WASHINGTON – The Orioles' offense had plenty of opportunities to cash in for a breakout inning in tonight’s 4-3 loss to the Nationals. Instead, they made smaller deposits. 

For the most part, pitching held up its end of the bargain. Sometimes, you can still win baseball games like that, even when you go 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position. In this case, the offense came up just short. 

“I’m really happy with how we played,” said Brandon Hyde after the game. “We play baseball like that, we’re going to win a lot of games.”

The Orioles' offense started the contest with three straight batted balls hit over 100 mph off the bats of Cedric Mullins, Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman. Only one, a single from Rutschman, resulted in a hit. Despite the loud contact, Baltimore left the top of the first without a run. That would be a theme. 

“We hit a lot of balls hard that we weren’t rewarded for,” Hyde noted. “I thought we took really good at-bats for the most part.”

Left-hander Trevor Rogers made his first injury rehab start today at Double-A Chesapeake and gave up a two-run homer to Altoona’s Kervin Pichardo two batters into the game. Rogers worked three innings and allowed two runs and four hits with one walk and three strikeouts. He threw 44 pitches, 29 for strikes.

Rogers is on the injured list after dislocating his right knee in January.

Braxton Bragg made his Double-A debut and tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings with three hits, two walks and eight strikeouts.

Silas Ardoin hit his second home run.

Heston Kjerstad stays in left field tonight for the Orioles, who continue their series against the Nationals in D.C., and Jackson Holliday remains at second base.

WASHINGTON – The pain points in the Orioles' 2025 season aren’t difficult to locate.

They were apparent in Sunday’s lopsided game and they showed themselves again tonight in a 7-0 loss to the Nationals.

“We did not play well,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “It is disappointing. Coming off a game we definitely wanted to throw away a couple of days ago, an off-day, to come out and not take great at-bats and not play very good baseball tonight, that was disappointing.”

Entering tonight’s contest against the Nationals, Orioles starting pitchers had the highest ERA in the majors by a significant margin. Dean Kremer’s outing didn’t help that figure.

“When he was in the middle part of the plate, they hit him hard,” said Hyde. “Some of the other balls that went for RBIs were just in the middle part of the plate. Just had a tough night.”

The Orioles will try to win their first series tonight and post their first back-to-back victories with Heston Kjerstad and Jackson Holliday staying in the lineup and Cedric Mullins batting leadoff.

Gunnar Henderson moves down to second in the order.

Tyler O’Neill is out of the lineup due to neck stiffness that forced him to be scratched yesterday. Ryan O’Hearn is playing right field.

Jordan Westburg is playing tonight, serving as designated hitter. He’s hitless in his last 20 at-bats.

Adley Rutschman slides down to third in the order.

The Orioles have scratched Tyler O’Neill from tonight’s lineup due to neck discomfort.

Ramón Laureano comes off the bench to play left field and Heston Kjerstad moves to right. Ryan Mountcastle rises to fifth in the order.

O’Neill is batting .265/.339/.490 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and eight RBIs in 14 games. He played right last night and doubled a runner off second base.

Gunnar Henderson SS
Adley Rutschman C
Ryan O’Hearn DH
Cedric Mullins CF
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Heston Kjerstad RF
Ramón Urías 3B
Jackson Holliday 2B
Ramón Laureano LF

Orioles pitcher Zach Eflin, who started on Opening Day in Toronto, threw in the outfield today for the first time since going on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain.

PHOENIX – The Orioles offense got off to a blistering start. Charlie Morton did not in what would be a 4-3 loss to the Diamondbacks. And after the game, things got worse.

Let's start with the worse news before getting to the bad news.

After the game, Brandon Hyde announced that Zach Eflin has a low-grade lat strain and will be shut down for "about a week." The plan is to "reassess from there, and hopefully he'll be back throwing at that point." It could've been worse news, but it certainly could've been better.

A plan for his replacement has yet to be determined, as O's coaches got the news during tonight's game.

Brandon Young would be a logical replacement. Already on the 40-man roster, the right-hander has made two starts to kick off the season with Triple-A Norfolk. He's totaled 11 1/3 innings and hasn't allowed a run while striking out 11 and walking just two. Couple that with his 3.94 ERA in 20 games for the Tides a season ago, and you're left with an ideal candidate to make a spot start or two. 

