The 2025 season is five series in. It seems like Opening Day was so long ago, and yet it’s just been over a couple of weeks.
Honestly, expectations of where our team is and where many of us thought have elongated the start of the season. It doesn’t seem like it, but there are still 144 games left.
One of the great managers in MLB history, Tommy Lasorda, summed up a major league season in the most perfect way imaginable.
“No matter how good you are, you’re going to lose one-third of your games,” Lasorda liked to say. “No matter how bad you are, you’re going to win one-third of your games. It’s the other third that makes the difference.”
As we ponder what will happen over the next 144 games, let’s delve in and see who made this weeks The Great, The Good and The Ugly.
The Great: Cedric Mullins
There was a time when Cedric Mullins‘ performances would be the spark plug that would ignite the offense. Over the last couple of years, that spark has slipped a bit until this season.
Mullins once again is pacing the way, as the offense looks for a catalyst to jump start it. In 12 games this month, Mullins has reached base in 10 of them, including multiple times in eight of those contests.
Over the last week, Mullins has played in four games, reaching base a combined 11 times (seven walks, four hits). Of his four hits, three of them were for extra bases (two doubles and one home run). He has scored four runs and driven in three during the same time frame.
One of the biggest improvements to Mullins’ game is that his walks are up and strikeouts are down. He has walked seven times and struck out just four over the last five games and, for the month, has 12 walks versus eight strikeouts.
For the season, Mullins, who is in a contract year, is slashing .291/.432/.600/1.043 with four home runs, 17 RBIs, 12 runs scored, and nine of his 16 hits have gone for extra-bases (five doubles, four home runs).
On top of his offensive output, Mullins is playing his usual Gold-Glove-worthy defense, as he is emerging as one of the Birds’ early season surprises.
The Good: Tomoyuki Sugano
A 35-year-old rookie who was one of the top pitchers in the Nippon Professional Baseball League was an unexpected signing for the Birds. But the O’s brass saw something, especially when Sugano’s best season happened last year at age 34.
So far, Tomoyuki Sugano has been one of the best arms in the starting rotation, as he has yet to allow more than three runs in any of his starts.
Thursday night saw Sugano pitch an MLB career-high seven innings in front of the home crowd at Camden Yards. Tommy Sugar threw 87 pitches (55 strikes), allowing five hits and two runs while striking out three.
Sugano is now 2-1 through four starts with a 3.43 ERA and 1.29 WHIP across 21 innings. He stays in the strike zone as noted by his 3.7 pitches per plate appearance and his 15.3 pitches per inning.
Securing his first quality starts, Sugano seems to get better each outing and helped guide the Orioles to their first series win of the season against the Cleveland Guardians.
The Ugly: Jordan Westburg
It wasn’t too long ago when Jordan Westburg was in The Great and The Good to start the season. That has quickly been erased, with Westy struggling to the point of manager O’s Brandon Hyde saying he was pressing at the plate.
Westburg has gone 4-for-39 (.103 avg) with a .114 slugging percentage. He has reached base twice in his last five games (both times a walk) and has not collected a hit since April 6.
In April, Westburg has seen his batting average drop from a team-high of .381 to .183, while his on-base percentage for the month sits at .258.
Hyde did say that Westburg was a little banged up but is getting healthy, and he is hoping the day off on Wednesday helped refocus the young infielder.
A valuable player defensively, Westburg showed last season that his offense is something else to watch. Going into Easter weekend, Westburg is slashing .183/.258/.333/.591 with three home runs, four RBIs and nine runs scored.
Areas that are contributing to Westburg’s struggles are his BABIP (.190) and him being overly aggressive at the plate, as he is seeing a career-worst 3.6 pitches per plate appearance.
A crucial member of the team, the Birds need Westy to be the force he was last season. He’s such an important piece to the O’s puzzle.
After the Orioles secured their first series win of the season, they will get right back to it as the Cincinnati Reds come to town. The Birds will then have an off day before traveling to Washington for a three-game series.
Be on the lookout for The Battery crew, as Jared Watson, Zack Bucklew and myself, Stephen Heckman, will be at Thursday’s game in our Nation’s capital. We would love to see you all and share in the experience.
Will another starting pitcher step up, or will a reliever be lights out across the week? Can Westburg turn things around, or will his season continue to spiral?
Be sure to tune in next week for the next edition of The Great, The Good and The Ugly.
Who stood out to you for the Orioles this week? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, X, Bluesky and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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