Henderson wasn’t alone in this offensive showcase. Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer in the first, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand added a jaw-dropping 460-foot home run in the third.

“To be honest, I can tell you, I’m aiming middle-middle, and probably eight out of 10, it’s not going to end up middle-middle,” Hoppe said.

The Orioles have made many a pitcher look superb this year. This time, it was an old friend who was traded away 10 days ago.

Entering Sunday, the Orioles were tied for 28th in slugging percentage with no outs (.363), tied for 26th in on-base-plus-slugging percentage (.676) and, since July 1, Baltimore’s 69 hits with no outs in the inning were the fewest in baseball.

Alonso was only one piece of a vibrant offensive performance, but his first multi-home run game provided early cushion in what became Baltimore’s 10-3 victory against Texas.

The two runs that crossed against right-hander Kyle Bradish in a 5-1 loss were unearned, bringing Baltimore’s tally to 73 this season.

The Orioles absolutely still could do “something cool,” such as making the postseason. But this road trip got off to a poor start despite Baz’s superb showing.

Adley Rutschman arrived in the darkest of days for the Orioles. When he was chosen first overall in 2019, Rutschman became the face of a rebuild that would be stuck in losing ways until 2022, when he arrived in the majors.

“The truly great owners, in my view, don’t pay as much attention to the bottom line financially,” Rubenstein said.

“Just reflecting over the last 24 hours, getting drafted, to my debut, to two playoff teams, just the excitement and love that I felt while I was there, I’m going to be forever grateful for that," Adley Rutschman said.

“It’s very hard. I have a lot of personal affection for Adley,” said Elias, who declined to get into specifics of whether the Orioles felt a contract extension was possible.

The Banner breaks down the possibilities based on discussions with industry sources.

The Orioles will need to add Franklin to their 40-man roster, but that should not be an issue. The Nationals are receiving Glassey, a 25-year-old reliever in Double-A.

Rutschman’s arrival in the majors in 2022 coincided with an upswing for the Orioles, and they went on to win 192 games in 2023 and 2024. But Baltimore has failed to build on that.

Ward has walked a career-high 87 times, but has notched only seven homers.

The game turned over to the bullpens after a rain delay, and it immediately fell apart for the Orioles. Philadelphia scored in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

Baltimore (54-57) struggled to break through against left-hander Cristopher Sánchez despite twice loading the bases, and Philadelphia pulled away with four eighth-inning runs against the bullpen.

According to three sources teams remain interested in Rutschman, and two say the Orioles are listening to offers.

Kremer has been in the majors with the Orioles since 2020. He holds a 6.50 ERA this season.