O's finally secure 4-game winning streak to head into break on positive note

BALTIMORE -- One number had defined the first half of the Orioles’ 2026 season: Three.

That had been Baltimore’s longest winning streak. And not only that, but the O’s had won three games in a row seven times, failing to win a fourth straight on each of those occurrences.

The eighth attempt, however, yielded a much better result.

Finally, the Orioles orchestrated their first four-game winning streak of the year, as they completed a three-game sweep of the struggling Royals with an 8-2 victory at Camden Yards on Sunday. Now, the Giants are the only MLB team that has yet to win four in a row in 2026.

It can’t be overstated how badly Baltimore needed this type of run heading into the All-Star break, which begins Monday. Entering Thursday, the O’s were sitting a season-worst nine games below .500. After a finale win over the Cubs and three more against the Royals, the Orioles are 46-51 and only two games back of a playoff spot in the wide-open American League Wild Card race.

The celebration inside the O’s clubhouse likely would have been more raucous had the club not lost utility man Blaze Alexander to a left hand fracture during the win. That news, which came following a benches-clearing incident, put a bit of a damper on the afternoon.

However, the Orioles still received a needed morale boost that could propel them forward into a strong second-half run.

“It is perfect, honestly, for us to go to the All-Star break with that in mind, that we can just keep doing that,” outfielder Leody Taveras said. “That’s great for us, honestly.”

Taveras lifted Baltimore to victory in the finale vs. Kansas City. The 27-year-old outfielder slugged a two-run homer off right-hander Seth Lugo in the second -- a blast that traveled a Statcast-projected 448 feet, the longest of Taveras’ 45 career homers -- and he broke a 2-2 tie with an RBI single in the sixth.

Taveras’ go-ahead knock sparked a five-run O’s rally that broke the game open. Jeremiah Jackson hit a pinch-hit RBI double, Taveras scored on a balk by left-hander Matt Strahm and Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso contributed RBI singles.

Alexander has been a surprise contributor for the Orioles, but so has Taveras, who has a .678 OPS in 82 games and is tied for sixth on the team with 34 RBIs.

“Leody’s been outstanding. I can’t say enough about him -- the player he is, but more importantly the person, the teammate,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “He’s the same every day, no matter if he’s playing or not. It’s a huge at-bat right there [in the sixth], just the ability to move the ball forward and get things going.”

Samuel Basallo padded the Orioles’ lead with a 404-foot home run to lead off the bottom of the seventh. The 21-year-old rookie has 16 homers this season, third on the team behind Pete Alonso (21) and Gunnar Henderson (17).

After so many unsuccessful attempts to win four in a row this year, what was different this time for the O’s?

“We did everything, collectively, together,” Taveras said, “and I think that’s why we got the ‘W’s’ there.”

Coming out of the July 2 off-day, Alonso spoke to his teammates and challenged them to go on a run during the final nine-game stretch ahead of the All-Star break. The 31-year-old slugger and leader didn’t want anybody to look back or think too far ahead.

Baltimore proceeded to go 6-3 over that span, playing some of its best baseball thus far.

“We did a good job of rising to the occasion in that short little window,” Alonso said. “But it takes a long time to have a good season. It takes 162 games to unfold, and I think the biggest thing is just staying the course. It's not about how you start, it's about how you finish.”

Alonso (and many others inside the Orioles’ clubhouse) still believe they can finish strong. After all, it’s possible the club buys ahead of the Aug. 3 Trade Deadline and then erases that narrow margin between itself and a postseason position.

“For the ups and downs and the inconsistencies, for us to be only two games out of it, that's really encouraging,” Alonso said. “And just to be honest, it's really fortunate for us, and we're really thankful to be in this position and we need to capitalize in the second half.”