The Orioles came out of the All-Star break and immediately found a way to keep the momentum rolling, squeezing out a 3-2 win Friday night in Houston for their fifth straight victory.
It wasn’t clean. It wasn’t easy.
And for long stretches, it looked like the kind of game that could slip away if Baltimore didn’t keep surviving small disasters. Craig Albernaz used six pitchers, and the group spent most of the night working around traffic.
The Astros drew nine walks and came up with seven at-bats with runners in scoring position, but the Orioles kept finding answers when they needed them most. That included a key first-inning double play and a bases-loaded escape from Cam Sanders, who made his Orioles debut and entered with one out and the sacks full.
Sanders got a big strikeout, then induced a ground out to get out of the jam.
Baltimore’s offense was quiet for most of the night, too. Through seven innings, the Orioles had only one run on three hits.
Then the eighth inning flipped the game. Adley Rutschman opened the frame with a double, and Taylor Ward followed with the go-ahead homer that gave the Orioles the lead for good.
Ward’s power surge has been one of the more interesting developments in the lineup. He now has five homers between June and July after managing just two through the end of May. He’s not going to match his 36 home runs from 2025, but the Orioles would love to see him stay hot and push toward 20 by the end of the season.
The win kept Baltimore within two games of the AL’s final wild card spot.
The series continues today in Houston, with first pitch set for 4:10. Trevor Rogers, who is 6-7 with a 4.48 ERA, gets the ball. He’s been sharp lately, posting a 0.82 ERA this month after a 2.05 ERA in June, and the Orioles have won each of his last four starts.
Elsewhere around the club, Baltimore acquired Rudy Martin Jr. from the Royals. Martin is 30, has never appeared in the majors, and has spent most of this season in Double-A. The move gives him his first spot on a 40-man roster.
Sanders’ debut also offered a little glimpse of why the Orioles were interested in him in the first place. His big-league numbers haven’t been good, and he’s already 29, but Baltimore is looking for bullpen help wherever it can find it.
There’s also the bigger-picture view of the second half, and Coby Mayo recently summed it up with, “This team is just one good streak away.” Right now, the Orioles are in the middle of one.
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