The Baltimore Orioles finished June with their first winning month of the season.
They completed the month with a 16-11 record while collecting a .902 OPS with runners in scoring position, which was second in all of baseball, while tying for the lead with 13 home runs with RISP for the month.
Unfortunately, July has started with back-to-back losses before having an off day on Thursday. The Birds resume Friday with a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves over Fourth of July weekend.
So, as we prepare to celebrate Independence Day, let’s review this past week and see who makes our Great, Good & Ugly cut this time around.
The Great: Ramón Laureano
One of the biggest under-the-radar signings by GM Mike Elias, Ramón Laureano is showing value in a variety of ways, helping provide a consistent presence for the outfield and veteran leadership in the dugout.
This past week saw Laureano go 10-for-24 (.417 avg) with five RBIs, a home run, five doubles and 10 runs scored.
Laureano’s biggest game came in the Orioles’ 10-6 extra-inning victory on Monday over the Texas Rangers. In the game, he collected four hits, including three doubles, three runs scored and an RBI.
For the season, Laureano has played in 59 games and is slashing .279/.348/.520/.868 with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs. He has picked up 13 doubles, 32 runs scored and stolen three bases as a reliable presence in the O’s lineup.
Laureano has also provided strong defense in the outfield, as players such as Colton Cowser, Cedric Mullins and Tyler O’Neill have all spent various amounts of time on the IL this season.
Laureano might not win MVO, but he is easily becoming one of the unsung heroes of the 2025 season and a valuable piece to the team.
The Good: Gary Sánchez
Right now, Gary Sánchez is making noise and waves to be put into the running of the MVO for the month of June.
Bringing forth veteran leadership and gamesmanship, Sánchez has played nearly every game from the 20th on, after missing six weeks with a wrist injury. He has had to fill in most of the days playing catcher, as Adley Rutschman, Maverick Handley and Chadwick Tromp have all gone on the IL since Sánchez’s return.
This past week, The Kraken picked up nine hits in 26 at-bats (.346 avg), including two doubles and two home runs, while driving in 10 and scoring five times.
Sánchez is providing an offensive burst at the plate. Helping guide the team to their first winning month this season, the 10-year backstop is slashing .247/.316/.447/.763 with five home runs and 24 RBIs. In 28 games, he has scored 13 runs and has collected 28 hits while throwing out 26% of would-be-base-stealers.
Sánchez might have started the season colder than the temperature in Antarctica, but since his return, he has provided a hot bat, strong leadership and has helped guide the Orioles in an area that has been hit hard by injuries.
The Ugly: The O’s Injured List
There really is no other way to put this other than the Orioles have been snake-bitten by injuries this entire year.
While it is always hard to argue the effect it has had on a team, the Orioles might be one of the teams that could easily point to the IL as a partial blame to the performance of the season.
This past week saw the Orioles send pitchers Zach Eflin and Keegan Akin, alongside the aforementioned Chadwick Tromp, to the IL. On top of that, utility man Jorge Mateo injured his hamstring during a rehab outing as he was recovering from a wrist injury, prolonging his stay on the IL.
Left-hander Cade Povich was making a rehab start to make his way back to the rotation, throwing 75 pitches across 4.1 innings on June 26. It was decided after that to shut Povich down again due to ongoing soreness in his hip.
Infielder Jordan Westburg re-aggravated his sprained finger and is currently still out, while veteran righty Charlie Morton had his start pushed back due to a tendonitis flare up.
June also saw catchers Adley Rutschman and Maverick Handley join the IL as well, which forced the Orioles to sign Jacob Stallings, who made his debut with the Birds on the first of July.
Hopefully, as the Birds approach and come out of the All-Star Break, there will be positive turn-arounds to allow them to get healthy and finally field the team that was predicted to be a contender.
The Orioles start a new series with the Braves on July 4, before an off-day and return home to play the New York Mets and Miami Marlins to enter All-Star Week.
We also would like to congratulate Ryan O’Hearn, as it was announced Wednesday that he would be the starting designated hitter for the American League team at this year’s All-Star Game in Atlanta.
Will the Orioles be able to continue to turn things around and get the team healthy going forward? Will Ramón Laureano and Gary Sánchez continue to provide veteran leadership and success for their team?
Be sure to tune in next week for the next edition of The Great, The Good and 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!
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