The Orioles seemingly used up all of their runs in the series opener against the Boston Red Sox.
After slugging 2,401 feet worth of home runs in a 10-3 win on Friday night, Baltimore went just 12-for-64 (.188) and were outscored 22-4 across the next two games combined, dropping the series to Boston and falling two games under .500 once more.
The team’s Friday highs quickly dipped into Saturday lows after the team lost in an ugly 17-1 blowout that saw the Red Sox post 10 runs in the ninth inning of the game. The 24-2 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Easter of last season is the only other time since the 2019 season that the O’s have lost by 16 or more runs.
Just when you thought things were turning around, the Orioles remind you why you should never have hope.
You could not have asked for a better start to the series on Friday. Actually, the Orioles statistically have not had a better game in franchise history.
Baltimore totaled a season-high 10 runs, 20 hits, and six home runs, a stat line they had never achieved before Friday.
The impressive start saw six of the lineup’s starting nine accrue multiple hits, including a 4-for-4 game from outfielder Taylor Ward, a two-hit night from third baseman Coby Mayo and first inning home runs from shortstop Gunnar Henderson and Dylan Beavers.
Above all, however, was the two-home run game that made catcher Adley Rutschman our Player of the Series.
Rutschman has been seeing beach balls since being activated from his short stint on the injured list, posting a .385 batting average and 1.231 OPS against Boston over the weekend. The former first-round pick amassed a career-high-tying six RBIs in Friday’s win.
Since exiting the injured list on April 21, Rutschman is hitting 7-for-17 (.412) with three homers, eight RBIs and 16 total bases.
His fellow catcher Samuel Basallo got in the mix, slugging a long ball of his own in the third inning to give Baltimore a 6-1 lead. Basallo finished the three-game stint against Boston with his most impressive series stat line yet: 6-for-9 (.667), two home runs, a double and 13 total bags.
As the O’s often fail to do, however, they could not capitalize on the scorching momentum from their best offensive output of the season. Instead, Boston fired back with a blowout of their own, beating Baltimore 17-1.
Just about everything went wrong from start to finish.
Left-handed starter Trevor Rogers was unable to escape the second inning as he allowed three earned runs on four hits. After starting the season with three consecutive outings of two or fewer runs allowed and six or more innings pitched, Rogers has accumulated three consecutive outings with three or more runs allowed and five or fewer innings pitched.
The Red Sox tagged veteran right-hander Albert Suarez, who was designated for assignment by the team on Sunday, for four more runs in the fourth and fifth innings, though none of them were earned.
An RBI groundout from Leody Taveras in the seventh ended the O’s scoring drought in the game, but it was simply too late.
As if things were not ugly enough, they got uglier.
Boston scratched 10 more runs late in the game as they mashed three home runs in a ninth inning that saw infielder Weston Wilson enter the game on the mound.
Making his season debut, left-hander Keegan Akin was responsible for six of the runs. Wilson, the other four. Ultimately, it earned the Red Sox, a struggling offense before the weekend, the most runs scored in a single inning by any team this season.
Boston’s 17 runs on Saturday marked the most they have scored in a game since May 23, 2025.
Apparently, that was not enough for Red Sox general manager Craig Breslow and the rest of the franchise’s front office. Boston fired manager Alex Cora shortly after the game, a move that reportedly has not sat well with many of the team’s players.
Maybe, they should have won 18-0 instead.
Nonetheless, the news offered a golden opportunity for the O’s to erase their catastrophic Saturday defeat and escape with a series victory in their first divisional matchup of the season. So, did they do that?
Absolutely not.
Instead, the O’s scored three or fewer runs for the 12th time this season as they fell to Boston 5-3 in the rubber match.
Henderson drove in two of the team’s three runs, one on his ninth home run of the 2026 season and the other on an RBI single in the eighth inning. The other came on Basallo’s second long ball of the series.
The game remained scoreless until a devastating fifth inning from starter Kyle Bradish, who allowed three Boston runs with two outs in the inning. What is it about Baltimore starters with two outs?
Boston tacked on two more runs as left-hander Grant Wolfram relieved Bradish, the most he has allowed in an outing this season. Ultimately, that five run total was just too much to overcome.
It leaves you wondering. If the O’s are unable to pull away victorious in this series, where they had a nearly full strength squad and posted 10 runs in the opener, when will they start winning?
Key Takeaways
The O’s are seemingly becoming a “get right” opponent.
In the past two series, Baltimore has faced a struggling lineup. And in each series, that struggling lineup has found it easy to generate contact and exceed season run totals.
Kansas City was averaging an AL-worst 3.2 runs per game heading into their series against the O’s. They scored 17 runs (5.7 per game) and accrued 34 hits across the three-game stint. Though the O’s won two of the three, KC just managed their first sweep of the season over the weekend as they took down the Angels in three straight.
Boston was tied for last in the MLB in home runs heading into Friday. Baltimore allowed them five long shots. Boston also scored the fifth-fewest runs entering Friday, but that didn’t stop them from scoring 25 against the Orioles, the most runs of any MLB team in the last three days combined.
Similarly, Red Sox starter Garrett Crochet had allowed 15 runs across his last two starts, which lasted 6 ⅔ innings combined. Against the O’s, he tossed six scoreless innings with seven punch outs.
If you are struggling in any capacity and the Orioles are next in line on your schedule, pencil yourself in for a massive rebound.
It’s all-or-nothing from the plate, and recently, it’s been more of nothing.
Baltimore is seemingly continuing its all-or-nothing offensive identity.
On Friday, they sprayed six balls into the stands and notched 10 runs in the process. In each of the next two games, they only totaled six hits.
In the series opener against the Royals, they recorded just two hits through the first nine innings. Although they won the game, the bats were cold for the vast majority of it. In the series finale, two multi-run homers propelled them to an 8-6 victory.
The O’s were on no-hit watch in the series opener against the Cleveland Guardians, a four-game set that saw them strike out 48 times.
It has been said countless times before, but something has to give. Even with an almost fully healthy group, the lineup is struggling to have any hint of consistency.
Time to be concerned about the starting rotation.
The bats are obviously more of the problem than the starting pitchers.
But, when Brandon Young has two of your most impressive starts this season, there needs to be some discussion.
A demoralized Boston group that just watched their manager get fired after a 16-run victory was still able to earn three runs on four hits and four walks against Kyle Bradish, who again struggled with his command. Not to mention, this was one of the worst teams from the plate heading into Friday’s game.
Rogers, the team’s No. 1 starter, has three consecutive shaky starts, his most recent being his shortest of the 2026 season.
Baltimore’s top two starters now have a combined 4.48 ERA this season. That simply won’t cut it if your intention is to play competitive baseball.
The middle of the Orioles’ rotation has also been shaky as Shane Baz and Chris Bassitt both have ERAs higher than five. Baz and Bassitt will be called upon as Baltimore welcomes the Houston Astros—the AL leader in runs scored—for the second series of the home stand.
Yikes.
