The Orioles are turning the corner after a rough April and May, using the early struggles as a learning moment they hope won’t be repeated
The Orioles stumbled to a 9-16 record in April, chalking it up to a slow start — then turned around and went 9-18 in May. Now, with the season potentially slipping away, the fanbase is left stunned, trying to piece together where it all went wrong.
But signs of life have emerged: Baltimore has won eight of its last ten, offering a sliver of hope and an opportunity to learn from the mistakes that dug this early hole.
The central question remains: was this a case of poor planning or just plain bad luck? Here’s a breakdown of what sank May — and what might be starting to shift.
Injuries and struggling replacements
Losing Jordan Westburg to a hamstring strain on April 28 created a void the Orioles couldn’t fill. His replacements — a mix of Ramón Urías and Emmanuel Rivera — failed to produce. Despite both being capable hitters, they combined for sub-.600 OPS marks in May (.597 and .601, respectively).
Colton Cowser fractured his thumb just four games in, and the revolving door of fill-ins (Heston Kjerstad, Ramón Laureano, Dylan Carlson) hasn’t stabilized the outfield. Kjerstad, the mainstay, has batted .179 with a .516 OPS since stepping in.
Cedric Mullins also hit the injured list in late May, though his struggles had already started. Add Tyler O’Neill (shoulder), Gary Sánchez (wrist), and Laureano (ankle) to the pile, and the result has been a patchwork lineup with little consistency.
Key bats going cold
Two hitters expected to anchor the lineup — Ryan Mountcastle and Adley Rutschman — simply didn’t deliver.
Mountcastle was ice-cold in April (.194), showed signs of life in May (.298), then landed on the IL with, you guessed it, a hamstring issue.
Rutschman, meanwhile, was mired in a brutal slump, hitting just .182 in May. With Sánchez unavailable, he played constantly — and it may have caught up to him.
Taken together, it wasn’t just injuries — it was also underperformance from players the Orioles needed to carry them. Coaching? Fatigue? Bad luck? It’s unclear.
Too much platoon tinkering?
Dean Kremer hinted after a recent strong outing that excessive platooning might be unsettling the clubhouse. And the numbers support the concern: despite the organization’s love for drafting lefty bats, the team is hitting just .198 against left-handers — compared to .250 against righties.
That imbalance suggests the Orioles may be overthinking matchups and undercutting rhythm.
Starting pitchers weren’t ready
Kremer himself said it best after his May 2 gem: “I wish I would do it on Opening Day.” His ERA has improved drastically each month — 6.75 in April, 2.72 in May, and 0.79 over his last two starts.
And he’s not alone. Several starters looked unprepared in April, digging early holes that the offense couldn’t climb out of.
Monthly ERA Breakdown – Orioles Starters
Did everyone but Tomoyuki Sugano report to spring training out of shape?
It raises the question — is this a conditioning issue, or a sign of something deeper within the coaching staff?
The bullpen remains a glaring weakness
In the Orioles’ recent surge, what’s really changed is the rotation — not the relief corps. Over the past two weeks, Orioles starters have posted a stellar 2.47 ERA, third-best in the AL. The bullpen? A dismal 6.16 ERA, ranking 28th. Those numbers aren’t a fluke either — the relievers struggled equally in April (5.17 ERA) and May (6.04).
There’s been constant churn — Cionel Pérez, Cody Poteet, Grant Wolfram, Matt Bowman, Kade Strowd, Colin Selby, Yaramil Hiraldo, Scott Blewett. That level of turnover isn’t unusual for a bullpen, but it’s a reminder of how unsettled the group remains.
Ultimately, this just doesn’t seem like a well-constructed relief unit. Of the five most-used relievers — Bryan Baker, Keegan Akin, Seranthony Domínguez, Cionel Pérez, and Gregory Soto — only Baker and Akin have consistently held their own.
Signs of life
This may not be a playoff-caliber team, but the recent stretch suggests they’re far from the AL basement. The starters are unlikely to keep up their top-five MLB form, but while it lasts, it’s providing a foundation.
Some midseason additions have helped: Ramón Laureano (1.054 OPS in May) and Dylan Carlson (.839) have been clear upgrades — even if Tyler O’Neill hasn’t quite worked out.
Adley Rutschman, after a rough stretch, looks revitalized — hitting .313 with an .853 OPS over the past week, perhaps benefiting from ditching a toe-tap in his swing.
Heston Kjerstad’s slump badly hurt the outfield’s offensive numbers, but he’s starting to come around too, slashing .267/.313/.600/.913 since May 30. Maybe this is just part of the adjustment curve that Gunnar Henderson, Westburg, Cowser — and now Coby Mayo — have all had to work through.
What’s really going on?
Was the Orioles’ early-season collapse a front office miscalculation, poor coaching, or just bad luck? Realistically, it’s a mix. The offensive drop-off wasn’t something easily predicted, but it may reflect larger concerns about the hitting staff — especially in the wake of Brandon Hyde’s exit.
The rotation underperformed early, despite being relatively stable. The bullpen? Consistently below average — and still is. Any recent improvement might be more than we had reason to expect.
Some issues defy explanation. Others feel all too familiar. Either way, we can hope the worst of the 2025 Orioles is in the rearview mirror. There’s still a long season ahead — and plenty more clues to come about who this team really is.
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