Orioles fans wanted more small ball.
Enter Leody Taveras.
As Baltimore has won nine of its past 13 games, Taveras has laid down eight bunts — four singles and four sacrifices.
On how Taveras is turning back the clock & bringing small ball to Baltimore: https://t.co/FYutcYethJ
Adley Rutschman tonight:
4-for-4
3 XBH
5 RBI
5 times on base
He's the first hitter in MLB this year to record 4 hits, 3 XBH, and 5 RBI in a singe game 🔥
In Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo, the Orioles have the best catching duo in baseball.
Baltimore catchers lead MLB in:
BA — .266
SLG — .486
OPS — .822
wRC+ — 129
Their 2.9 fWAR is easily the best in baseball. No other team is above 1.9 fWAR.
Jacob Misiorowski has struck out 57 batters in his last 6 games while allowing a total of only 1 run and 14 hits. I know that sounds impossible but it's true.
No one has ever hit those marks before in any 6-game span in all of MLB history because of course they haven't.
In 2020, COVID cut the MLB draft from 40 rounds to 5. Brandon Young went undrafted and signed with the Orioles for $20,000. He turned down his childhood Astros because Baltimore made him "feel like they had a plan for him".
Two years later, Tommy John surgery wiped out his season after just 3 Double-A starts. He rehabbed across four affiliates in 2023, throwing 40 total innings. Then in 2024 he won the Orioles' Jim Palmer Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
His rookie year wasn't pretty. He went 1-7 with a 6.24 ERA. But there were bright spots. He nearly threw a perfect game against Houston and logged an immaculate inning along the way. This offseason he simplified his pitch mix and changed his splitter grip mid-year, the results have followed:
A 3-1 record and a 3.35 ERA so far in 2026.
Asked as a teenager what he'd do after baseball: "I'm just going to play baseball."
His father: "It could have gone either way with all the injuries and setbacks. He's worked harder than anybody I've ever seen."
Young mentioned this spring: "I can never think I don't belong here. That's just not gonna work. I know I can."
From the guy that took the $20K signing bonus. Tommy John. A 6.24 rookie ERA. Nobody has handed Brandon Young anything. He just kept showing up, with Led Zeppelin inked down his pitching arm and Hendrix on the speakers, until the game had no choice but to let him in.
We love to see what he's bringing to the rotation so far in 2026 👏
Colton Cowser’s new stance looks much more upright and compact compared to his old setup. He’s standing taller with a quieter load, tighter hands, and a more balanced base, likely to help with timing and pitch recognition.
In the last 7 games:
15 PA .357 BA .400 OBP .786 SLG 1.186 OPS 2 HR 5 RBI 231 wRC+
Yes, we know a lot of this lineup is getting more PA’s right now, but this is still a positive sign for Cowser.
Give the Cow MOOre AB’s.
#Birdland
Watch the Orioles' first-base dugout here.
Gunnar Henderson got out of there and onto the field FAST on Colton Cowser's walk-off 3-run home run. He was clearly amped up for his good friend.