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 well within striking distance in the wide-open American League Wild Card race.
Leody 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 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.
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).