KANSAS CITY – The subject already came up in the series. The Orioles must tighten their defense and keep pitch counts from escalating. Be more supportive in the field. Be more like they were in the past.

A blue sky, reduced winds and temperatures in the low 50s this afternoon made the weather more tolerable at Kauffman Stadium, but another breakdown led to a three-run first inning against Cade Povich.

The bats couldn’t compensate for it and the Orioles lost 4-1 to remain in search of their first series win.

Povich scattered a career-high 13 hits in six innings, and his start began to crumble after Tyler O’Neill made a diving catch to rob leadoff hitter Jonathan India in the first. Bobby Witt Jr. hit a ball into right-center that Jorge Mateo tracked, reached for and missed. Statcast calculated the catch probability at 99 percent.

Vinnie Pasquantino followed with a sacrifice fly, Salvador Perez and Mark Canha singled, and they scored on Michael Massey’s double down the right field line.

KANSAS CITY – Among the series of pregame drills this afternoon at bitter-cold Kauffman Stadium was outfielder Tyler O’Neill throwing to the bases. The early work is done to sharpen skills and that’s an area where the two-time Gold Glove winner wanted to focus.

The Royals sent nine batters to the plate last night in the eighth inning and scored five times against left-hander Cionel Pérez to expand their lead to 8-2. A sloppy game created its final mess when Vinnie Pasquantino singled down the right field line with the bases loaded and two outs, and all three runners scored.

O’Neill didn’t find a cutoff man, with the first and second basemen also chasing the ball, and fired to second. Bobby Witt Jr., who drew an intentional walk, raced home and dived across the plate.

“Tyler understands,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “We’ve had similar kind, three times now, where we threw the ball to the wrong base on a ball in the corner situation. And that’s a little bit of not understanding batter runners, runners on base. You’ve got Bobby Witt at first base and a ball drops like that, Tyler understands that ball needs to go to the plate. We threw to the wrong base in the left field corner in Toronto. We did it at home, also.

“(O’Neill) has played well, just a couple mistakes there that he understands. But you have to know the runners on base, you have to know the batter runner speed, etc., to make the right decision.”

The Orioles wrap up their first homestand of the season with a lineup that doesn’t include Gunnar Henderson.

Henderson wasn’t at his locker this morning and he had a box and mail sitting on his chair.

Cedric Mullins is leading off today. Jordan Westburg is batting third.

Tyler O’Neill is the designated hitter, Heston Kjerstad is in right field and Dylan Carlson is in left.

Jackson Holliday is playing shortstop.

Tyler O’Neill knew that he’d move around the outfield after signing his three-year, $49.5 million deal with the Orioles. He won two Gold Gloves in left with the Cardinals but has made four of his five starts in right this season.

Last night’s original lineup had O’Neill in left and Ramón Laureano in right, the same setup as Monday for home Opening Day, but they switched positions in the updated lineup less than an hour later.

Left field is up for grabs after Colton Cowser fractured his left thumb Sunday in Toronto. He’s expected to be out six-to-eight weeks at a minimum. But the Orioles have the same flexibility in their outfield as they do in the infield.

Long gone are the days of Don Buford in left, Paul Blair in center and Frank Robinson in right. Or two-thirds of the outfield consisting of Al Bumbry in center and Ken Singleton in right, or Adam Jones in center and Nick Markakis in right.

O’Neill is most likely to play where Markakis used to roam.

Tyler O’Neill has limited exposure to Red Sox left-hander Garrett Crochet, who faces the Orioles tonight at Camden Yards. Only two at-bats – and one home run.

O’Neill is going to play anyway. He’s one of the primary outfielders and he hits .273/.378/.549 against lefties. But he’s hitting everybody so far in his brief Orioles career.

Given a day off in Toronto to keep his legs fresh, O’Neill has made four starts and gone 8-for-14 with double and prerequisite Opening Day home run. The eight hits are the most for an Oriole through his first four games with the club since José Iglesias had eight in 2020.

Four of O’Neill’s hits came in Monday’s home opener to tie his career high.

