The Orioles left Houston with a win, but the trip also laid bare the same problems that have followed them all season, and those issues are about to meet a much tougher setting at Fenway Park.
Boston is rolling right now, and the Red Sox have turned into one of the biggest surprises in MLB after an ugly start that included the firing of esteemed skipper Alex Cora in Baltimore … after a 17-1 win. They now bring one of the best pitching staffs in the majors and a much sturdier home profile than the one they showed early in the year. That makes this series a real test for an Orioles club still trying to climb out of a deep first-half hole.
The biggest concern is the offense, especially on the road. The Orioles entered play Sunday ranked 25th in MLB in road runs, and the numbers behind that slide are ugly: 27th in batting average at .224, 22nd in on-base percentage at .304, 24th in slugging at .373 and 23rd in OPS at .677.
They also strike out more than 26% of the time away from home, which is the most in MLB. That’s not a recipe for surviving in a park like Fenway, especially against this pitching staff.
Craig Albernaz is going to have to be willing to step outside his comfort zone. The Orioles do not hit homers on the road, now sitting outside the top 24 in that category, and they don’t score consistently off starting pitchers.
If they’re not leaving the yard, the runs tend to disappear. That puts even more pressure on the manager and baseball czar Mike Elias to consider different lineup choices and different ways to manufacture offense.
Gunnar Henderson remains the biggest symbol of that struggle. He should be their best player, but he looks even worse to start this season half than he did the entire lost first half.
In Houston, he went 1-for-13 with six strikeouts, and his July has been brutal with a sub .450 OPS. Yes, OPS.
He did finally shorten up his swing for an opposite-field RBI on Sunday, but that doesn’t erase how rough the series was. Henderson, frankly, has been a failure, and the Orioles can’t keep pretending the current setup is working.
That’s why the top of the order needs a rethink. Taylor Ward leading off and Dylan Beavers hitting around the three spot, the way he did Sunday, makes more sense than Henderson anywhere near the top three.
Albernaz and Elias went with Henderson leading off, and that has already been a failure like we told you. More time off, more DH work, and some lower-order plate appearances would make more sense than forcing the issue.
The Orioles are also dealing with more injuries behind the plate. Adley Rutschman is now iffy with “left-wrist discomfort,” which led to the recall of Sam Huff from AAA.
Samuel Basallo also left Sunday’s game with shoulder discomfort. That leaves the lineup even thinner at a time when every bat matters.
Blaze Alexander’s absence only makes the problem worse. He remains out long-term with a broken hand, and since April 28 he has been MLB’s leader in batting average. There aren’t great options to replace that production, but the Orioles need to keep searching for something that works.
The one area that did travel well in Houston was the little stuff. The Orioles got some bunts down, ran hard on ground balls and scored in unusual ways.
They also used a double-steal Sunday to score a run, with lumbering Pete Alonso just getting into second in time. That kind of baseball is going to matter more than ever at Fenway, because the Orioles can’t just assume the ballpark will fix what ails them.
Albernaz seemed to understand that. He mentioned small ball three times in the barely four minutes he spoke to the media after Sunday’s win, and that was telling.
The bullpen, meanwhile, has been a mess on the road for much of the season, though it held up in Houston because the offense gave it almost no margin for error. Albernaz was handed a rough mix of options from Elias, and he’ll have to keep moving arms around, including giving multiple pitchers a shot in the ninth. Cam Sanders was sent down after two sterling outings in Houston, which was a strange move considering there isn’t much in Norfolk that screams obvious upgrade.
He’ll need more from Tyer Wells, Andrew Kittredge and Rico Garcia in leverage spots, and the lack of a lefty-lefty specialist could become a real issue against this Boston lineup in this ballpark. Grant Wolfram, the only lefty in the group, pitched the ninth Sunday.
No one is built to own that role full time, so Albernaz is going to have to keep navigating the ninth the same way he handles the seventh and eighth. For the Orioles to keep this streak going in Boston, they’ll need more than talent. They’ll need flexibility, urgency and a willingness to play a different kind of game.
In Other News...
Orioles May Need A Different Plan For Gunnar Henderson
Gunnar Hendersons rough offensive stretch has become one of the Orioles more uncomfortable storylines, and it has pushed the conversation beyond simple patience. With fans growing restless and Henderson not producing like the lineup anchor Baltimore expected, the club is left weighing what to do with a player whose struggles are now hard to ignore.
Benching him is not a realistic answer for a team that does not have much infield depth, especially with Blaze Alexander injured, so the more practical discussion is about changing the look of the lineup. The upcoming series against the Red Sox could offer a natural window, since Boston is lined up to send three left-handed starters to the mound and Baltimore may decide this is the right time to ease some of the pressure on Henderson without taking him out of the picture entirely. [Read more 🡒]
Ike Irish Delivered A Huge Orioles Farm Day Amid More Tides Frustration
Ike Irish gave the Orioles system one of its loudest farm-day performances in recent memory, earning Orioles Hangout MiLB Player of the Day honors after a monster showing for the Keys. He filled up the box score with extra-base damage, run production and constant pressure on the bases, the kind of line that can turn a quiet development day into a headline for the whole organization.
Norfolk, meanwhile, was left searching for offense again in a 4-0 loss to Nashville, even with Trey Gibson turning in a solid start and the Tides getting home runs from Thomas Sosa and Brandon Butterworth. The shutout loss was another reminder that the upper levels still need more consistent production, especially with Nashville getting enough timely work from Victor Figueroa and Colin Tuft to keep the game out of reach. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Bassitt Update Could Change Everything For Orioles Rotation
Chris Bassitts recovery has moved into a more encouraging phase for the Orioles, even if the calendar still leaves plenty of waiting. After landing on the 10-day injured list with back soreness, he was shifted to the 60-day injured list, and the latest update points to a pitcher who has at least begun his throwing progression again. For a rotation that has had to keep adjusting around injuries, any sign that Bassitt is getting back on the mound matters.
The timing still makes this more of a late-summer watch than an immediate fix, but the door is open for a return in mid-August if everything keeps moving in the right direction. Around the league, other notable arms are in various stages of recovery too, with Carlos Rodon progressing after a PRP shot, Max Scherzer pausing rehab after cortisone injections, and Anthony Santander briefly shut down after a shot for his shoulder. For Baltimore, though, Bassitt remains the name that could alter the rotation picture the most if his buildup keeps trending up. [Read more 🡒]