The Orioles are carrying a simple assignment into this road trip: beat the teams in front of them and stop wasting chances.
Baltimore has won three of its last four series for the first time since the early-to-mid-July stretch that sparked its season-best seven-game winning streak. That sounds like momentum, but the standings tell a harsher story. The Orioles have still slipped in the American League wild-card chase and remain four games below .500 with less than a month left in the 2026 regular season.
The frustrating part is how often they’ve left something on the table. Each of those series wins ended with a missed chance to complete the sweep, and the one series loss in that span came via a sweep by the New York Yankees at Camden Yards. The result was a 7-6 run that didn’t really change anything.
Now comes the part where Baltimore has to show it can actually build on a decent stretch.
The clearest blueprint is sitting right in front of them, and it belongs to the club they’re chasing. Cleveland looked cooked less than two weeks ago after going 10-20 since the All-Star break and sinking to a season-worst five games under .500. Then the Guardians hit the road for six games against two of the weakest teams in baseball.
They handled business. Cleveland swept Colorado and the Los Angeles Angels to get back above .500 and swing from one game back to two games up in less than a week.
That’s the kind of run Craig Albernaz’s club needs now.
After taking two of three in St. Louis, the Orioles head to Sacramento to play an Athletics team that has won just 13 games since the start of July. After that, they finish the trip against a Rockies team trying to avoid a fourth straight 100-loss season.
This is the moment to make people pay attention. A 5-1 or 6-0 trip against clubs with two of the worst run differentials in baseball and two of the three worst records would at least give Baltimore a real pulse heading into September. Even 4-2 feels like the minimum if the Orioles want anyone to buy into their place in this wild-card chase.
Anything less, and the skepticism only gets louder.
There are still plenty of questions hanging over the team. Will Pete Alonso’s red-hot bat keep carrying the offense into the final month?
Can a couple of other hitters catch fire and stay there? Will a starting rotation that’s beginning to show some wear hold up?
Will the bullpen keep beating expectations? How will the returning Blaze Alexander and - potentially - Felix Bautista fit into the mix?
Those answers will still be waiting when Baltimore comes home next Thursday to open a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox. But first, the Orioles have to do the one thing that matters most over the next six days: take care of two of baseball’s dregs.
Baltimore has shown it can compete with good teams, entering Friday with the ninth-best winning percentage in baseball against opponents at or above .500. The problem is what happens against everyone else. Too often this season, the Orioles have played down to the competition and lived somewhere between two and nine games below .500 for five months.
The window is open. If Baltimore can’t make its move now, it probably isn’t coming.
In Other News...
Pete Alonso's Orioles Turnaround Followed A Huge Offseason Life Change
Pete Alonsos first months in Baltimore came with more than the usual challenge of changing teams. After spending his entire career with the Mets, he signed a five-year, $155 million deal with the Orioles and then had to adjust not just to a new clubhouse and routine, but to a major life change at home as well. The early stretch was an adjustment period, and it showed at times as he settled into both roles.
Since May, though, Alonso has looked far more like the middle-of-the-order force Baltimore expected. He has posted a .940 OPS and hit 27 home runs, a strong sign that the personal and professional transition is finally smoothing out. For the Orioles, the encouraging part is not just the production, but the way he has managed to find it after such a significant offseason shift. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler O'Neill Said Exactly What Orioles Fans Needed To Hear
Tyler O'Neill gave the Orioles one of their biggest defensive moments of late with a diving catch in the Aug. 22 win over Tampa Bay, the kind of play that can change the feel of a game and, in this case, helped set up a walk-off finish. Just a few days later, Baltimore had to move him to the 10-day injured list on Aug. 26 because of a strained rotator cuff, a reminder of how quickly a key contributor can go from difference-maker to sidelined.
Even with O'Neill out, the clubhouse tone has stayed upbeat as the Orioles keep chasing a Wild Card spot. Reliever Andrew Kittredge has pointed to the team's positive momentum, and for a club trying to bank wins in late August, that matters almost as much as the box score. Baltimore still has to navigate the stretch ahead without one of its more impactful defenders, but the confidence around the group has not gone anywhere. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Suddenly Have A Christian Encarnacion-Strand Decision To Make
Christian Encarnacion-Strand has quickly turned himself into a relevant Orioles conversation piece at the right time. Over the last 13 games, he has given Baltimore a real jolt at the plate, driving in 15 runs while batting .294/.302/.588, and his surge has come with the kind of timing that forces a front office to start thinking beyond the current stretch run.
Craig Albernaz has already acknowledged the impact Encarnacion-Strand has made, especially after Blaze Alexander went down with an injury, and now the bigger question is how that production fits into Baltimores long-term picture. With trades and positional shuffles potentially reshaping the roster, the Orioles suddenly have to decide whether his recent run is a short-term burst or something they need to build around going into next season. [Read more 🡒]