3 challenges facing O's following tough finale against Jays

BALTIMORE -- The Orioles lost the momentum and couldn’t get it back during Sunday afternoon’s 7-6, 10-inning loss to the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.

A game that Baltimore led, 6-3, after seven ended up going in Toronto’s favor late. The O’s couldn’t keep the positive momentum rolling in their direction, as the Jays rallied for three runs in the eighth to tie the contest and won thanks to Myles Straw’s go-ahead RBI infield single in the 10th and Jeff Hoffman’s two-inning outing.

In a way, it symbolizes exactly how the first 15 games have gone for the Orioles (6-9), one of three MLB teams that have yet to win consecutive games during the 2025 season (along with the Astros and Braves). Baltimore has also not won any of its first five series after splitting the latest rain-shortened two-game set vs. Toronto.

“I think this is such a long season, baseball’s such a hard game, that you just try and stick to your process as a team. Trust the culture in this clubhouse. Trust the guys in this clubhouse,” infielder Jordan Westburg said. “Not overreact to wins and losses this early. Yeah, it sucks losing, and obviously, we wish we were winning more games.

“But I think when the tendency is to start changing, changing, changing, we might lose the identity that we’ve worked all spring to build. So I think the most important part is just sticking to who we are, staying close here in this clubhouse, having each other’s back and just trusting that the product is just going to get better.”

There are some challenges facing the Orioles, and several of them popped up on Sunday.

Félix Bautista’s limited availability

This is less of an issue and more of a luxury that Baltimore doesn’t have at the moment.

In 2023, Bautista was among the best closers in baseball. He could pitch on consecutive days. He could work multiple innings at a time. He could ensure the O’s would win almost any time they had a late lead or were tied heading to extras.

Bautista, who underwent Tommy John surgery in October 2023, earned his first save in 597 days in Saturday’s 5-4 win.

“We were the best team in baseball in one-run games because of the big fellow on the mound,” manager Brandon Hyde recently said of Bautista’s ‘23 campaign.

However, the Orioles aren’t using Bautista on consecutive days or for multiple-inning stints early in the year to keep the 29-year-old healthy. That had an impact on Sunday, when left-hander Gregory Soto allowed three runs in the eighth and Matt Bowman couldn’t keep the game tied in the 10th while Bautista remained in the bullpen.

“He’s not fully back yet. That’s why he didn’t pitch,” Hyde said.

Short, less efficient outings from starting pitchers

Baltimore’s 5.30 rotation ERA ranks 29th in the Majors behind only the Yankees’ 5.40 mark.

O’s starters also haven’t been working deep into games. They’ve had only four starts of six or more innings -- and three of those came from Opening Day starter Zach Eflin, who went on the injured list on Wednesday due to a right lat strain. The other belongs to Cade Povich, who allowed four runs (one earned) over six innings in his previous outing in Kansas City.

On Sunday, Povich yielded two runs on seven hits and one walk in 4 2/3 innings.

“For me, no matter where I’m at, I always want the ball,” said Povich, who noted he believes improved two-strike command could lead to better results.

When the Orioles continually pull starters early, it puts more stress on the bullpen. That’s less of a problem at the moment -- Monday’s scheduled off-day will be the club’s third in five days -- but it isn’t a sustainable formula for success.

Overall inconsistency

Simply put, the O’s aren’t playing as consistently well as they have for much of the past two seasons, each of which resulted in postseason berths.

Baltimore has scored four or fewer runs eight times, all resulting in losses. When it has produced early offense -- as it did on Sunday, with all six of its runs coming over the first six innings -- it hasn’t plated important tack-on runs.

The belief in the Orioles’ clubhouse continues to be that consistency and positive momentum will be coming in due time.

“I think we play a pretty hard style of baseball. I think all nine guys -- and the pitchers in the bullpen included, everybody on this roster -- plays very competitive, hard-nosed baseball,” Westburg said. “It’s baseball, it’s a long season. But we’ll try and swing it our way.”