That felt good! We have been waiting for this Orioles offense, which is loaded with potential, to finally break out and show us their power. They did exactly that on Friday night, blasting six home runs as part of a 10-3 dismantling of the visiting Red Sox. It could not have gone much better than it did.
You can go up and down the box score to find things worth smiling about.
Perhaps the most important nugget is that Adley Rutschman continues to look like his old self, picking up right where he left off before his recent IL stint. He went 3-for-5 with two home runs and six RBI in the win last night, and now has a 1.115 OPS on the season.
Rutschman being back has given the entire lineup better structure. Samuel Basallo has dropped a few spots in the order and looked better for it. The youngster went 4-for-5 on Friday, including his fourth homer of the year.
The hardest hit of the day belonged to Gunnar Henderson. He had a 111.2-mph single in the second inning, not a bad follow-up to the 109.1-mph homer he had to begin the game. Maybe he is coming out of his recent cold spell. The O’s would welcome the boost.
Speaking of which, has Coby Mayo been activated? He hit another homer on Friday, his third of the week. There is still work to be done on his season numbers, but the outcomes have been better recently. The Orioles do not need him to be a star, but they have to hope for more more than a .618 OPS out of the third base position. He has plenty of talent to make that happen.
And don’t forget about the 4-for-4 night from Taylor Ward, or the three hits (including a home run) from Dylan Beavers. Oh, and Tyler O’Neill was activated from the concussion list. Plus, the news was good on Jackson Holliday’s MRI.
The point is that the Orioles depth is (for now) showing itself. That doesn’t mean it will always be apparent, or that other rough patches won’t come. But in this moment, the team is showing what it is capable of against some admittedly struggling opponents. That’s what team’s with playoff aspirations have to do.
In case you missed it, today’s game against the Red Sox has been moved up to 12:05 in order to avoid the rain that is expected this evening. The O’s will be hoping that Trevor Rogers can bounce back to secure a series win, while the bats will have to deal with the normally dominant Garrett Crochet, who is in poor form (11.77 ERA over last three starts) at the moment.
Imaging clean on Holliday’s hand/wrist, rehab paused due to ongoing discomfort | Orioles.comHolliday said that “it felt like I broke my hand again” during that painful looking swing earlier this week. Fortunately, after getting imaging done, the Orioles medical staff confirmed that there is no structural damage, only slight inflammation. The infielder will still take some time off to let that inflammation subside. At this rate, it feels unlikely that he is back with the big league club until at least mid-May.
Elias provides injury updates before tonight’s series opener against Red Sox | Roch KubatkoThe only “negative” update was on Dean Kremer, who is going to miss “several weeks to say the least” with a quad strain, according to Mike Elias. Holliday is going to take off a week and then get back to work. Jordan Westburg is hitting and throwing down in Sarasota. Heston Kjerstad is doing the same and is close to a rehab assignment. Keegan Akin is expected to be ready soon. Dietrich Enns is right behind him. For one day at least, the Orioles didn’t get bad news about an injury.
Mike Elias is ‘bullish’ this year’s Orioles will avoid last year’s tailspin | The Baltimore BannerThis year’s team has already shown they are quite a bit deeper than the 2025 version. That has allowed them to tread water as they get healthy. A 13-13 record isn’t great, but it has them in the thick of the wild card picture, and there is reason to think that the team will improve as the season goes on.
Robert Andino turns 42 today. He played parts of four seasons in Baltimore from 2009 through 2012, with his signature moment coming on the final day of the 2011 season. On that day he (and the rest of the Orioles) eliminated the Red Sox from playoff contention with a walk-off single that was part of a wild day in MLB.
Darren Holmes is 60 years old. The journeyman reliever played for eight teams across 13 major league seasons. In all that time he played in just five games for the O’s, all of which came in 2000. He returned to the organization as major league bullpen coach from 2020-23.
The late Art Schallock (b. 1924, d. 2025) was born on this day. He pitched in 30 games (six starts) for the 1955 Orioles.
April 25th has been a slow date in Orioles history, according to Baseball Reference. So here are a few happenings from beyond Birdland:
1953 – Francis Crick and James Watson publish the first article that explains the double helix structure of DNA.
1954 – The first practical solar cell is publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories.
1960 – The USS Triton completes the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe. The journey had started on February 24, taking 60 days and 21 hours.
1961 – Robert Noyce is granted a patent for an integrated circuit, now known widely as a “microchip.”