The Orioles offense has done it again. Don’t ask me for the definition of “it” in this context because the answer to that remains unclear early in the 2026 season. What is certain for tonight is this: The Orioles could have lost another stupid, frustrating game full of futility and easily-avoidable mistakes. They were one strike away from that exact outcome. Long afterwards, even after taking a five-run extra-innings lead, they were one swing away from that outcome. Still, when the dust settled, the O’s beat the Kansas City Royals by a 7-5 score in 12 innings.
This was a game that, in a lot of ways, the Orioles deserved to lose. One reason that they deserved to lose is that Gunnar Henderson led off the game with a walk and got picked off. Henderson led off the ninth inning with a walk and got picked off. In between these two bungled appearances on the bases, the entire remaining Orioles lineup collected exactly one hit: A double by Taylor Ward immediately after Henderson’s first pickoff.
Another reason that the Orioles deserved to lose this one is that starting pitcher Kyle Bradish had another tough night. Unlike his last tough game, where he was battered in the earned runs column, it wasn’t so bad this time. The ugly number is the hits column, with Bradish allowing ten hits over 5.1 innings. Ten hits! And he walked three guys too. That’s a lot of baserunners. Through all of this, he allowed just one single run, a solo home run hit by Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone. It could have been worse. Against any other team, perhaps it would have been. On Monday night, it was enough to keep the Orioles in the game.
Even with that effort, it very nearly didn’t matter that Bradish kept the Orioles in the game. The Orioles offense did very nearly nothing, and they were down to their last out with the tying run only as far as first base. Pete Alonso kept the line moving, bringing up rookie catcher Samuel Basallo. We’ve seen Basallo have problems so far this season. He was down to his last strike but instead of striking out, he lined a fat pitch by Royals closer Lucas Erceg into left field, scoring Dylan Beavers and putting the Orioles back in the game.
The teams traded zeroes in the tenth and traded runs in the eleventh. The Orioles managed to score their zombie runner – or Manfred Man, or however you like to call it – as Beavers delivered an RBI hit with two outs in the top of the inning. It’s a good thing he did, too, because Anthony Nunez wasn’t able to put up a zero in the bottom half. After getting two outs, he had put two strikes on Bobby Witt Jr. but could not execute the put-away pitch, and Witt got a game-tying hit of his own. Nunez closed the door from t here.
It’s rare to see the twelfth inning these days. These two teams deserved it on Monday night. That is not complimentary. Basallo, the ninth inning hero, promptly came through as he led off the twelfth with an almost-identical line drive that scored pinch runner Coby Mayo. Jeremiah Jackson followed with a single, then Weston Wilson, after attempting to sacrifice bunt earlier in the plate appearance, drew a walk to load the bases.
This brought up Leody Taveras, hitless on the evening. Taveras has improbably been one of the better Orioles hitters so far. He came through once again on Monday night, walloping a pitch to the deepest part of center field in Kauffman Stadium. A grand slam! This despite the heroic leaping effort of Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel. The Orioles had a 7-2 lead just like that.
This ought to have been a comfortable lead, except for one thing: These are the 2026 Orioles. Their options for pitching the twelfth were few and they called upon rookie Cameron Foster. I don’t feel like doing the play-by-play of his inning because it’s late and I’m tired but you can see it in the final score: The Orioles had a 7-2 lead and they only won by two runs. Geez, dude. The game ended with the tying run at the plate for Kansas City. There’s no call for that. Even so, Foster’s performance wasn’t enough to revive the reeling Royals. He got three outs before giving up five runs. He only gave up three (and only two were earned). The game ended. The Orioles won. Sheesh.
These two teams will be back at it again on Tuesday night. That feels more like a threat than a neutral piece of information, but there we have it. Weather permitting, they will play again, and again after that on Wednesday. Shane Baz and Kris Bubic are the scheduled starting pitchers as the series continues at 7:40 Eastern time. Try scoring some runs before the ninth inning this time, Orioles. Try to keep scoring after you’ve scored once.
It is a longtime tradition on Camden Chat after a win to deem a player the Most Birdland Player of the game, for someone who has made the most fun contribution to the win. Sometimes that’s the same thing as the Most Valuable Player of the game, sometimes it’s not. This used to be decided by poll, but we have lost that capability due to technical changes out of our control. So, it’s up to you to nominate your picks in the comments. Who’s your MBP? Choose wisely or be lightly mocked!