In the series opener against the Kansas City Royals on Friday night, the Baltimore Orioles ran themselves out of at least one scoring opportunity, hit into two double plays, and had an outfielder throw to the wrong base for a third time already this season.
Such ragged play has made for an underwhelming early impression in the 2025 season, especially for a team favored in some places to win the AL East and expected by most to contend for a playoff spot. Before his team took the field Saturday afternoon, manager Brandon Hyde seemed confident that Baltimore’s play would improve, but he also conceded there’s a lot that needs work.
“We could play a lot better than we’re playing,” Hyde said. “We’ve had a few games where we swung the bat really well. I think our bullpen, for the most part, has pitched well. We just haven’t put — we haven’t put a couple games in a row together.”
His players took a step in that direction with an 8-1 thumping of the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, breaking a three-game losing streak and bringing the Orioles’ record to 4-5 overall.
Right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano, a key free agent from Japan making his second major league start, pitched effectively into the sixth inning and picked up his first victory. Hyde said he appreciated Sugano getting 19 outs on 89 pitches — a longer effort than his first outing — which the Orioles needed to rest some relief pitchers.
Tyler O’Neill, Gary Sánchez and Jackson Holliday drove in two runs apiece, the bullpen allowed zero hits in 3 2/3 scoreless innings, and Baltimore made no significant mistakes on defense. It might have been the Orioles’ most complete game so far, with Gunnar Henderson’s 0-for-5 with four strikeouts being an exception.
Hyde said Sugano “looked way more comfortable” than in his first start a week ago Sunday at the Toronto Blue Jays, which was shortened because of cramps in both hands.
“He had really good command like he had in spring training,” Hyde said of Sugano, who allowed a solo home run to Bobby Witt Jr. with a six-run lead in the sixth for Kansas City’s lone run.
The Orioles came in 10th in runs scored per game, though Hyde said his offense had yet to find consistency in a full series. Hyde complimented his hitters for coming up big in moments against right-hander Michael Wacha and said a strong wind from center prevented multiple fly balls from going over the fence.
“I think we’re going to swing the bat this year,” Hyde said. “We’re dangerous up and down the order.”
The Orioles picked up the pace in other aspects. Hyde didn’t have any baserunning misadventures to lament or rationalize, and nobody threw to the wrong base — as happened Friday, when O’Neill gathered a two-out bloop single to right and mistakenly fired the ball to second base as Witt raced for home, scoring all the way from first. The result was a rare three-run single for Vinnie Pasquantino, who has been slowed by a strained hamstring.
“We’ve had a similar situation to that three times now,” Hyde said. “Tyler understands: That ball needs to go to the plate. He’s played well, just a couple of mistakes.”
Hyde praised O’Neill for working on scenarios like that during pregame drills Saturday.
“We’ve got to play better defensively for us to compete,” Hyde said.
The Orioles didn’t put themselves in a huge hole like the Atlanta Braves did at 0-7 and 1-8. Baltimore also hasn’t had its full lineup available yet, with Henderson only rejoining the squad in Kansas City after a muscle strain near his rib cage knocked him out toward the end of spring training. They also lost outfielder Colton Cowser four games into the season when a pitch fractured his thumb. The starting rotation hasn’t been at full strength either, notably with right-hander Grayson Rodríguez suffering elbow inflammation in late March.
Orioles players likely heard concerns about the club’s direction coming into the season. Baltimore won 91 games a year ago, falling to the Royals in the AL Wild Card Series. Two years ago, it won 101 games and took first in the AL East. Coming into 2025, the front office took some criticism for letting go ace right-hander Corbin Burnes, who signed with the Arizona Diamondbacks in free agency, without replacing him with a commensurate talent at the top of the rotation. They also let outfielder Anthony Santander walk in free agency to the Blue Jays — though, as Hyde has said, they seem to be deep on offense.
Orioles right-hander Zach Eflin, their best pitcher, acknowledged that storylines like these exist, but he hasn’t drawn any conclusions based on fewer than 10 games.
“It’s so early,” Eflin said. “I don’t really have an answer for you. It’s only — what — eight games in? It’s a long season, 162 games. It’s a little early to speculate or give an opinion based on how we’re playing currently.
“Team morale is great. We all have a bunch of energy that we’re showing every single day. We’re expecting to win, and that’s what we’re going to continue to do.”
