Hicks and Ryan O’Hearn. Both weren’t even a thought earlier, but the team has had to search for answers elsewhere with Adley in a slump, Mullins out, and Mountcastle scuffling, and more recently not playing and dealing with dizziness. Hicks has been awesome since joining the team and helping replace Mullins, and O’Hearn is rocking a 900+ OPS right now. Both of these guys have been clutch for this team this week. Gunnar will get all the attention, but these guys deserve their flowers. No, this isn’t sustainable, but Hicks should stay here over someone like Ryan McKenna, and O’Hearn has been much better than Mounty, as painful as that is to admit.
These two should be on the team in some way, even when others get healthy.
Wells is the Birds’ Best Starter
This shouldn’t be a controversial take. While Kyle Gibson has probably been the most consistent, Tyler Wells has undoubtedly been the better pitcher this year. Wells has been clutch, as he is a stud at limiting the damage and not walking anyone. This is why he has a minuscule WHIP, and while the advanced metrics don’t love him, he has been able to perform well enough to avoid the regression monster. He can give up home runs, but that is his only weakness right now. Wells has been awesome, and if the playoffs started tomorrow, he would be my choice for a game-one starter.
Next up is a division series with the revenge-minded Blue Jays, followed by a weekend series with the Cubs. Both teams are struggling right now, so hopefully the good times keep rolling.
