Just past the halfway point, Orioles players reflect on what was and gear up for what’s next

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Before this nine-game road trip began, it was not a stretch to define this as a pivotal juncture for the Orioles.

Win six of nine games? That would have prodded the Orioles into wild-card contention, giving credence to internal belief that despite inconsistent play, they’re not out of it.

Lose six? An indicator that, as the trade deadline approaches, the Orioles were steering toward another sell-off.

The Orioles, of course, lost five and won four — and did little to answer the existential questions about their season.

The morale, at least from members of a fan base that watched Baltimore fumble away two wins with late-game collapses, is low. There were thousand-yard stares and frustration within the clubhouse Wednesday evening at Angel Stadium, as well, after the second of those two blow-up innings cost a series.

But when asked about the state of the club at the halfway point of the season (82 games down, 80 to go), a large portion of the Orioles’ clubhouse stood united in their public stance. The veterans in the room, including Pete Alonso, Kyle Bradish and, yes, 24-year-old Gunnar Henderson, acknowledged the shortcomings but took heart in the standings.

As of Thursday, Baltimore’s 38-44 record found the team only two games back of the final wild-card spot in the mediocre American League. There are only five clubs with above-.500 records in the AL. Resting on one’s laurels because of the second-rate opposition won’t get the Orioles far, but they hold out belief that these next 80 games can be better than the first 82.

“We have a good amount of time left to make something of this season, and it’s all out there in front of us,” closer Ryan Helsley said. “The AL is pretty wide open.”

“We’re playing, probably, some of our best baseball we’ve played all year,” Bradish said before Wednesday’s loss. “I think that’s probably at the right time. Coming into the second half, we’ve gotta go.”

“We’ve played, I feel like, some decent ball. I feel like there’s still a lot of room for growth,” Henderson said before the series-ending loss that included three errors, one of them from him. “Execution down the stretch is going to be big for us, and defensively, execution in the back half of games is going to be what wins us a lot of games this next stretch of games. I feel like if we do that, we’re close in position right now for the wild-card spots anyways, but I feel like that’s what’s ultimately going to help us get to the playoffs.”

These next 80 games must be much better than the first 82. The Orioles are on pace for 75 wins, which is the same number they finished with last year, despite an offseason of change.

As of Thursday, FanGraphs gave the Orioles a 27% chance to make the playoffs. Generally, 86 wins are enough for a team to make the postseason, but that number could be lower this year given how poorly the AL is playing.

Still, using 86 wins as a benchmark, the Orioles would need to go 48-32 over their last 80 games — a .600 winning percentage. Impossible? No. But that’s a level of consistency not yet seen by this team.

After a poor start to 2025, the Orioles fired manager Brandon Hyde. They opted against retaining interim manager Tony Mansolino for the permanent role and hired a first-time manager in Craig Albernaz, the former bench coach for the Cleveland Guardians.

President of baseball operations Mike Elias swung trades for Taylor Ward, Blaze Alexander and Shane Baz, and signed Alonso to a deal never before seen in Baltimore, among the multiple additions.

But improved results haven’t followed, and while Helsley said there is a long way still to go, the Aug. 3 trade deadline isn’t that far away. In this next month, Elias must decide whether to buy, sell or stand pat. So will the front offices of those teams in and around the playoff hunt.

If Baltimore isn’t deemed close enough to competing, trading expiring contracts may be prudent. But there is the realistic possibility, given the lack of a postseason win under Elias in eight seasons, that a sell-off at the deadline could be the last straw for a new ownership group that has expressed a desire to win a World Series.

“We have a great team, great clubhouse, and I’ve been part of some trade deadlines in the past and it’s never fun seeing your friends leave, and that’s always hard,” Helsley said. “So, hopefully we play really good down the stretch here and maybe add a piece or two to make us a little better.”

“We feel like we’ve shown we can, obviously, win games,” Henderson said. “It’s just a matter of execution. It’s not the lack of talent. I feel like, like I said, it’s locking in to execute those plays. And I feel like we’re definitely a playoff team, it’s just a matter of, like I keep saying, executing.”

Henderson said that before the lack of ninth-inning execution derailed Wednesday’s game. Baltimore held a 6-5 lead in the 10th inning and left-hander Keegan Akin forced what appeared to be the game-ending ground ball with the automatic runner on third. Instead, there was hesitation between Akin and Alonso as to who should be at the bag, and Akin dropped the toss from Jeremiah Jackson. Then came the Angels’ walk-off.

On Friday at Dodger Stadium, another late-game meltdown prevented a win.

“If we look at this road trip, overall, there’s a couple innings that beat us,” Alonso said. “Obviously, that one inning at Dodger Stadium, and this one here. And if you do a two-game swing or whatever that is, that’s 6-3 as opposed to 4-5.”

If the Orioles had gone 6-3 rather than 4-5 on this road trip, they would be 40-42, sitting in possession of the third wild-card spot ahead of the 39-41 Toronto Blue Jays. That’s how close this chase is — and how little the margin for error.

“We’re definitely still in it, every step of the way,” outfielder Tyler O’Neill said. “All it takes is a bit of a win streak and everyone to get clicking at the same time for us to really show what we’re going to be able to do. It’s just been a bit of an inconsistent year so far. And like I said, I think our guys, and myself and everyone in here, our best baseball is ahead of us, and that’s going to come.

“But, I mean, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. We know we have a good chance to make it into the playoffs and go for a good run. Obviously, we believe in each other and the guys in this room.”

If there’s a promising development, it’s the way the Orioles’ rotation has pitched over the last month. Since May 21, the day after the Tampa Bay Rays swept Baltimore, Orioles starters have combined for a 3.86 ERA, which is among the top 10 in the majors.

Bradish said the rotation was “just tired of losing and putting our guys in a hole like we were at the beginning of the year,” so they turned their play around by attacking the strike zone more determinedly.

The offense, by most metrics, has been at least average — a low bar to clear for a group expected to be among baseball’s best. They rank 15th with a .722 on-base-plus-slugging percentage and their 382 runs scored are ninth-most.

The issue, generally, has been putting it all together. Too frequently, the three sides of baseball — hitting, pitching and fielding — are disjointed.

Part of that is a breakdown in late-game defensive execution. Alonso said it’s as simple as executing when it matters, and when asked why that hasn’t been the case, he struggled to pinpoint one area. It could be partially mental, he said.

“Sometimes if you care too hard, you get in your own way,” Alonso said. “Every guy has their own individual process, and whatever we need to do to get out of our own way as a group and execute, that’s what we have to do. And that’s up to every individual.”

At some point this next month, the calendar will dictate a decision Elias has to make. The Orioles are teetering on the edge of a precipice. A few steps backward and they could fall out of playoff contention quickly, even in this weak AL.

A winning streak of any size, however, could vault Baltimore surprisingly into the playoff field before the end of July.

Either way, there is no way around this: “For us, now’s the time. This has to be the time,” Alonso said.