The Orioles spent most of Sunday trying to outrun the weather and the Cubs, and for a while it looked like they might do both.
With a severe thunderstorm watch hanging over Camden Yards, the start was pushed up to 1:35 p.m. The dark clouds still won the race, but the Orioles did enough on the field to beat Chicago 3-2 and avoid a sweep before an announced crowd of 12,052.
Jeremiah Jackson delivered the swing that mattered most. Pinch-hitting in the eighth, he lined a two-run double off Ryan Rolison into right-center at 106.5 mph, giving Baltimore the lead back after the Cubs had tied it earlier in the inning. The Orioles had been stuck on two hits until that point.
Andrew Kittredge then closed it out for his second save, even after Nico Hoerner reached on Gunnar Henderson’s fielding error to open the ninth. Hoerner tried to steal second, came off the bag and was out, and the Cubs couldn’t manufacture one more run. When the rain finally arrived with two outs, the Orioles had already finished the job.
Tyler O’Neill gave Baltimore the first punch, homering for the third straight at-bat to lead off the second inning. His 398-foot drive to center off Cubs left-hander David Peterson was his fourth homer this month in five games, and it also marked the 16th time in his career that he has homered in at least two straight games. Ryan Mountcastle was the last Oriole to homer in three straight plate appearances, doing it on June 19, 2021 against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.
But the Orioles couldn’t add much after that. Leody Taveras had a leadoff bunt in the third overturned on review, and Baltimore left opportunities behind when Adley Rutschman and Taylor Ward walked but Henderson grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Henderson’s rough series against the Cubs continued; he has now hit into three double plays, matching his season total before this set.
The middle innings brought more traffic, but not enough damage. Gavin Hollowell entered in the sixth, walked Alonso and pinch-hitter Jackson Holliday, then threw a wild pitch before getting Samuel Basallo to fly out to the left field warning track. The Orioles were close to a bigger inning, but not close enough.
On the other side, Trevor Rogers kept Baltimore in front for most of the afternoon. He worked out of a first-inning jam after Alex Bregman walked, Seiya Suzuki reached on an infield single and an error on Blaze Alexander’s throw put runners in scoring position. Suzuki also stole second, but Rogers escaped a 27-pitch inning without giving up a run.
He settled in after that. The second inning took just eight pitches, and he added his third strikeout there. In the fourth, Michael Busch singled with two outs and tried to score on Hoerner’s double down the left field line, but Taylor Ward’s throw to Henderson led to a tag at the plate that preserved the 1-0 lead.
The defense kept coming in the fifth, when Dansby Swanson singled and stole second before Leody Taveras ran down Miguel Amaya’s drive with a diving catch in left-center.
Rogers finally gave in in the sixth. Suzuki turned on a changeup and hammered it 432 feet, a game-tying blast with one out that left the bat at 110.9 mph. Rogers finished with one run and five hits allowed over six innings, throwing 89 pitches, 60 for strikes.
Baltimore answered late, and just in time. Tyler Ferguson hit Henderson and Pete Alonso with one out in the eighth, and after Dylan Beavers was set to bat for Tyler O’Neill, Jackson stayed in when the left-handed Rolison entered. Jackson made the most of the chance, and the Orioles had the lead again.
Pete Crow-Armstrong had sparked Chicago’s eighth with a shallow fly ball that dropped in front of a diving O’Neill for a double. He scored on Suzuki’s double, a bouncer inside third base and down the line, to tie the game before Jackson answered.
The win moved the Orioles to 43-51 and kept them from falling a season-worst 10 games under .500. They’re now 19-9 all-time against the Cubs.
In Other News...
Dodgers Trade Proposal Puts Orioles In A Tough Spot With Lefty
The Orioles keep getting pulled into the pitching market chatter, and Trevor Rogers is the kind of arm that naturally draws it. He has been uneven enough over the full season to leave plenty of questions, but his recent stretch has also reminded teams why left-handed starters with upside still carry real appeal in July. For Baltimore, that creates the familiar tension of weighing short-term value against the kind of trade interest that can reshape a deadline conversation.
What makes the situation trickier is the timing. Rogers would come with no long-term control, so any deal has to be judged against the price of the return, not just the name value on the other side. The Dodgers are still shopping for pitching help and have bigger targets they could chase, which only adds to the sense that Baltimore could be asked to part with a useful arm without getting the kind of package that makes a move easy to justify. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Fans May Never Forget This Missed Chance At An Ace
The Orioles were in position at the 2024 trade deadline to chase the kind of frontline starter every contender covets, and Tarik Skubal was sitting right there as the obvious prize. Detroit never completed a deal, Baltimore never got its ace, and the missed window has only grown more frustrating as the pitching market keeps reminding teams how rare those chances are.
MLB Network Insider Jon Morosi has framed it as the kind of opportunity Baltimore may not get back, especially with Skubals name already surfacing again as the 2025 deadline draws closer. For an Orioles club that has spent the last year trying to balance present urgency with future value, the lingering question is whether the front office will be willing to pay the price this time around. [Read more 🡒]
Ryan Mountcastle Just Became An Orioles Deadline Tension Point
Ryan Mountcastle is still working back from the 60-day injured list, and the Orioles at least have some clarity on the broad outline of his recovery. President of baseball operations Mike Elias said Mountcastle is progressing, with a return possible after the All-Star break, but he stopped short of putting a date on it. For a team in the middle of a rebuild, that leaves one of its more recognizable bats in a familiar holding pattern: close enough to matter, not quite close enough to know exactly where he fits.
The bigger question is what happens once he is ready. Baltimore has enough uncertainty around the roster that Mountcastles next step is not just about health, but about opportunity, and there is already a sense that the Orioles could listen if the right trade angle emerges before the Aug. 3 deadline. For now, the club is still waiting on the same thing everyone else is - a clearer picture of when he is back, and what role he would actually have when he gets there. [Read more 🡒]