The Orioles just won their most thrilling game of the season—a 13-inning affair against the Rays in which Colton Cowser hit his second walk-off home run in as many days. It was also a game that had many things the Orioles have consistently lacked this season. Kyle Bradish continued his recent resurgence, throwing six innings of one-run ball to lower his May ERA to 3.49. The O’s also showed off plenty of clutch hitting, going 6-for-18 with RISP scoring position while delivering game-tying hits in the 11th, 12th and 13th.
Perhaps the most important takeaway from the win over Tampa was that it came against a team that thoroughly dominated these Orioles only a week ago. Last Monday, Baltimore opened their series in Tropicana Field with a 16-6 loss that started with Trevor Rogers giving up 8 runs in 3.2 IP, and ended with infielder Weston Wilson closing out the game.
Baltimore followed that pitching embarrassment with an offensive embarrassment. The Orioles’ bats wasted a solid start from Bradish in a 4-1 loss, where they only collected four hits and went 0-for-5 with RISP. Then Game 3 saw a collapse from the Orioles bullpen; in the 8th, Anthony Nunez and Rico Garcia allowed four straight two-out base runners to reach, and a steal of home punctuated a four-run Rays rally that sealed a 5-3 Tampa win.
Many in Birdland hoped the Orioles could rise to the perch currently occupied by their southern division rivals—on top of the AL East and the surprise team to be in this year’s incarnation of the American League. Instead, Baltimore’s on-field performance has been largely unchanged from its disappointing 2025 season, as they struggle to stay out of the AL East basement.
However, that’s why this win against the Rays could serve as a turning point for this Orioles season. We already saw this season that the O’s have the ability to rebound from a disappointing showing against a division rival with a much better showing in the rematch. In their first series against the Yankees this season, the O’s were outscored 39-10 over a four-game sweep in the Bronx.
Ten days later, the Bronx Bombers paid a visit to Baltimore, and we saw a very different story play out. The Orioles took two out of three from the perennial AL East favorites, only allowing eight runs across the three games, and punctuating the series with a 7-0 win.
Too often, this Orioles team has been a punching bag in 2026. We’ve seen the O’s allow 10+ runs in a game six times this season, with Baltimore being outscored 80-19 in those six listless losses. Heading into Monday’s game against the Rays, the Orioles were 4-9 in games decided by 5+ runs. They weren’t much better in close games, going 4-7 in one-run contests. Ben McDonald’s words from before the Detroit series continually rang true; the Orioles were constantly struggling to “have all phases of the game go right at the same time.”
One win against the AL’s best team won’t immediately erase that issue. After all, the O’s only had six hits and two runs before heading into extra innings yesterday vs. the Rays. It was looking like another game where the pitching was good, but the offense just didn’t have enough juice to get this team over the line. Scoring seven runs across four extra innings will change the narrative surrounding the win, but it doesn’t automatically make this a different team.
And yet, this Orioles team, that is laden with young players who have never won anything and led by a rookie manager, needs to start making incremental improvements. If Craig Albernaz and his group of immensely talented and equally frustrating players can go on to win this series against Tampa, it could represent the same type of improvement that we see from hitters the second and third times they see one pitcher. It could show that this Orioles team—that has often been accused of rigidly sticking to a certain, analytically-driven approach to baseball—is capable of making meaningful adjustments.
Learning how to consistently win in the AL East is what separates successful Orioles managers from the likes of Dave Trembley, Mike Hargrove, and (to a certain extent) Brandon Hyde. In his first four series against AL East competition, Albernaz is 3-10 with some embarrassing losses.
Now, Alby and the team he leads get the chance to prove they’re making adjustments against these division rivals. Starting with their current series vs. the Rays, the O’s play 13 straight games against division opponents. Win all of those series, and Baltimore is back at .500 and in the thick of the Wild Card race.
Playing in the perennial toughest division in baseball is often viewed as a drawback for the Orioles. However, this team clearly needs opportunities to prove that it’s better than its uninspiring start to the season suggests. Playing against good AL East teams will give them that opportunity.
Winning the 13-inning thriller vs. Tampa starts to prove that point. Winning the series against Tampa would prove it even further. Transforming that series win into momentum that can carry this team into the All-Star break playing winning baseball, that’s the ultimate goal.
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