After sweeping the Chicago White Sox, convincingly swiping two games from the San Francisco Giants, and the rush that was Monday night’s 9-7 thriller, the Orioles have fallen flatly back to earth.

Baltimore dropped the final two games to the Arizona Diamondbacks in a series that quickly went from exhilarating to deflating.

The O’s capped it off with an 8-5 loss to Arizona Wednesday afternoon, the team’s first extra innings game of the young season.

So, what exactly went wrong in this one?

With an outfield consisting of Weston Wilson, Jason Rodriguez, and Blaze Alexander, the injury-riddled Orioles were seemingly doomed from the jump on Wednesday.

Wilson, who was recalled from the Triple-A Norfolk Tides after veteran first baseman Ryan Mountcastle was placed on the 60-day injured list with a left foot fracture, was positioned in left field for the game by manager Craig Albernaz. That designation proved to be costly after a misjudged fly ball by Wilson netted Arizona catcher Adrian Del Castillo a two-RBI lead-taking triple in the third inning.

The Diamondbacks sprayed hit after hit on Wednesday’s starter Kyle Bradish, who struggled yet again.

The 29-year-old right-hander allowed eight hits, the most he has allowed in a game since April 25, 2023.

Arizona’s barrage amounted to four earned runs against Bradish, which was somehow only enough to tie the game at four a piece when he exited after the sixth inning.

You can thank our Player of the Series, Jeremiah Jackson, for that.

Jackson, who is well on his way toward etching a permanent spot in Baltimore’s lineup, slashed an RBI single in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at 2-2.

But, would it be an Orioles game in April 2026 without a home run from Baltimore’s second baseman? No, it would not.

Jackson took a perfect Eduardo Rodriguez fastball into left center field for a two-run homer that gave Baltimore a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth.

The 26-year-old infielder, who many had doubts about making the initial Opening Day roster, finished the series hitting 7-for-13 with three home runs and eight RBIs. His 1.846 OPS across the three-game stint is the highest by any Oriole in a series this season.

But, teams fail to flourish when their offense is a one-man show.

With runners in scoring position against Arizona, Jackson hit 2-for-3 (.667) while the rest of his squad went 5-for-22 (.227). On Wednesday, Baltimore hit 3-for-11 (.273) with RISP, Jackson accounting for one of those three hits.

The teams traded runs in the seventh inning. Del Castillo grounded into an RBI fielder’s choice in the top; Outfielder Leody Taveras softly grounded an RBI single into left field in the bottom. The game remained knotted at five until the end of regulation.

The O’s unfortunately used all of their magic in the series opener because the first set of extra innings in Baltimore didn’t go very well.

With a runner on third and one out, Del Castillo continued his domination of the Orioles as he clobbered a Tyler Wells fastball for a 420-foot home run, tacking on two more runs and giving his team a 7-5 lead. Arizona’s catcher finished the game with five RBIs.

Wells, who has now allowed an earned run in five of his eight relief appearances this season, would then let up an RBI single to third baseman Nolan Arenado. The nail in the coffin on a demoralizing series at Camden Yards.

Just two games ago, fans watched in awe as the Orioles erased a 7-1 deficit in the sixth inning, scoring eight unanswered runs on the back of a Jackson grand slam. First baseman Pete Alonso had his first magic moment in Baltimore, handing the O’s an 8-7 lead with a two-run homer in the seventh inning.

Jackson walloped his second home run of the game, a solo shot in the eighth inning that earned Baltimore its highest run total of the season: nine.

That offense simply evaporated in the next two games.

And, it wasn’t just the offense, either. The starting rotation scuffled against a Diamondbacks team that currently ranks 27th in team on-base percentage this season.

Trevor Rogers had an uncharacteristic meltdown, allowing a season-high four earned runs all in the fifth inning of the series’ second game. Rogers had allowed more than three earned runs in a start just once since last year’s Opening Day.

Baltimore’s offense, stagnant after exploding the night before, failed to overcome the deficit and lost 4-3, though they had bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning.

So, after winning six of seven games, the O’s drop two straight and lose their first series since being swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first week of April. The team plummets to third place in the AL East after both the Tampa Bay Rays and New York Yankees secured victories on Wednesday.

What a whirlwind.

Key Takeaways

There were some hiccups, but Baltimore’s bullpen has seemingly gone from glaring weakness to notable strength.

Well, well, well.

That unproven O’s bullpen sure does look good right now…for the most part.

Baltimore’s closer Ryan Helsley looked dominant as ever. The two-time All-Star tossed two innings against the Diamondbacks, striking out four hitters and allowing no hits in the span.

Righty relief arm Rico Garcia threw 2 ⅓ innings, continuing his season-long no-hit streak and earning two more strikeouts in the process.

Nevermind the three-run outbursts from Wells in the finale and veteran Albert Suarez in the opener, the O’s bullpen recorded 13 strikeouts across 11 ⅓ combined innings pitched.

There were some hiccups, but the core of this bullpen seems solidified and they are playing some pretty good baseball early in the season.

Jeremiah Jackson is making his case to be included in the young core.

You probably couldn’t pay this guy to stop hitting.

Jackson is in the midst of a six-game hit streak in which he has batted 12-for-25 (.480) with four home runs, 10 RBIs and a 1.520 OPS. In the month of April, Baltimore’s second baseman is hitting .366/.372/.707, a stark contrast to his .221/.310/.403 batting line in September a season ago.

The explosion from Jackson has been unprecedented, but has been welcomed with open arms considering the plate inefficiency from the Orioles all season.

Could you have guessed before the season that he would rank second on the team in hits (18), home runs (4) and batting average (.340), and lead the team in RBIs (14) and OPS (.949) as of mid-April?

Probably not, but Jackson is making his case to be included among the likes of Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Samuel Basallo when talking about the O’s young core.

The top—not the bottom—of the lineup is slowing the offense down.

Shockingly enough, it has been the top of the Orioles lineup that has sluggishly dragged behind.

Monday showed some life from Baltimore’s top of the order, but it was quickly drained across the next two games.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the O’s one through five hitters batted a combined 6-for-40 (.150) with just two RBIs. Meanwhile, Baltimore’s six through nine hitters hit 9-for-29 (.310) with six RBIs.

Across the series, the O’s back-end went a combined 13-for-41 (.317), numbers you couldn’t dream of from the bottom of an Oriole lineup.

Could that have been derived from Rodriguez hitting clean-up and Wilson batting fifth on Wednesday? Possibly, but Baltimore’s left fielder Taylor Ward had the worst series of his season, going just 1-for-14 with three strikeouts and ending his 16-game on-base streak.

Though he did award the O’s the first run of their magical Monday win, Henderson also fell behind in the series, hitting 2-for-15 with four strikeouts.

Looking ahead, Baltimore will travel to face the 10-9 Cleveland Guardians, which will absolutely require a boost from their premium batters. The Orioles dropped three games in their previous four-game series versus Cleveland in July of last season.