The Orioles keep finding new ways to make the month feel like a trap door.
Three straight wins over the Rays had them looking like they might be ready to steady themselves through a brutal stretch. Instead, they’ve dropped four in a row, and the latest was a 6-1 loss to the Yankees that finished off a sweep. Baltimore didn’t just lose; it drifted through a flat, lifeless night and added two more unearned runs, inching toward what could become a franchise record in that category.
And yet, somehow, the wild card door is still cracked open. The Orioles are only two games out despite the skid, but that number hides the real problem: they’ve got five teams to climb over.
From here, they likely need to outpace all five by anywhere from one to three games the rest of the way. That’s a hard ask for a roster carrying too many flaws, especially if the starting pitching keeps losing its sharpness as the innings pile up.
Now comes the Rays again. Baltimore held up pretty well against them at the Trop, so there’s at least a chance for another reversal.
This team has spent the season luring people into giving up on them, then turning around and scratching out another rally just when the frustration starts to harden. They’ve been bad enough to wear on everybody, but not quite bad enough to be fully written off.
The clock is the other problem. There are only 34 games left, and if the Orioles are going to make a serious push, they may need something like a 23-11 finish.
That’s a tall order for a club that hasn’t shown that kind of baseball for most of the year. Too much has already gone sideways to make it easy to believe in that sort of run for that long.
Still, it’s not over yet. The Orioles can keep the slim hopes alive a little while longer, and maybe even give people something to hold onto for next year if certain players - especially Gunnar Henderson - can start turning things around before the season ends.
Tonight’s game is on Apple+ TV and Apple+ only. Trevor Rogers and Freddy Peralta are set to start the 7:15 game.
One angle on the wild card race worth watching comes from Jay Jaffe’s look at the mess in the American League. His focus is the possibility of a sub-.500 team reaching the postseason in a 162-game season for the first time ever. If that kind of chaos really is on the table, then the Orioles might only need to go 20-14, which is still a lot to ask, just not quite as much.
There’s also a hands-on role developing around Gunnar Henderson, with Pete Alonso helping him try to salvage his season. That kind of leadership is something the Orioles simply haven’t had much of in recent years, though it comes with plenty of other issues attached.
On the pitching front, Bautista is back in Baltimore before an eventual rehab assignment, which is reportedly starting soon. That’s enough to make anybody nervous.
Elsewhere, lefty prospect Luis De León has moved into the bullpen as a possible September callup option. And Alex Hoppe has opened his Orioles run by throwing hard and posting a 0 ERA in six games.
There’s also a bit of club history tied to today. On this date in 1977, Brooks Robinson retired after 23 major league seasons and 2,896 games played for the Orioles. In 2001, Tim Raines Sr. and Jr. were opponents in a Triple-A game involving Rochester, the Orioles’ then-affiliate, and later that season they became major league teammates in Baltimore.
The Orioles also have two former players with birthdays today: Mason Williams and Jerry DaVanon, who turns 81.
In Other News...
Gunnar Henderson Has Become A Worrying Sign For The Orioles
Gunnar Henderson has been one of the faces of the Orioles young core, so any hint of regression lands with extra weight in Baltimore. MLB Network analyst Dan ODowd recently raised alarms about Hendersons direction, pointing to a decline in both his hitting and defense since the 2025 All-Star break and framing it as more than a temporary slump. For a team built around internal development, concerns like that naturally spill beyond one player and into the broader question of how the Orioles are shaping their talent.
ODowd went a step further by suggesting the organization, under Mike Elias, may not be getting the most out of Hendersons ability. He even floated the idea that the shortstop could be traded by 2027, while also recommending changes to the developmental setup, including bringing in Bill Ripken as an infield coordinator and perhaps involving Buck Showalter in some role. Whether Baltimore takes any of that seriously is another matter, but the conversation underscores how important Henderson remains to the franchises future and how quickly expectations can shift when a cornerstone player starts to look off track. [Read more 🡒]
Gunnar Henderson Might Finally Have The Fix Orioles Fans Needed
Gunnar Hendersons recent slide had become one of the quieter concerns around Camden Yards, especially for a lineup that leans on him to help set the tone. So the sight of Pete Alonso spending time with Henderson in practice, working through batting mechanics and zeroing in on lower-half posture and hip stability, offered a different kind of development for Orioles fans to track. It is the sort of behind-the-scenes tweak that can matter as much as any box score, particularly when a young hitter is trying to regain the timing that made him one of the clubs most important bats.
What makes the collaboration notable is the source of the advice, with Alonso drawing on his own experience to help Henderson sort out the issues that have made fastballs such a stubborn problem this season. Henderson has shown signs of improvement lately after the prolonged slump, but the work points to a more specific fix than a simple hot streak. For Baltimore, the appeal is obvious: if the changes hold, the Orioles might finally be getting closer to the version of Henderson they have been waiting for. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Prospect Suddenly Has A Real Shot To Fill Key Bullpen Need
Luis De Len has become one of the more interesting arms in the Orioles system this summer, and not just because of his prospect status. Baltimore is moving him into a relief role at Triple-A Norfolk, a shift that gives the organization a chance to see whether his stuff can translate quickly to a bullpen setting and possibly help fill a need later in the season.
De Len already made his first relief appearance recently, and he has impressed in both Double-A and Triple-A this year, which is why the transition is worth watching closely. Manager Craig Albernaz has been upbeat about De Lens talent and what he could bring to the club, and if the adjustment keeps going well, the Orioles may have found a candidate for the bullpen without having to look far outside the system. [Read more 🡒]