'It's what you dream of': Beavers delivers O's 4th walk-off win in 5 games

BALTIMORE -- As the Orioles celebrated their 2-1 win in 10 innings over the Pirates on the infield dirt at Camden Yards on Wednesday night -- their fourth walk-off victory in five games -- Dylan Beavers couldn’t stop smiling.

The 24-year-old tossed his helmet aside, let his teammates mob him and embraced the cooler of purple Gatorade being dumped on him.

After a bit of time had passed, Beavers was still sporting a wide grin while standing in front of his locker and meeting with the media to discuss his walk-off RBI single that capped another thrilling victory for Baltimore.

“It's the most fun I've ever had playing ball,” said Beavers, ranked as the O’s No. 3 prospect by MLB Pipeline. “Winning is fun.”

Winning is even more fun when it happens the way the Orioles have been doing it lately.

Sure, Baltimore (68-77) may not be in the postseason hunt, but the goal entering September was to give young players opportunities to get acclimated to the big leagues and build positive momentum toward 2026. A third of the way through the month, that goal is being accomplished.

The O’s have won seven of their past eight games, including these four walk-off victories:

• Friday: Samuel Basallo hits a solo home run in the ninth inning of a 2-1 win over the Dodgers
• Saturday: Emmanuel Rivera knocks a two-run single to cap an improbable four-run rally in the ninth inning of a 4-3 win over the Dodgers
• Tuesday: Basallo lofts an RBI single that was overturned by replay review in the 11th inning of a 3-2 win over the Pirates
• Wednesday: Beavers rips an RBI single in the 10th inning of a 2-1 win over the Pirates

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it’s only the second time in Orioles history (since 1954) that the team has registered four walk-off wins in a span of five games. The previous occurrence came from June 23-27, 1954.

The most recent MLB team to have four walk-offs over five games was the Nationals, who had five in a six-game span Aug. 16-21, 2014.

Oddly enough, the 2025 Orioles didn’t have any walk-off wins until Aug. 13, when Jackson Holliday lifted them to a 4-3 victory over the Mariners with an RBI double in the ninth. At the time, Baltimore was the only MLB team without a walk-off win this season.

Now, the O’s are up to five walk-offs. Perhaps most encouraging has been the cast of heroes.

The 21-year-old Basallo (Baltimore’s No. 1 prospect and MLB Pipeline’s No. 8 overall) had walk-off hits in the 15th and 17th games of his big league career. Beavers’ first walk-off knock came in his 20th MLB contest. Holliday is still only 21 and nearing the completion of his first full Major League season.

“It’s great for the team energy. It builds a lot of camaraderie among the guys, having to rely on one another,” said right-hander Tyler Wells, who tossed 6 2/3 innings of one-run ball in his second start back from UCL repair surgery. “Honestly, if you look at the last [four], it’s been two rookies that have done some pretty cool things in big moments. When we’re looking at it, I think that’s the cool part.”

Beavers may be a rookie, but the 2022 Competitive Balance Round A Draft pick hasn’t looked like one since getting called up from Triple-A Norfolk on Aug. 16. He’s hitting .305 (18-for-59) with five doubles, one homer, seven RBIs and an .894 OPS.

“It looks like an old guy hitting in a lot of ways,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “We’ve seen a lot of young guys come here and be overly aggressive. He’s probably the first one I’ve seen that takes an at-bat like a guy that’s been in the big leagues for seven or eight years.”

With the bases loaded and no outs in a tie game in the bottom of the 10th, Beavers fell behind, 0-2, on a pair of called strikes from Pirates right-hander Kyle Nicolas. Then, Beavers settled in, taking two balls, fouling off a pitch, taking a third ball and fouling off another.

On Nicolas’ eighth pitch -- a 97.9 mph four-seam fastball near the heart of the plate -- Beavers connected and pulled a 102.9 mph liner down the right-field line for the game-winning hit.

“I just wanted to get the job done,” Beavers said. “So whether it was a ground ball through the hole or a sac fly, just trying to end the game.”

It was another successful learning moment for the young Beavers, who knows where he ranks this one among the walk-off wins he’s been a part of.

“I've had walk-offs in the past coming up, but it's the big leagues. It's what you dream of,” Beavers said. “That's where you want to get those hits or come through in those situations. So it's pretty awesome. It’s special for me.”