HOUSTON — Three years ago, Baltimore fans dreamed of lineups like the Orioles put out Sunday.
Eight of the Orioles’ nine players were homegrown and developed into top 100 prospects. That group — the Orioles’ young core that will determine whether the future is a success or not — combined to smack 11 hits and drive in 12 runs as Baltimore clobbered the Astros, 12-0, to win the series.
Of course, the elephant in the room is hard to ignore: What wasn’t expected when this lineup was rolled out was for it to come amid perhaps the most disappointing season in Orioles history. Baltimore is 57-67 and so far out of the wild-card race that it’s virtually impossible for them to reach the postseason.
Still, days like Sunday have been hard to come by during a deflating season, though they’ve occurred more frequently over the past week after Brandon Young’s near-perfect game Friday and Jackson Holliday’s walk-off double Wednesday.
“It was just one game, but it is exciting to see,” Orioles interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “It’s really important. It’s momentum. It’s leadership.”
Holliday, Jordan Westburg and Jeremiah Jackson — the lone non-homegrown hitter in the lineup, though Mansolino exuberantly claimed him as such because of his improvements with the organization’s hitting coaches this year — all recorded at least two hits. Westburg matched his career high with four hits, including a three-run homer in the fifth inning, and set his best mark with five RBIs. The third baseman is hitting slightly over .300 since returning from the injured list June 10.
Newcomers Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers, a pair of prospects who made their debuts this weekend, both smacked hits, including the first of Basallo’s career in his first MLB game. Gunnar Henderson walked twice, tallied two RBIs and made a web gem at shortstop to extend his errorless streak to 57 games. It could’ve been an even bigger day for Basallo and Henderson, but both sluggers had homers robbed by Astros right fielder Jesús Sánchez. Adley Rutschman, Colton Cowser and Coby Mayo also chipped in with a single apiece.
“I think we have a chance to be really, really good,” Basallo said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “I think we have a lot of talented players in this clubhouse that have a chance to do really special things. I know that we’re pretty young, but I think we have a chance to be really good for a long, long time.”
The offensive outburst, most of which came off a gassed Houston bullpen after starter Cristian Javier left early with an illness, was encouraging, but starting pitcher Dean Kremer didn’t need it. The right-hander continued his hot streak with seven scoreless innings to lower his ERA to 3.97. His 21 whiffs were the most by an Orioles starter this season. Kremer has a career 1.47 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in 36 2/3 innings against the Astros.
Kremer’s gem followed the one he threw Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners when he tossed eight innings of one-run ball. Since posting a 7.04 ERA in April, the right-hander has a 3.16 ERA, which ranks ninth among American League starting pitchers with at least 100 innings pitched in that span.
“It’s awesome having the feeling that the manager and the pitching coaches have your back and say, ‘Hey, you’ve got a longer leash than you think,’” Kremer said on throwing a career-high 114 pitches. “It’s a great feeling having them have the confidence in me to try to get that job done.”
Since the Trevor Rogers Game in Boston on May 24, the Orioles are 41-33. That’s a .554 winning percentage, or a 90-win pace over a 162-game season. Only four MLB teams have more wins than the Orioles over that span.
Postgame analysis
This Orioles season has been a drag. That doesn’t have to be the case the rest of the reason.
Injuries started to hit in March. They started slow in April. It got so bad in May that manager Brandon Hyde was fired. Crushing losses in June prevented them from climbing out of the early season hole. The front office dealt nine players at the trade deadline. The first half of August featured a bullpen and outfield full of castoffs and journeymen.
But perhaps the final six weeks of the season can get the organization back on track and breathe some life into a deflated fan base yearning for a World Series-caliber team.
The rotation has been excellent this month, as Rogers is establishing himself as a front-of-the-rotation starter, Kremer is proving to be a reliable innings-eater and youngsters Brandon Young and Cade Povich are showing flashes. And the lineup has the potential, if its stars remain healthy, to finally show the might that was expected during spring training. Even without Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano and Cedric Mullins, the Orioles are now rolling out lineups filled with homegrown players and former top prospects, including newcomers Samuel Basallo and Dylan Beavers.
Nothing short of a miracle can get the Orioles back in playoff contention. But playing the way they did this weekend in Houston for the remainder of the season could show what this team was supposed to be in 2025 and what it can be in 2026.
“Look, if we want to force the front office’s hand, or force things to happen in this organization, we’ve got to prove that we’re able to play winning baseball,” Westburg said. “That’s very important to this clubhouse. That’s very important to me. I hate losing. … Since June, we’ve got a winning record, playing some good ball. We’ve played two really good series. And it is important for us to keep stacking those together, to keep remembering that, yeah, this doesn’t happen this year, but we’re playing for the future.”
What they’re saying
Mansolino on the leadership of the young core:
“It’s a huge responsibility that these guys now have on their shoulders. For the longest time here, there’s been veteran guys that, in a sense, to hide behind. If you make a mistake out there, somebody’s going to cover it up for you because somebody’s going to win the game. If your response to something unfavorable isn’t good, then it gets covered up by a veteran player because they’re able to help you out. Now all these young players have got a massive responsibility, these young leaders that we have — the Westburgs, the Adleys, the Hendersons, the Jackson Hollidays, the Cowsers, Bradish when Bradish gets back.
“We have guys here that on a traditional or normal team would not be leaders, but because of how the Baltimore Orioles are going to be built going forward, most likely, these guys have got to carry that responsibility. It’s a big deal trying to learn how to perform in the big leagues and then also be responsible for the performance of others. But we love these guys, and we think they’re capable of it. Otherwise, we wouldn’t ask them to do it.”
By the numbers
Beavers on Saturday became the first Orioles player to double in his MLB debut since Kyle Stowers on June 13, 2022. Sunday, Basallo became the first Oriole to be hit by a pitch in his debut since … Stowers.
On deck
Basallo will make his debut behind the plate Monday against the Boston Red Sox. He’ll catch a familiar pitcher in Trevor Rogers, who threw to Basallo in Triple-A earlier this season. Rogers, who sports a sparkling 1.43 ERA, will pitch opposite right-hander Dustin May, whom the Red Sox acquired at the trade deadline.
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