CLEVELAND -- The beginning of this week felt like it was 2023 (or ‘24) again for the Orioles. Their remarkable come-from-behind win over the D-backs on Monday night was reminiscent of one of the many incredible victories they experienced while reaching the postseason in back-to-back years earlier this decade.
Thursday felt a bit like it was 2025 again.
Last year, the O’s struggled when playing from behind. They often couldn’t hit left-handed starting pitchers. They had several close calls of potentially being no-hit.
So, the series opener at Progressive Field might have brought a bad case of déjà vu in Baltimore.
Guardians rookie left-hander Parker Messick took a no-hit bid into the ninth inning before Leody Taveras thwarted the attempt with a leadoff single. The Orioles then rallied for a pair of runs, but it wasn’t enough, as they lost, 4-2, and fell to 9-10 with their third consecutive defeat.
The O’s were supposed to be better against southpaws this season after hitting .231 (23rd in MLB) with a .661 OPS (22nd) vs. lefties in 2025. Their top three offseason acquisitions on the position-player side were all right-handed hitters -- outfielder Taylor Ward, utility man Blaze Alexander and, of course, slugging first baseman Pete Alonso.
What has happened, then?
1) The injury bug (again)
As much as Baltimore hasn’t wanted to blame injuries -- even last season when it used the injured list 39 times for 29 players in a 75-87 campaign -- bad health is again impacting the O’s during their 9-10 start to 2026. They’ve already put 13 players on the IL, and they’re all still out.
Among the key right-handed bats the Orioles are missing include outfielder Tyler O’Neill (concussion), catcher Adley Rutschman (left ankle inflammation), first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (left foot fracture) and Jordan Westburg (partial right UCL tear). While Mountcastle and Westburg will miss significant time, O’Neill and Rutschman should return in the near future, potentially as soon as sometime during this seven-game road trip through Cleveland and Kansas City.
“Those guys are huge pieces for us,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “But also, the guys we had in the lineup, we feel very confident in them vs. lefties. We’ve shown that we can have good at-bats, we just couldn’t square the ball up tonight against Messick.”
Still, the Orioles’ optimal lineup against left-handers would not feature outfielder Johnathan Rodríguez (a 26-year-old with 47 games of MLB experience who was called up from Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday) batting in the cleanup hole. It would be nice to have a bit more thump.
2) The lack of lefties
Perhaps it’s hard to get into a rhythm against left-handed starters when Baltimore has faced them so infrequently. The O’s didn’t face any lefty starting pitchers over their first 17 games (an Orioles record), with Arizona southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez being the first on Wednesday.
Sure, the O’s have still seen left-handed relievers. But opposing teams can choose their spots with those hurlers, as opposed to a starter, who is working through the entire batting order multiple times.
“It could be different for individual guys,” Ward said. “Even lefty relievers, for me personally, I don’t really see them very often. And when I do see them, it seems like it’s been a while. But yeah, just kind of probably depends on who you talk to.”
Baltimore should start seeing southpaws with more regularity. Cleveland will send another one to the mound on Sunday, with Joey Cantillo set to pitch the finale.
3) The slow starts
Another reason the Orioles might fall into ruts against lefties (or any pitcher) is their lack of early offense. Their opponents have scored first in 11 of 19 games, and Baltimore has trailed after six innings 10 times.
It has often felt like the O’s are chipping away and trying to play from behind. Sometimes, it works (hence their six-run comeback in Monday’s win). Many times, an early deficit is too much.
The Orioles chased Messick after 112 pitches and scored via Gunnar Henderson’s sac fly and Pete Alonso’s RBI double off right-hander Cade Smith in the ninth. In the process, they broke up a no-hit bid in the ninth for a third consecutive season, becoming only the third MLB team in the expansion era (since 1961) to do so.
“Even if the game hasn’t finished yet, we’re still thinking that we can flip the game,” Taveras said. “That’s why we go out there.”
However, the O’s would prefer not to have to think that way in the first place.
“We’ve just got to flip the script, honestly, and be ahead,” Ward said. “I think that’s just our next step -- getting out to a quick and early lead and maintaining it and adding on after that. Love to see the fight in the team, it’s great, but I just think we’ve got to flip it.”