TORONTO -- The Orioles sure can slug. And through three games, they¡¯re slugging.
Baltimore continued its homer-filled start to the 2025 season with three more long balls in a 9-5 win over Toronto on Saturday evening at Rogers Centre. Jordan Westburg went deep twice for his first big league multi-homer game, while Colton Cowser opened the contest with the third leadoff home run of his career.
Westburg, a first-time All-Star in 2024, has a team-high three of the O¡¯s 10 homers this year, their most after three games in franchise history. Their previous mark was seven (in '06 and '23).
¡°One through nine, plus the four guys on the bench, are all capable of impacting the game in unique and powerful ways in this offense,¡± said Westburg, who had a career-high-tying four hits. ¡°So it¡¯s something we¡¯re proud of, something we¡¯ll continue to build upon and get comfortable with.¡±
Cowser and Westburg went deep in the first inning against Max Scherzer, who made his Blue Jays debut before exiting after three innings due to right lat soreness. Cowser¡¯s homer was his first hit of the season, while Westburg¡¯s two-out solo blast traveled a Statcast-projected 434 feet, the longest of his 24 home runs over three MLB seasons.
The Orioles used a four-run fourth to take the lead for good, with Ram¨®n Ur¨ªas hitting a go-ahead three-run double that made it 6-4.
Westburg¡¯s second homer gave Baltimore extra breathing room, as he smashed a seventh-inning solo shot off right-hander Chad Green to push the O¡¯s lead to 9-5. By also hitting a pair of singles, the 26-year-old Westburg improved to 6-for-13 (.462) to open the season.
¡°Incredible. He¡¯s just a ballplayer. He plays his butt off every game he¡¯s playing,¡± manager Brandon Hyde said. ¡°Gets huge hits, hits right and left, drives the baseball.¡±
Last year, Westburg slugged 18 homers in 107 games during his breakout sophomore campaign. He likely would have had more if he hadn¡¯t missed nearly two months in the second half due to a right hand fracture.
A new career high in homers could soon be coming for the former top prospect.
¡°It¡¯s just happening,¡± Westburg said of his early power surge. ¡°Trying not to do too much up there. I¡¯ve noticed some of my swings have been a little big, so in an attempt to shorten up, sometimes you just run into some balls.
¡°So, we¡¯ll see if it keeps happening. I don¡¯t know if this pace is sustainable, but I¡¯m just going to try to keep taking good approaches to the plate and moving the ball.¡±
The only MLB team with more home runs than the Orioles this season is the Yankees, who have 11 in two games after hitting nine on Saturday.
Baltimore¡¯s 23 runs are tied for its fourth most through three games in team history (since 1954). The O¡¯s had 25 at this point in both 2006 and ¡®24, 24 in 1970 and 23 as well in ¡®23.
But the Orioles¡¯ lineup feels more potent than it has in quite some time, with young players -- such as Westburg, Cowser, Adley Rutschman and Jackson Holliday -- continuing to get better with more experience. (And it will only get better once Gunnar Henderson returns from his right intercostal strain in the near future.)
¡°Any given day, they can put up 10, no problem. It¡¯s a lot of fun to not have to face them,¡± said right-hander Dean Kremer, who earned the win despite allowing five runs in 5 1/3 innings in his season debut. ¡°There¡¯s really no breaks. There¡¯s no holes in the lineup. There¡¯s no nothing. So for a pitcher, it¡¯s a grind to get through, one through nine.¡±
If Baltimore plans on making it to the postseason for the third straight year -- and having better results once it gets there -- it will need its offense to lead the way. Once the O¡¯s bats went cold last season, they got less favorable results.
The Orioles often struggled to put up big run totals after the All-Star break in 2024, and they scored only one while getting swept in two games by the Royals in the American League Wild Card Series.
There will be ebbs and flows in 2025 -- as there already have been, with 12 runs on Opening Day on Thursday, followed by only two on Friday -- but the potential for offensive success by Baltimore is quite high.
¡°We all have each other¡¯s backs in this clubhouse. That¡¯s something we talk about a lot,¡± Westburg said. ¡°We¡¯re going to continue to try to pick each other up, and if somebody doesn¡¯t get the job done, just know your buddy behind you has got your back.¡±