Craig Albernaz’s handling of Tuesday night in Colorado left the Orioles with another frustrating loss and a few more questions they didn’t need.
Baltimore had a chance to move above .500 for the first time since April 14 and lock up its second five-game winning streak of the season, but instead the Orioles fell 4-2 to the Rockies at Coors Field, dropping to 69-70 and slipping 1.5 games behind the Guardians for the final Wild Card spot.
The biggest gamble came in the seventh inning of a tied game, when Albernaz sent 23-year-old Luis DeLeon to the mound for his MLB debut. DeLeon had barely pitched as a reliever in the minors, and the setting made the move even harder to defend: a 2-2 game in the worst pitching park in MLB.
"We had a bunch of guys down because of the workload," Albernaz said, trying to explain why this kid got his debut in that spot.
That answer didn’t square cleanly with what he had said before the game, when he described De Leon this way: "We're not going to ambush him and throw him in the fire right away."
Baltimore’s lineup choices were just as head-scratching. Coby Mayo’s hot bat was left out, newly acquired $5M waiver claim Luis Robert Jr. didn’t play, and the lineup card came out unusually late.
Heston Kjerstad also returned to the majors for the first time since June 2025 before Robert made his Orioles debut. The lefty-righty logic may have been part of it, but Albernaz didn’t manage it like a playoff game.
The Orioles did get a tie from Jackson Holliday, who homered and finished with three hits against Colorado. One of those hits came after a strong series start in St.
Louis, where his father, Matt, also starred. Baltimore’s other run came after Pete Alonso stayed in a pickle long enough for a score to cross.
But the game turned when Holliday dropped a routine pop up to open the seventh. DeLeon was on the mound for his first pitches on an MLB field, and two batters later TJ Rumfield smoked a center-cut slider for a two-run lead after Mickey Moniak advanced all the way to second on the error.
The Orioles had already been living on the edge. On Monday, they managed only two runs against a weak Colorado starter and a poor staff, and Colton Cowser needed a miracle catch to erase a game-winning homer. Tuesday was worse against Gabriel Hughes.
Kyle Bradish was again fighting his own stuff, and the outing dragged on nearly the entire night. He needed 95 pitches to get through five innings, struck out just eight batters by swing and miss, and couldn’t consistently find the zone. Albernaz said only, "Battling command a little bit," but Bradish’s line suggests more than that.
He threw 48 sinkers, more than half his total pitches, and got only eight called strikes and whiffs on the pitch. He also produced just two ground balls, allowed 47 hits in 34 2/3 innings over his last seven starts, and has given up five homers in that stretch. Across those seven starts, he has only 27 strikeouts.
Bradish, Brandon Young and Wednesday’s starter Trevor Rogers are all showing clear signs of fatigue, and Bradish’s recent workload has been especially taxing after Tommy John surgery and fewer than 40 innings over the last two years. The Orioles, meanwhile, are left with another loss and a rotation issue that looks more urgent by the day.
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Orioles Just Set Up Another Tough Roster Decision
The Orioles roster expansion brought a familiar sort of September clutter to Camden Yards, with Heston Kjerstad and left-handed reliever Luis De Len promoted from Triple-A Norfolk as Baltimore opened up to 28 players. Cade Povich was sent back to Norfolk in the shuffle, a reminder that even as rosters grow, every addition still squeezes someone else out of the picture.
Luis Robert Jr. could also be activated for an upcoming game, which would force another move and sharpen the pressure on a group already being asked to sort out roles on the fly. For a club trying to balance late-season depth, left-handed pitching and an outfield that keeps getting more crowded, the next decision may be even trickier than the last. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Rotation Shuffle Just Raised A Bigger Stretch Run Question
The Orioles have already started to make August feel a little different on the mound, opening with Cade Povich last night and pushing Kyle Bradish to tonight before Trevor Rogers takes the ball Wednesday afternoon. Craig Albernaz said a six-man rotation is under consideration, and with rosters expanding, Baltimore is also planning to add another pitcher while Luis Robert Jr. is expected to come aboard as the new position player.
The timing matters because this is no longer just about getting through a series, it is about how the club wants to handle the final months of the season. Bradishs recent struggles have only sharpened the discussion, especially after some uneven first-inning work, and the Orioles now have to decide whether the shuffle is a short-term convenience or the start of a broader rotation plan for the stretch run. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Roster Crunch Is Putting Heston Kjerstad Back In Focus
Heston Kjerstad is on track to finally get back into the Orioles mix in September, a welcome development after the outfielder spent much of the season working his way back from health setbacks. His return would give Baltimore another left-handed bat to sort into a roster that is about to get even more crowded, especially with the club expecting another outfield addition in the same stretch.
Luis Robert Jr. is also anticipated to join the Orioles, creating a squeeze that could force the team into some difficult decisions on the fringe of the roster. Christian Franklin may be the one sent down once Robert arrives, while Flix Bautista remains on a slower path back and is not expected to return right away because he still needs more rehab outings, leaving Baltimore to manage both reinforcements and the timing of its bullpen help. [Read more 🡒]