A season that was starting to turn around has taken another hit for the Baltimore Orioles, as key players continue to go down with injuries.
Most recently, former All-Star catcher Adley Rutschman, back-up catcher Maverick Handley, left-hander Cade Povich and infielder Jordan Westburg have all been hamstrung with injuries. On top of that, outfielder Tyler O’Neill is still trying to figure out if his shoulder is good enough to play, and righty Yennier Cano was optioned to Triple-A.
To make matters worse, the O’s offense either shows up in full force or absolutely disappears for extended stretches. The Birds have played 10 games this month where they have scored three runs or less and have gone 3-7 in those contests, summing up where another problem exists other than injuries and pitching.
As the Orioles’ roller coaster season continues, let’s dive into The Great, The Good & The Ugly from the last week or so.
The Great: Trevor Rogers
Seeing this name pop up may have some heads turning, but overall, Trevor Rogers’ return to the majors is showing that GM Mike Elias might have found something after trading breakout outfielder Kyle Stowers (11 HRs, 35 RBIs, .819 OPS) and top five prospect Connor Norby (50 Hits in 57 games) for the young lefty.
Rogers put forth one of, if not, the best pitching performance of the season, as he tossed a starter-team-high eight innings of shut out ball against the Texas Rangers. In the game, he allowed just three hits and struck out four, as the Orioles came away with a 6-0 victory, their only win in the series.
Rogers has pitched three games this season, going 1-0 with a 1.62 ERA and a WHIP of 0.78 across 16.2 innings of work. He has tallied 13 strikeouts to three walks and has allowed only 10 hits and three earned runs.
At 27 and entering his prime, if Rogers can continue to pitch this way going forward, he will re-establish Elias’ eye for talent, but more importantly, give the Orioles a back-end lefty option to be a part of the rotation for the next couple years.
The Good: Jackson Holliday
Jackson Holliday is proving that the Orioles made the right move by securing him for the future and bringing him to the bigs.
Holliday, the second player in the last few seasons to join the big league club by his 21st birthday (Gunnar Henderson in 2022), is now in the running for an All-Star appearance and is playing some strong defense as well, one of the bright spots for the club this year.
Over his last seven games, Holliday is slashing .300/.364/.433/.797 with a home run, four RBIs, two runs, a stolen base and three walks. Showing a knack for the strike zone that helped him move through the minors, Holliday has reached base safely in 15 of 22 games this month, has eight games with multiple times on-base and has six games this month with two or more hits.
For the season, the former top prospect is slashing .259/.310/.411/.721 with nine home runs and 32 RBIs. He has collected 73 hits in 73 games, including 12 doubles and two triples, and has scored 32 times while stealing eight bases.
The Ugly: The O’s Offense
While there are a few culprits that could take this category alone, it is extremely hard to not make this one a team failure. The Orioles’ offense over the last week has faced deficits that distracted the lineup as a whole, leading to some abysmal showings.
The O’s have been no-hit into either the sixth or seventh inning four times. In the series against the Tampa Bay Rays, the offense erupted for eight runs in the second and didn’t have a hit the last seven innings of the game, while against the New York Yankees, they collected three hits in the first, only to post two hits the remaining eight innings of a game.
The unevenness of the Birds’ offense is wasting good pitching performances but is also failing to close out games they take the lead or jump out to a lead before ultimately dropping the game.
While there have been glimmers of how big the offense can be, this season is seeing the bats either erupt and blow teams out or not even show up to the game.
The Orioles are off on Thursday before welcoming the Rays to Baltimore and then are heading to Arlington for a three-game series against the Rangers.
Will Trevor Rogers continue to show his talent in the bigs? Will Jackson Holliday continue his growth into expectations? Will the Birds figure out their offense and make a historic run to the postseason?
It starts back up again Friday in Baltimore, so be sure to come back next week to see who makes the next edition of The Great, The Good & The Ugly.
What are your thoughts on our selections 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!
Represent The Baltimore Battery and show off your fandom with our official merchandise! Reasonably-priced attire made just for you! Visit our official shop site by clicking here!
Like Stephen’s content? Follow him on X – @SRJHeckman, and listen to the official podcast of The Baltimore Battery, The Final Strike, anywhere you get your podcasts!
THE BALTIMORE BATTERY 
Leave a comment