Tossing out a few Orioles surprises after 113 games

The Orioles will try to get back to 28 games above .500 tonight, perhaps stretching their lead to three over the second-place Rays, who gained a little ground last night.

Trying to contend again and grab a wild card berth has been replaced by winning the division and posting the best record to seize home field advantage.

Could make a fascinating book.

An entire chapter, maybe more, could be devoted to what many of us didn’t see coming.

For instance:

Ryan O’Hearn is cleaning up.

O’Hearn has batted fourth in 32 games, most on the club. Anthony Santander is next with 27.

Nobody expected this, and especially after the Orioles acquired O’Hearn from the Royals on Jan. 3 for cash considerations and designated him for assignment two days later.

O’Hearn was on the bench last night because Houston started left-hander Framber Valdez. His 39 RBIs in 68 games are a career high, topping 38 in 105 games with the Royals in 2019.

“It’s crazy,” he said.

“Definitely think about just how much of a whirlwind this year has been for me. I think the common denominator here is that I never lost belief in myself, even when things didn’t look good and nobody was talking about me and nobody thought I was going to continue playing in the big leagues, or whatever they thought. I didn’t care. Just continued to believe in myself, focus on the work, focus on getting better every day. There’s no end, there’s no, ‘I figured it out, I don’t have to work or get better anymore.’ I just kept that growth mindset mentality.

“The work ethic’s always been there, the belief in myself has always been there. Just amazing how things have happened this year, and I feel very blessed and very fortunate to be a member of the Orioles. Get to get after it every day with these guys.”

O’Hearn slashed .262/.353/.597 with 24 extra-base hits in 44 games with Kansas City in 2018 but didn’t maintain that level of production.

“I had an opportunity to play every day in the big leagues in 2018 and ’19 a little bit, and then that was taken away from me,” he said. “I always had that hunger to get back out there and get a chance to play every day, and now that I’m kind of back in that role I’m not taking it for granted.”

The Orioles have used 10 cleanup hitters this season. O’Hearn won’t change his approach when given the task.

“I like to hit with guys on base, but I don’t think about that at all,” he said. “Obviously, it’s an honor to hit in the middle of this lineup with all the talented hitters, but I like to be up there with guys in scoring position and the game on the line.”

The bullpen had the third-lowest ERA in the majors before last night’s implosion.

Where’s the regression that we always hear and talk about?

Bullpens are volatile. Orioles’ relievers combined for a 3.49 ERA last year that ranked ninth, a dramatic shift from previous seasons when they sat at the bottom or were close enough to touch it. They're sixth today at 3.63 after Kyle Tucker’s grand slam off Félix Bautista.

Dillon Tate hasn’t thrown an inning for the Orioles since 2022. Mychal Givens returned, posted an 11.25 ERA and 2.500 WHIP in four innings and returned to the injured list. Austin Voth’s ERA rose from 3.04 in 2022 to 4.94 and his WHIP from 1.229 to 1.581, and he went on the injured list.

Bryan Baker was optioned last Wednesday after allowing more than 50 percent of inherited runners to score. Keegan Akin is on the injured list after allowing 18 earned runs and 22 total with 35 hits in 23 2/3 innings.

Cionel Pérez had a 1.40 ERA and 1.162 WHIP last year in 66 games. He’s got a 4.30 ERA and 1.699 WHIP this season in 41 games.

The Orioles didn’t draw it up this way.

Yennier Cano joined the club April 14 after registering an 11.50 ERA and 2.333 WHIP last season in 13 games between the Twins and Orioles, walking 16 batters in 18 innings.

Able to hold onto his 40-man roster spot. Able to become an All-Star, though there are concerns about fatigue. He let an inherited runner score last night.

Mike Baumann broke camp with the Orioles, given a specific role that didn’t keep him bouncing between starter and relief, and he’s stuck around for the entire season while going 9-0 with a 3.42 ERA in 50 appearances. Big Mike is also High-Leverage Mike.

Danny Coulombe was acquired from the Twins on March 27 for cash considerations and also stayed, covering for Pérez by becoming a dependable high-leverage lefty.  He keeps getting big outs and has posted a 2.77 ERA and 1.103 WHIP in 47 games.

Bautista, in his first full season as a closer, is behaving like a Cy Young candidate despite last night’s huge hiccup. The Orioles had their assumptions but lacked proof.

Damage in the division.

The Orioles play outside the American League East in the next four series and eight of nine. Maybe that’s a shame.

That’s definitely something you wouldn’t hear in the past.

They are a collective 24-14 against division opponents, already clinching the season series against Toronto (8-2) and the Yankees (7-6). The Rays need to win all four games in Baltimore in September or they join the list.

The Orioles are 3-3 against the Red Sox. The teams meet for a three-game series at Fenway Park Sept. 8-10 and a four-game series at Camden Yards Sept. 28-Oct. 1.

To provide context, the Orioles hadn’t claimed a season series against the Yankees since 2016 and went 2-17 in 2019.

They hadn’t won a four-game series in St. Petersburg since April 10-13, 2006 or won three games in a series there since May 6-8, 2014. The last time they didn't lose or split a series of at least three games was June 23-25, 2017.

Apparently, the balanced schedule with only 13 division games per opponent arrived at the wrong time. Who knew?

Lefties usually are left with losses against the Orioles.

Bautista came within two outs of allowing the Orioles to improve their record to 27-12 when the opponent starts a left-hander.

Guess it’s a bit of a deceiving stat, since Framber Valdez followed his no-hitter by surrendering six runs and eight hits in seven innings. The Astros won 7-6.

The 26-12 record against lefties before last night was third-best in the majors behind the Braves and Rays.

The last time that the Orioles fared this well was 1979, when they went 34-14.