“Driving the ball the other way once, a little blooper the other way, not just being pull happy but opposite-field homer in Toronto. Playing really good defense for us,” said manager Brandon Hyde.

The Orioles used their home Opening Day to fish for compliments.

Fans had to be done complaining about a series split in Toronto and another injury. This was a time to party. The team was back at Camden Yards, the sun came out and players circled the bases in the first inning. The good times rolled, and no one got run over.

Cade Povich warmed to Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady” and looked like the real deal with eight strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings, but the pitch count got him – 94 of them. Manager Brandon Hyde was left to piece together the rest.

The first four relievers combined for 3 2/3 scoreless innings and the Orioles had another offensive surge in the eighth in an 8-5 win over the Red Sox before an announced sellout crowd of 45.002.

Félix Bautista warmed with the Orioles ahead 4-3 and had to pitch the ninth, no longer in line for his first save since Aug. 24, 2023. He entered to Omar's whistle and a rousing ovation, and he allowed two runs on a leadoff walk, wild pitch, Romy Gonzalez double and two-out broken-bat single by Jarren Duran. Rafael Devers walked but Alex Bregman popped up.

TORONTO – Charlie Morton paced back and forth in the dugout, the frustration keeping the veteran starter on his feet. His Orioles debut lasted 80 pitches in only 3 1/3 innings, two inherited runners scored and a lead fell apart like his outing.

There will be better days and nights for Morton. This one was a challenge from the beginning with a barrage of hard-hit balls from a Blue Jays team perhaps still ornery from yesterday’s Opening Day beatdown.

Jackson Holliday homered in the third inning and Tyler O’Neill had a sacrifice fly in the fourth, but the Jays put five runs on the board in the bottom half and won 8-2 at Rogers Centre.

No one’s getting a sweep in this series.

The Orioles raised the bar yesterday with 12 runs and six homers, but the bats calmed tonight. They were held to three hits and committed two errors.

Just one spot in the O’s Opening Day lineup felt “different.” Batting fifth and playing right field for Baltimore, No. 9, Tyler O’Neill.

Anthony Santander, who had manned the corner outfield for the O’s for parts of the last eight seasons, trotted onto the Rogers Centre grass in Toronto blue. He hit third for Toronto and went 0-for-4 with a couple of runners stranded on base. 

All O’Neill did in his team debut was hit a home run in his sixth consecutive Opening Day, extending his own MLB record. That was part of his 3-for-3 day, plus two walks. Ho hum. 

So much has been made of the changes on the other side of the ball for Baltimore. The Orioles’ rotation was the hot topic of conversation all offseason long. 

After one year in an O’s uniform, Corbin Burnes is out in Arizona. Enter a full season of Zach Eflin, and free agents Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Kyle Gibson. 

TORONTO – The Orioles had one of those days in the opener that goes from successful to surreal. Every at-bat seemed to approach, tie or set a record. Tracking it in real time was exhausting.

A 12-2 thrashing of the Blue Jays showed just how potent the offense can be – one of, if not the best, in baseball. And wait until Gunnar Henderson returns.

Don’t rush him back from his rehab assignment with Triple-A Norfolk. He might kill the mojo.

I’m kidding, of course. But don’t rush him.

Further review and reflection last night led to these observations:

TORONTO – The Orioles’ first game of the 2025 season concluded with a celebratory handshake line. They won’t be satisfied until the final out creates bedlam.

This was a thunderous start.

They scored six times in the first four innings today against tormentor José Berríos, including Tyler O’Neill’s sixth straight Opening Day home run, and Zach Eflin held the Blue Jays to two hits in six innings in a 12-2 victory at Rogers Centre.

Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins also homered by the fourth, Mullins belted a three-run shot in the seventh, Rutschman launched a two-run shot in the eighth, Jordan Westburg came up next and cleared the left field wall, and the Orioles improved to 22-9 on Opening Day since 1995, the best record in baseball.

The team’s six homers on Opening Day broke the record of four set in 1982 and 2006. They hadn’t homered six times in any game since July 9, 2023.

The Orioles couldn’t play baseball yesterday because of the rain in D.C. In hindsight, it wasn’t worth rushing out of North Port on Sunday.

