Down to last strike, Cowser calls game with 3-run walk-off blast

BALTIMORE -- It had to feel good for the Orioles to celebrate their first walk-off win of the 2026 season on Sunday afternoon at Camden Yards. It had to feel even better for Colton Cowser, given how difficult this year has been for the 26-year-old outfielder.

Just rewatch the conclusion of Baltimore’s 5-3 victory over Detroit (the first game of a split doubleheader) and look at the reactions and the emotion shown across the field.

There was a casual bat flip and emphatic fist pump from Cowser, who blasted a game-ending three-run homer off Kenley Jansen. There was Gunnar Henderson, the first player to emerge from the first-base dugout who was on the field before Cowser’s homer even cleared the wall. There was a jolly Pete Alonso, who helped orchestrate the Gatorade bath at home plate.

This was a team ready to let loose and celebrate, as well as a club that hopes back-to-back wins over the Tigers -- which have the O’s (23-29) in position to potentially earn a three-game sweep in Sunday’s twin-bill nightcap -- are a precursor of better times ahead.

“It’s just a good feeling coming through for the team, first off,” said Cowser, who delivered the first walk-off plate appearance of his four-year, 313-game MLB career. “Honestly, I can’t really describe it.”

What Cowser could articulate, though, was his firm belief that the Orioles can really get going.

“I feel like we’ve been right there a lot of the year. It feels like we’ve been one hit away a lot of times,” Cowser said. “I feel like you’re always just a couple wins away from getting on a roll. I feel like we have the clubhouse to do it. I think everyone has the right mindset in here and just got to keep showing up and getting your work in and playing good, clean baseball.”

Cowser has been putting in a lot of effort himself to try to get his own season on track. And there have been some encouraging results of late for the 2021 first-round Draft pick.

Entering May 17, Cowser was hitting .169 with a .464 OPS, resulting in decreased playing time for the former top prospect. Since May 17, however, he is 5-for-13 (.385) with his first two home runs of the season and five RBIs, boosting his average to .200 and his OPS to .573.

“He’s been actively working his butt off to -- I wouldn’t say turn his season around, but to get back to being him,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “The clubhouse is excited for Cowser.”

Jansen, a 17-year MLB veteran and potential future Hall of Famer, was going for a four-out save when he issued a one-out walk to Jackson Holliday in the bottom of the ninth inning. Holliday stole second, Leody Taveras walked and later in the inning, the duo executed a double steal to give the Orioles a pair of runners in scoring position with two outs.

But it ended up not mattering where Holliday and Taveras were standing. Cowser connected on an 0-2 sinker left over the heart of the plate and jolted it a Statcast-projected 440 feet to right-center field. The homer left his bat at an exit velocity of 111.5 mph.

It was Baltimore’s first walk-off home run to come when the team was trailing since May 15, 2024, when Adley Rutschman lifted the O’s to a 3-2 win over the Blue Jays with a two-run homer in the ninth. It was also the third longest of Cowser’s 42 career homers behind blasts that traveled 455 feet (June 7, 2025, at the A’s) and 443 feet (June 16, 2024, vs. the Phillies).

“That was pretty sick,” said right-hander Brandon Young, who allowed only two unearned runs over 6 2/3 innings. “We were going crazy in here [in the clubhouse].”

If Cowser can build on his recent momentum -- and get back to the type of player he was in 2024, when he was the American League Rookie of the Year Award runner-up -- it would be a big boost for the Orioles. His left-handed bat and above-average outfield defense give him the potential to be an impact player.

So far, it has certainly been a “grind” for Cowser, as he, Albernaz and others would attest. But Cowser has kept a positive attitude amid the early-season struggles.

“It feels like the past couple weeks, I’ve been putting together some quality at-bats and just doing what I can, controlling the controllables,” Cowser said. “For some results to show up, yeah, it’s great. But I’m more proud of myself and the work that I’ve been putting in and the approach and the mindset.”