In 'disbelief' after game goes awry, O's turn to Adley for leadership

BALTIMORE -- When will each loss stop feeling like a new rock bottom for the 2025 Orioles?

It wasn’t Friday night at Camden Yards, where Baltimore’s 4-3 loss to Washington may have been its toughest defeat yet -- or at least it felt like it again. The O’s racked up 14 hits, chased Nationals left-hander MacKenzie Gore in the fourth inning and put together some of their best at-bats in weeks.

And yet, the O’s fell to 15-28, a new low-water mark at 13 games below .500. They went 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position and left 15 men on base. They loaded the bags in four of the first six innings and only came away with three runs -- two in the third (an RBI double by Ramón Laureano and an RBI infield single by Jackson Holliday) and one in the sixth (a sac fly from Ramón Urías).

The loss was marred by sloppy play that included two errors, a passed ball by catcher Adley Rutschman that led to a Nats run in the sixth and a decisive moment in the ninth -- when closer Félix Bautista couldn’t get to first in time to retire the speedy Nasim Nuñez and José Tena scored the winning run all the way from second.

“I’m kind of in disbelief, honestly,” manager Brandon Hyde said shortly after the game.

For much of the past seven weeks, various members of the O’s roster have voiced their thoughts on the struggles, answered questions about what’s happening and expressed continued belief in the team turning it around. This time, among those to do so was Rutschman.

This is unfamiliar territory for Rutschman, Baltimore’s 27-year-old catcher selected No. 1 overall in the 2019 MLB Draft who has been the face of this era of Orioles baseball. He arrived in the big leagues in ‘22, when the O’s were starting to turn things around and have success. He led the club to the postseason in both ‘23 and ‘24.

“It’s about leaning on each other right now,” Rutschman said. “We’ve got a great group of guys here, and it’s easy when stuff like this is going on to just go on your own, be on your own. I think leaning on each other is the most important thing right now, because we have every capability to be able to turn it around and go out and win a lot of ballgames.

“But really, it’s on us, and it’s on us leaning on each other and really just buying into that and doing what we can to scrape out victories.”

The wins aren’t coming, even on a night such as Friday that had more positives than usual.

Or Thursday, when the Orioles were shut out, 4-0, while getting swept by the Twins for the second time in two weeks and falling more than 11 games below .500 for the first time since finishing the 2021 season at 52-110.

Or April 20, when a 24-2 loss to Cincinnati felt like what would be a low point for Baltimore.

“Well, 24-2, it’s because that’s embarrassing and had two position players throwing in the eighth and the ninth inning and we just want that game to be over,” Hyde said. “This was such a winnable game and we just do a few things differently ...

“That’s why it’s disappointing.”

Before Rutschman discussed the latest loss with the media, the clubhouse doors were closed a bit longer than usual. Once open, he wasn’t alone in trying to spread optimism.

“You haven’t lost until you’re laying on the ground, not getting up,” left-hander Cade Povich said. “We’re going to keep getting up, we’re going to keep fighting until this thing is turned around.”

“I think we all understand what’s going on and the game that we played,” infielder Jorge Mateo said via team interpreter Brandon Quinones.

“We need to flush it and come back tomorrow,” Laureano added.

But it was the words of Rutschman -- a team leader and key cog in the Orioles’ position-player core -- that may have rang loudest.

For years, Rutschman has talked about “the process” -- the daily grind of every individual on Baltimore’s team handling their own business and putting himself in a position to succeed.

The franchise catcher still has that belief.

“We’ve got a great group in this locker room,” Rutschman said. “A lot of leaders, a lot of guys with amazing character. Just got to show up tomorrow ready to go and just continue to take it day by day and try and learn from days like today.”

It doesn’t, however, hide the pain of these unexpected setbacks.

“It definitely stings,” Rutschman said.