Grayson Rodriguez did some long tossing in the outfield at Nationals Park. Cade Povich told the assembled media that he hasn’t decided between Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” and Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady” for his walk-in song. The roster held at 41 players after the Orioles selected Matt Bowman’s contract over the weekend and put Tyler Wells on the 60-day injured list, then shrank to 36 after Kyle Gibson was optioned to minor league camp yesterday and Maverick Handley, Vimael Machín, Emmanuel Rivera and Luis Vázquez were reassigned.

The two questions hanging heavy in the damp air remained whether Jorge Mateo replaces Gunnar Henderson and which reliever replaces Andrew Kittredge.

Mateo went from a “no” to “pretty doubtful” to a real possibility for Opening Day. The Orioles won’t bring him to Toronto if they think he needs more swings in Sarasota or if he isn’t ready physically, but the fact that they’re giving him heavy doses of at-bats the next two days is a positive sign. Of course, they’re doing the same with Henderson, but that’s more about limiting how much time he spends on the IL.

Livan Soto remained the favorite if Mateo isn’t on the roster. Machín and Vázquez also were exceptional in camp and they’d have guaranteed jobs in past years when the Orioles weren’t as deep and talented.

SARASOTA, Fla. – Tyler O’Neill noticed it a few years ago. One home run on Opening Day led to another and another until he had created a streak.

The Orioles begin the 2025 season with a four-game series against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, bringing the Burnaby, British Columbia native back to his home country. O’Neill will be in the outfield barring an injury or surprise lineup decision.

Why in the world would he sit?

O’Neill made history last year with his homer for the Red Sox at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, his fifth straight in the first game.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, O’Neill came to the plate in the top of the eighth inning tied with Todd Hundley (1994-97) and Hall of Famers Gary Carter (1977-80) and Yogi Berra (1955-58) at four in a row. O’Neill jumped on a first-pitch sweeper from Mariners reliever Cody Bolton and cleared the fence in right-center field.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The penultimate home game of the exhibition season finds Ramón Urías in tonight’s lineup for the Orioles. Gunnar Henderson, however, remains out of it.

Urías is playing third base, Jackson Holliday is at shortstop and Jordan Westburg is at second base.

Tyler O’Neill is in left field, Colton Cowser is in center and Heston Kjerstad is in right.

Cedric Mullins is leading off and serving as designated hitter.

Hot-hitting Ryan Mountcastle is out of the lineup.

SARASOTA, Fla. – The internet doesn’t have space limitations except for mailbags. There’s got to be a cutoff. Land the plane at some point. Spirit Airlines is taking volunteers. Live to write another day.

This is the day to share the leftovers, with the same minimal editing and mailbag flexes.

You come at the king, you best not miss.

Do you feel like the Orioles are being ignored as potential division winners? I’ve seen a lot of “the Red Sox have to be favorites with the Yankees injuries” or, “the door is open for the Blue Jays and Rays” or even “the Yankees are still 100 percent making the playoffs” (from Chris Rose) and no one expecting much from the O’s.
If it makes you feel any better, and that’s why I’m here, PECOTA has the Orioles with 88.4 wins – I’d bet heavy on them not hitting that exact total – and only the Rangers are calculated with more at 90.3. There’s your respect. The Yankees dropped to third place in the division behind the Blue Jays after Gerrit Cole’s elbow injury. Maybe this is bad news because PECOTA usually comes in low on the Orioles, but let’s keep it positive. I worry about you.

Fast forward to Sept. 1. Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer, Charlie Morton, Tomoyuki Sugano and Cade Povich are all pitching pretty well. Grayson Rodriguez, Kyle Bradish and Tyler Wells are healthy. Who’s making regular starts from Sept. 1 to the clinching game of the World Series?
And don’t say “your mom.” Oh wait … I’ll predict that Wells is in the bullpen and given another chance to start in 2026. I’d put Bradish in the rotation but that’s assuming he’s pitching again by September. I don’t see a world where Grayson Rodriguez isn’t in the rotation when he’s healthy. Eflin is a lock. Povich might have to be optioned if he’s just pitching “pretty well.” Morton might retire and be a greeter at Walmart. An age joke! I kid.