{"id":658560,"date":"2026-04-02T10:51:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T10:51:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/658560\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T10:51:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T10:51:49","slug":"orioles-hitters-put-together-a-complete-performance-avoid-sweep-vs-rangers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/658560\/","title":{"rendered":"Orioles hitters put together a complete performance, avoid sweep vs. Rangers"},"content":{"rendered":"

That\u2019s more like it.<\/p>\n

The Orioles put on an offensive display worthy of hype, with a mixture of small-ball efficiency and power-hitting prowess to salvage one game of three against the Texas Rangers. With another quality start from left-hander Trevor Rogers as the launching pad, the Orioles clicked in this 8-3 win as they have on few occasions during the first two series of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s guys right now that are still kind of trying to get their footing,\u201d designated hitter Taylor Ward said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be really exciting this year if we just stay on the gas and guys are doing good stuff in the cage and taking good at-bats. I think it\u2019s just going to be a fun year for us offensively, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The early discrepancies between expectations and production were apparent throughout Baltimore\u2019s first three losses<\/a>. But sample size must be considered at this time of year, and it was small enough to leave room for interpretation.<\/p>\n

Are the Orioles (3-3) an offensive juggernaut, as they were in Wednesday\u2019s win? Maybe. Are they an underperforming group with too many swings and misses? Maybe.<\/p>\n

That will become more apparent as the season progresses. But on Wednesday Baltimore\u2019s hitters sure looked like the former. The display included a towering 437-foot blast from catcher Samuel Basallo and a tactical opposite-field single from Jeremiah Jackson with the bases loaded. Both resulted in one run. Both showed the promise of this batting order.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve been doing it all season long, even though it\u2019s a small sample size,\u201d manager Craig Albernaz said. \u201cAnother great approach, and it was good to see some result today.\u201d<\/p>\n

To be a complete team, the Orioles will hope for more performances like this one, with a diverse run-manufacturing catalog. They hit homers but also shortened up and went the other way. Orioles hitters drew six walks and struck out seven times \u2014 a balance that reinforces their plate discipline.<\/p>\n

The task was easier, of course, because Rogers was on the mound. He allowed two runs in six innings. The scores against him in the fourth came on well-placed knocks, and Rogers nipped Texas\u2019 rally there. In his first two starts, he has allowed two runs in 13 innings.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I could make a real impact on the bullpen, and I take it upon myself to try to go as deep in games the best I can,\u201d Rogers said.<\/p>\n

With the Orioles coming off three short starts in a row, Rogers\u2019 six innings were welcome, and right-hander Albert Su\u00e1rez covered the final three to give the rest of the bullpen a day off. <\/p>\n

Coupled with Thursday\u2019s day off, the pitching staff should be well rested for the upcoming three-game series against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the offseason, the Orioles showed me they wanted me back. And I also wanted to stay here,\u201d said Su\u00e1rez, who could have opted out of his minor league contract when he didn\u2019t make the opening day roster. \u201cI think I made the right decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Orioles\u2019 offensive clinic began in the second inning, when Colton Cowser beat out an infield single, then ran from first to third on Leody Taveras\u2019 single. Jackson lofted a sacrifice fly, and Ward continued his hot start by rifling an RBI double to right field.<\/p>\n

Taveras, making his first start for the Orioles since joining the club as a free agent<\/a>, made his former team pay with another hard-hit ball in the third. Taveras drove in a pair of runs with a double to right. And, in the fifth, Jackson\u2019s opposite-field single and Ward\u2019s sacrifice fly poured on runs against the bullpen after the Orioles had chased right-hander Nathan Eovaldi from his start.<\/p>\n

That situational hitting was impressive, but the swings from Basallo and Dylan Beavers were even more eye-catching. After Basallo thwacked his ball to center field, Albernaz asked the 21-year-old how the swing felt.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve never experienced that, where you hit a line drive up the middle and it puts a hole in the batter\u2019s eye,\u201d Albernaz said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last few days, I felt like I had some close misses at the plate,\u201d Basallo said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. \u201cIt felt really good to get that one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even more than Beavers\u2019 solo homer against former Orioles prospect Carter Baumler in the sixth, Albernaz enjoyed the left-on-left single he hit in the fifth.<\/p>\n

With strong approaches and runs on the board, the Orioles showcased what their offense can do. Whether it can become a consistent feature of this season is another thing to ponder.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"That\u2019s more like it. The Orioles put on an offensive display worthy of hype, with a mixture of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":658561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2393],"tags":[152,5,4,505,149,1567,69,3240],"class_list":{"0":"post-658560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas-rangers","8":"tag-american-league","9":"tag-baseball","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-national-league","12":"tag-rangers","13":"tag-texas","14":"tag-texas-rangers","15":"tag-texasrangers"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116334739036972030","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=658560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/658560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/658561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=658560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=658560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=658560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}