The Baltimore Orioles closed the Oriole Park at Camden Yards chapter of the 2025 season with a come from behind 6-5 walk-okk win over the Tampa Bay Rays (77-82) Thursday afternoon. Trailing 5-2 entering the home half of the eighth, the Orioles plated three runs in the inning to tie the game and then won it on the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth.
The winning run came on a Dylan Beavers homerun to the right field flag court on an 88.3 mph cutter from Tampa Bay’s Kevin Kelly that travelled 417 ft. into a fan’s glove.
LEAVE IT TO BEAVERS
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— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) September 25, 2025
Regarding how his walk-off felt, Beavers said, “It was incredible. I kind of blacked out. I hit it, and then I really don’t remember until they threw me that helmet, the Ravens helmet, but it was awesome.”
Beavers doesn’t have his moment without Coby Mayo‘s two-out, two-run homerun in the eighth inning, his 10th of the season, that knotted the game at 5. Ironically enough, Mayo was the first batter that Kelly faced in relief and the homerun came on the first pitch (89.9 mph sinker) that Mayo saw from him as well.
First pitch AMBUSH
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— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) September 25, 2025
In another bookend moment, Game 81 at Camden Yards ended in similar fashion to how Game 1 ended, with a win in a game started by Cade Povich. Povich allowed 5 runs on 10 hits with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts across 5.2 innings on Thursday. In his OPACY home opener start on March 31st Povich allowed 3 runs on 5 hits with 2 walks and 8 strikeouts across 4.1 innings. He factored into neither decision and threw 94 pitches (59 K’s) in the home opener compared to 99 pitches (63 K’s) in the home finale.
Yaramil Hiraldo relieved Povich and gave up a pair of singles before ending the sixth inning with a strikeout of Hunter Feduccia. Kade Strowd pitched a clean seventh inning while Rico Garcia loaded the bases on consecutive no-out singles in the eighth; he did escape that threat before turning the game over to Keegan Akin (5-4) in the ninth. Akin pitched a clean inning and was credited with the win.
Despite the feel good ending, how the Orioles got there is still an area in need of improvement. Three of the nine hits in the game were homeruns and four of the six runs were a result of the longball.
Ryan Mountcastle hit his seventh homerun of the season, a 362 ft. shot to right field in the third inning and finished the day going 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBI and a walk. He added a RBI single in the fifth inning and scored on a wild pitch in the eighth.
Baltimore did have a pair of extra-base hits: a Jeremiah Jackson (2 for 4, R) double leading off the second inning and an Adley Rutschman (1 for 1) pinch-hit triple immediately following Mayo’s homerun in the eighth. The Orioles didn’t take advantage of either extra-base hit and in fact were 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position. A more balanced offensive approach is needed as opposed to what seems at times to be feast or famine via the homerun.
A possible rally in the first inning ended when Gunnar Henderson, who went 2 for 4 on the day, was caught stealing third base on a call that Interim Manager Tony Mansolino challenged. Running themselves out of rallies with questionable base running has also been a common theme this season.
Mansolino summed up his feelings about the game by saying, “I’m not so sure I saw that thing going that way. I mean, I don’t think I was super positive on the inside right there in the eighth and ninth innings by any means, so it’s nice to see the fellows kind of battle back.”
Beavers added, “It was awesome, especially going down early. We battled back. We didn’t roll over. We kept fighting in that game. Coby had that huge swing to put us back in it. It was awesome sending the fans back home with something good.”
For those who care about such things, the Orioles did surpass 1.8 million fans in attendance (1,803,655) with Thursday’s announced attendance of 16,777. Scanning the crowd during the broadcast did not reflect that number even though Mother Nature and her threat of rain held off all afternoon. For the record, the 2025 attendance was down about 477,000 campared to 2024 and represents the largest year-to-year drop in Orioles history (not including the Pandemic season).
Big changes are coming to Camden Yards in 2026 but it will take more that a new scoreboard, a new press box, a new Premium Club above homeplate, a renovated Club Level and a new Social Patio to bring the fans back; the onfield product must improve.
Following the game the Orioles rookies dressed as Minions for the trip to the Big Apple.
The team will travel with visions of spoiling the Yankees winning the AL East dancing in their heads.
2025 Record: 75-84
Next Game: Fri. 9/26 @ 7:05 pm vs. Yankees in New York