Jon Meoli: The Orioles’ offensive explosion could change how we talk about their season

Mike Elias saw the same things the rest of us did.

That’s why the first and most prevalent parts of this Orioles team the president of baseball operations highlighted when asked about their start to the season before Friday’s game were “the effort and character and resiliency we’re seeing out on the field.”

The homegrown core was “steeled” by last year’s struggles and wouldn’t let it happen again, and the unproven relief corps was pitching with a lot of “heart.”

All of that is objectively true and completely subjective at the same time. No one can quantify that in the way a data-driven organization like the Orioles would want to, yet amidst this uneven start, it was about the only thing they can truly hang their hats on in manager Craig Albernaz’s first month in charge.

We just hadn’t seen the best version of this team. Friday’s game changed that — and maybe, if we asked him again tomorrow, might have also changed Elias’ outlook on the club. He thought, when he put this lineup together, it was going to be among the best in baseball.

It delivered that kind of performance Friday, and the bull thesis for this team, for at least one night, was proven out. And, even though it was just one night, it made it easier to believe the baseball bromides used to describe this team hours before first pitch.

For a club that has been, for better or worse, compelling to watch this year, its best wins have mostly been games in which the resiliency Elias mentioned made the difference. But a team of bad players that never gives up is still going to lose a lot of games, and the Orioles aren’t that. Talent has never been the issue here.

But it’s notable that, this time last year, the team’s talent was pretty much the only thing keeping hope alive.

On April 15, 2025, with the Orioles at 6-9, Elias said the team had “more than our fair share of injuries” and “would like to have a better record at this point” but that he still saw “an enormous level of talent in this team, still see a playoff team.” He declared that day that they were going to get struggling players on track so more players performed at the levels they were used to.

Two-plus weeks later, on May 2, the team was 12-18 and the results were “not to the level that we wanted or expected,” Elias said, but he thought it would improve. He said the talent in the Orioles’ clubhouse was “enormous” and the health was “not in a great spot” but was due to change.

Overall, he was “very optimistic and confident” that better baseball was ahead. That happened only after he fired Brandon Hyde and installed Tony Mansolino as interim manager, measures that were taken May 17 with the team at 15-28.

Now, he again thinks the talent level is “impressive,” and it has him “really being optimistic,” even if the team needs to start playing better baseball more consistently. He hopes he and the front office did a better job putting the roster together than last year, when the rotation crumbled early. When asked why he believed things wouldn’t deteriorate as they did last year, Elias again pointed to the intangibles, citing how that experience was bad enough that the players wouldn’t let it happen again.

The more nights like Friday the Orioles have, the less weight you need to put into intangibles that don’t always hold up to scrutiny over the course of a six-month season. Their scrappy nature and ability to rally late have kept the team engaged so that the talent it showed up and down the lineup Friday can help it win games in bunches.

It helps to be able to win the way the Orioles did the first four games of the season, and it speaks to all the ways they’re better than a year ago. They aren’t completely out of games early due to their starting pitching, and the bullpen can keep games close, and they take quality at-bats throughout the night. That’s a recipe to at least play competitive baseball, and you have to be in games to win them.

The Orioles want to win a lot of games, though, enough to compete for the AL East crown and play deep into October. They’ll need to win ugly, as they have, to get there. But they’ll also need to win like this.

Elias warned before the game that, although the team was trending in the right direction, the improvements might not “all be instantaneous.”

Friday’s offensive explosion certainly was. And his life will be a lot easier if it’s here to stay.