During the Orioles’ rebuild, the mere thought of nights like Tuesday kept fans hopeful.
Through 100-loss seasons, a 19-game losing streak and baseball so bad the franchise should’ve been paying fans and not the other way around, the dim light at the end of the tunnel only existed because of exciting young prospects and the savvy front office that drafted them.
But those dog days are over, and the Orioles’ 11-3 win Tuesday over the Minnesota Twins at Camden Yards was the latest example of how far the organization has come in five years.
A lineup with six homegrown players, four first-round draft picks and three No. 1 prospects produced 11 runs on a season-high 15 hits as all nine batters reached base. Gunnar Henderson went 3-for-5, hit a home run onto Oriole Park’s flag court and singled home Jackson Holliday. Jordan Westburg blasted a two-run homer over the nearly indomitable left field wall. Colton Cowser tallied two hits and drove in a pair of runs. And Grayson Rodriguez pitched six innings of two-run ball for the win.
The modest crowd at Camden Yards — an announced attendance of 18,108 — gazed in amazement after each Henderson hit, screamed when Westburg conquered the wall, mooed anytime Cowser did anything and gave Rodriguez a standing ovation as he walked off the mound. After a wild-card chase in 2022 and 101 wins in 2023, games like Tuesday’s are just another reminder of the path it took to get here and that more nights like these are ahead.
“This is what you look forward to,” Henderson said. “In the minor leagues, you want to do it ultimately at the big league level. To be able to do that each and every day, it’s really special. I’m very blessed to be able to spend time on the field with these guys.”
With the win, the Orioles moved to 11-6 and 8-0 in games in which Rodriguez or ace Corbin Burnes start. The defending American League East champions have won three straight games and are a half-game back of the New York Yankees, who started the season red-hot, for first in the division.
“That was one of our most complete games of the year so far to do what we did in every single area,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “The way we swung the bat, hit with runners in scoring position, the way we hit with power, the way we ran the bases, Grayson was really good, we played really good defense. There were a lot of positives tonight.”
In a game chock-full of impressive performances from former or current prospects, the Orioles’ oldest position player drove in the game’s first run.
Catcher James McCann doubled to right field to bring home Cowser, who raced from first base to score after Twins right fielder Manuel Margot bobbled the ball. But Henderson, the Orioles’ second-youngest player behind Holliday at 22 years old, narrowly cleared the railing atop the out-of-town scoreboard for a two-run homer that gave Baltimore a 3-0 lead off Twins right-hander Chris Paddack.
“We’re pretty dangerous offensively,” Hyde said. “If we can keep this offensive core swinging the bat the way we are right now, we should have some success.”
The Orioles plated four more runs in the third on an RBI groundout from Cowser, Westburg’s fourth big fly of the season and Henderson’s third hit, an RBI single to score Holliday, who walked amid another hitless day. The Orioles drafted Henderson in the second round of the 2019 draft after picking Adley Rutschman first overall. Westburg was taken with the 30th pick the following year, and Cowser was drafted by Baltimore with the fifth pick in 2021.
“It just feels like whenever we’re clicking this is the kind of nights we can have,” said Henderson, who also homered in Monday’s win. “Just being able to put one of these nights together is really fun and shows what this offense can do.”
In the fourth, Cowser, who was named the AL Player of the Week on Monday after a monstrous breakout, singled to score Anthony Santander, who later put Baltimore up 9-2 in the sixth with an RBI single.
Rodriguez didn’t have his normal fastball command, although it had its usual heat, topping out at 98 mph. But he was able to lean on his drop-off-the-table changeup, tight slider and looping curveball to carry him through six solid innings. His runs came on an RBI triple by Byron Buxton in the fourth and an RBI single by Alex Kirilloff in the sixth. Minnesota’s final run scored in the ninth on an RBI single by Jose Miranda off Mike Baumann, who pitched the final 1 1/3 innings. Yohan Ramírez, who joined the club last week via a cash trade with the New York Mets, pitched 1 2/3 scoreless between Rodriguez and Baumann.
Rodriguez (3-0) has carried his dominant second half last year into this season, posting a 2.63 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 24 innings across his first four starts. He racked up six punchouts with three walks and four hits Tuesday. Rodriguez and Burnes have a combined 2.45 ERA and 1.049 WHIP while the rest of the Orioles’ rotation — Dean Kremer, Cole Irvin and the now-injured Tyler Wells — has a 5.83 average and 1.414 WHIP.
“You see the talent and you see the stuff,” Hyde said. “He’s going to have a chance to be dominating at times. He was really good tonight, even without the fastball command he’s had the first few starts.”
Like how McCann drove in the Orioles’ first run, another veteran capped off Baltimore’s scoring. Ryan O’Hearn, who is off to a hot start after a breakout 2023 campaign, clobbered a two-run homer to center field — just past Buxton’s outstretched glove — to leave the yard for a third straight game. The homer was placed under review, as it appeared a fan in center field might have touched the ball before it could have the chance to reach Buxton’s glove.
“If they call that an out, I’m going to be pretty mad, obviously. Full George Brett is not out of the question,” O’Hearn joked, referencing the former Kansas City Royals star famous for his tirade in the Pine Tar Game in 1983.
O’Hearn’s shot gave the Orioles three home runs in four straight games — the first time the club has achieved that feat since May 2013. During that stretch, they’ve recorded 11-plus hits in all four games, batting .342 and scoring 7.3 runs per contest.
“We’ve got guys that can hit one through nine,” the 30-year-old first baseman said. “We’ve got guys grinding out at-bats no matter what the score is. Nobody gives up any at-bats. We stay relentless.”
Rodriguez watched the Orioles’ “special” offense support him from the dugout. As Henderson, Westburg, Rutschman, Cowser and the rest of his friends — the people he came of baseball age playing alongside — put runs on the scoreboard, Rodriguez could only describe the feeling one way.
“It’s a lot of fun. That’s all I can say about it,” he said. “It’s really special.”
When Rodriguez starts again Sunday, the Orioles’ young core will attempt to do it all over again.
Around the horn
• Hyde said postgame that the Orioles aren’t ready to announce who will start Wednesday’s series finale after the club placed right-hander Tyler Wells on the 15-day injured list Tuesday.
• To have a full roster for Tuesday’s game, the Orioles replaced Wells with 27-year-old catcher David Bañuelos. The backstop is expected to be sent back to the minors Wednesday, but the blowout allowed Hyde to give Bañuelos his first MLB plate appearance — a “well-deserved at-bat,” Hyde said. As he stepped to the plate, a portion of the home crowd aware of the significance to Bañuelos stood and cheered. “It’s honestly one of the coolest moments of my life,” he said.
Twins at Orioles
Wednesday, 1:05 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
