ANAHEIM -- Before Sunday’s series finale at Angel Stadium, Orioles hitting coach Cody Asche spoke at length about the club’s ongoing offensive struggles.
“Something I lean on with my past experience as a player is there’s going to be ups and downs. Unfortunately, the start of this season has been more down than up,” Asche said.
“There’s no hiding behind that. But the beauty of baseball is that it’s a long season, and that those who are strong-minded and strong-willed continue to show up day after day and make small adjustments and keep building off small successes.”
Sunday’s 7-3 win over the Angels potentially represented the beginning of an upswing for an Orioles team that hadn’t scored this many runs since a nine-run effort against the Reds on April 19.
Baltimore has desperately been trying to recapture its 2024 form, something that had eluded the Orioles even more so in recent weeks before Sunday’s seven-run effort. In 18 games spanning from April 20 through Saturday's game in Anaheim, the Orioles scored a grand total of 43 runs, the fewest in the Majors. The only other team with fewer than 50 runs in that time was the Pirates.
Perhaps Sunday’s effort will snap the Orioles out of their season-long funk.
“I thought our bats were really good in the middle part of the game,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We swung the bat pretty well against a left-handed starter.”
While the Orioles were certainly aided by some mishaps from the Angels -- Baltimore’s first run of the game came on a first-inning RBI triple from Adley Rutschman that Angels left fielder Taylor Ward lost in the sun -- the club also scored runs in numerous ways.
After the RBI triple, the Orioles didn’t score again until the fifth inning, when they tied the game on a sacrifice fly from Maverick Handley and took the lead on an RBI single from Ryan Mountcastle.
Then the Orioles began to break things open in the sixth inning. Handley once again brought home a run, this time on a sacrifice bunt. Gunnar Henderson followed him with a two-run blast, capping a four-run inning that put Baltimore in the driver’s seat for good.
Henderson’s trajectory this season is the main beacon of hope for the Orioles’ offense righting the ship. After missing the start of the season with a mild right intercostal strain, Henderson debuted on April 4 and struggled to begin his year, running a .623 OPS through his first 17 games.
Since that point, Henderson has posted a .958 OPS, homered four times and hit safely in all but one of his 15 games.
Henderson was especially excellent in this series vs. the Angels, homering and tripling in Friday’s 4-1 win and hitting another home run and doubling in Sunday’s game. Even more encouraging was that Henderson’s double on Sunday came against a lefty, just his second extra-base hit against a left-handed pitcher all season.
The Orioles’ offensive eruption wasn’t the only welcome sight. Zach Eflin was reinstated off the injured list after missing a month due to a right lat strain, and he tossed five innings of two-run ball against the Angels. The return of the O’s Opening Day starter could be immensely helpful for a Baltimore rotation that has struggled mightily this season.
“I felt great and strong the whole time,” Eflin said. “But honestly, to be able to go out and compete with the guys again means the world to me. I’m just so happy to be out there and feel that rush of being competitive.”
It has been no secret that the Orioles’ rotation has been an issue this season, whether it’s the on-field performance or the rash of injuries that have plagued key starters. When Eflin toed the rubber at Angel Stadium on Sunday, it offered a glimpse of normalcy and dependability.
Orioles starters have a 5.55 ERA, the third-worst figure among all rotations. Beyond the obvious issue of allowing more runs than every rotation outside of Colorado and Miami, Baltimore’s starters also have had an issue of simply giving the team length. Eflin has the chance to provide both the quantity and quality the O’s are looking for.
At 15-24 and 5.5 games back of a playoff spot, the Orioles still have a steep hill to climb. But Eflin’s return and the signs of the offense breaking out can only be viewed as encouraging.
Baltimore is off Monday before returning home on Tuesday to face a surging Twins team that has won eight straight games.