Kansas City – Thursday’s thriller proved to be a challenge the Orioles could handle. Now, it’s time for them to face some tougher tests in the rest of May.
With an improbable 13-10 victory over the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, Baltimore claimed its seventh straight win. The O’s won 17 of their 22 games during that span, which included encounters against the A’s, White Sox, Nationals, Tigers, Red Sox, and Royals—all opponents with a record under . 500, except for Boston.
The final victory in this stretch was not easy. Baltimore took an 8-1 lead over Kansas City in the third inning, then got the better of it, as the Royals pulled back and went on to lead, 9-8, with two seventh innings to go. But the Orioles immediately responded, rallying for a pair of runs in the eighth, with a Ramon Urillas two-hit single that propelled them forward. He then helped lead off with a two-run home run in the ninth with three runs.
According to Baseball Savant, Baltimore had a 96% win probability after Gunnar Henderson’s second-run homer pushed the lead to 8–1 in the third. That later turned heavily in favor of Kansas City, who had an 85% chance of winning heading into the eighth spot. The go-ahead pushed Urías to 79% for O, who made it 100% when he hit Félix Bautista on Hunter Dozier and stranded two Royals starters in scoring position to finish him off.
“It’s like going to the dentist, a little bit,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Unfortunately, we let them back into the game. But give our buddies a lot of credit for not getting off, sticking with it and grinding out those last two rounds to put some runs on the board. Character definitely wins.”
Baltimore (21-10) may need more of this kind of victory, as its next 22 games will be against teams with a winning record — the Braves (22-10), Rays (26-6), Pirates (20-12) , Angels (18-14), Blue Jays (18-13 entering Thursday), Yankees (17-15) and Rangers (18-12).
The O’s believe they have proven they can continue to compete at a high level.
“We’ve shown that we’re a good baseball team,” second baseman Adam Frazier said before the game Thursday, reaching base four times and scoring four runs. “It doesn’t matter who you play – if you win games every night you have a very good team. Everyone knows we can hit the ball and we can throw it. So I don’t think anyone underestimates us from a talent point of view.”
Nor should they. Not when Baltimore also has the kind of resilience it just showed.
The Orioles built an 8-1 lead against Royals superstar Jordan Lyles (who pitched to Baltimore in 2022) via an Anthony Santander homer in the first inning, Cedric Mullins’ triple in the second, Jorge Mateo’s RBI single in the third and Henderson’s ensuing two-run blast. But Baltimore right-hander Grayson Rodriguez couldn’t stop Kansas City from coming back.
Rodriguez (the #1 MLB Pipeline prospect) made his sixth major league start, allowing six runs over 3.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px;white-space:nowrap} ⁄ innings. The Royals shrugged off their deficit, scoring at least one run in every snap from the second through the fifth. An RBI single off Kyle Isbel tied the game at 8 in the seventh, with Bobby Witt Jr. hitting the game. He put KC ahead, 9-8, with an RBI hit by Yennier Cano.
“We were a little upset, because we took an early lead, but it’s part of the game,” said Urias. “Sometimes, we will struggle like this, and we have to fight till the end.”
The O’s kept their cool – never an issue for the mild-mannered Urías – and trusted they had the offensive ability to fight back. It’s easy for them to have that kind of confidence, considering they’ve come from behind in 11 of their first 21 wins.
Now, Baltimore’s long 10-game drive ends this weekend in Atlanta, where the mighty Orioles will take on the Braves. But the O’s don’t back down from a massive challenge. They never do these days
That confidence stems from the success of Baltimore’s 83-win 2022 season, which is frequently cited on the club as a reason for a fast start to 23. The Orioles have learned how to win—even if not always in the fanciest fashion—so they aren’t intimidated by the tough schedule ahead. .
“We’re looking forward to it. I think we’ll find out what we’re made of,” Frazier said. “You want the best teams to play — it’s more fun, there’s usually more people in the stands. That’s what you play for, is to be the best. So in order to do that, you have to defeat the best.”
