KANSAS CITY — The cork that stoppered the bottle that is the Orioles lineup began to budge, then burst out altogether, in what will go down as a wacky game of ups and downs.

In the end, the heroes are Samuel Basallo and Leody Taveras. Basallo offered Baltimore a lifeline in the ninth inning of what had been a maddeningly dreadful offensive performance by driving a game-tying RBI single to left field. He reached out and flipped another RBI single to left in the 12th inning. And then Taveras, the depth outfield signing who has taken on a larger role in recent weeks, sent the bases-loaded blast that busted the game wide open over the center-field fence.

Taveras’ first career grand slam pushed the Orioles to a 7-5 victory in the series opener against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The late heroics bucked what had been eight innings without a hit — 23 hitless at-bats came between Taylor Ward’s first-inning double and Basallo’s two-out, ninth-inning single.

“That was a normal game,” manager Craig Albernaz sarcastically said when he arrived for his postgame media session. Really, it was anything but normal. But the Orioles will take a win.

“When you let us hang around,” right-hander Kyle Bradish said, “that’s what we’re able to do.”

This sort of game can be viewed through two different lenses. One is optimistic; the other is pessimistic. Both have merit, given the way the Orioles played Monday — and the way they’ve played for much of the beginning of the season.

In one sense, Baltimore beat the Kansas City despite looking listless at the plate for much of the game. The fact the Orioles beat the Royals is something. It shows mettle. It shows an ability to win when all looks lost.

“We’re a resilient team,” Bradish said. “Some things haven’t gone our way. Some things aren’t clicking. But today, it’s just a testament to how talented we are.”

In the other sense, how maintainable are these sorts of wins? When there are fundamental lapses on the bases, double-digit strikeout totals and a wait until the 12th inning to produce a crooked number, what’s abundantly clear is the Orioles are not a team firing on all cylinders.

So, take this whichever way one pleases.

“There’re 27 outs, and we’re going to fight,” said Taveras, who took the optimistic view.

The bottom line of Monday’s extra-innings win is that Baltimore looked done and dusted and then was not. The Orioles were down to their final out when Basallo drove an opposite-field RBI single to level the score against right-handed closer Lucas Erceg. And with Dylan Beavers up in the 11th, the Orioles once more faced a two-out situation before the rookie pulled an RBI single to right field to give them a short-lived lead.

Bobby Witt Jr. countered with an RBI single in the bottom half of the frame before Basallo and Taveras blew the game wide open — or at least appeared to do so.

Right-hander Cameron Foster had a five-run lead with which to operate in the bottom of the 12th, and that proved necessary. Nick Loftin drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double to make this close once again.

At the end of this, though, the only statistic that truly matters is the win column, which gained a digit. The Orioles found a way to win.

“Our mentality is to not give up until that last out is made,” Basallo said through team interpreter Brandon Quinones. “We’re going to go up there and fight as an offense, and we’re not going to give in.”

Still, they looked lifeless for large portions. The Orioles have racked up 11 or more strikeouts in four straight games, which is their longest such streak since they did it in six straight games in 2021.

What may be worst of all were the pair of baserunning errors from Gunnar Henderson. Baltimore’s best player was twice picked off first base after a leadoff walk — uncharacteristic lapses from Henderson in the first and ninth innings that created bookend moments that would have encapsulated a dreadful offensive night if not for Basallo’s game-tying knock.

It appeared as though the Royals found an advantage with how Henderson takes his leads. As Henderson hopped forward as part of a primary lead, Royals pitchers twice fired over.

“I told Gunnar that he reached his pickoff quota for the year in one game,” Albernaz said. “So, let’s make an adjustment, please, and not get picked off.”

Paltry early-game offensive performances have become commonplace for the Orioles. Entering Monday, they had scored three first-inning runs, and that’s not from a lack of opportunities.

During Monday’s game, there was another strong chance to give one of their starters an early edge. Henderson worked a walk against right-hander Seth Lugo to begin the game. But as soon as Henderson began building his primary lead off first base, Lugo fired to first and Henderson’s couldn’t dive back in time.

That wiped away a baserunner for Taylor Ward, who promptly launched his league-leading 12th double to deep center field. And even with Ward in scoring position, Baltimore couldn’t bring him home. He moved to third on a groundout before Pete Alonso struck out looking at Lugo’s borderline sinker.

Baltimore never really mounted much of a threat against Lugo aside from that, until a pair of walks in the seventh brought another runner into scoring position. Lugo stranded him to mark the end of his seven-inning shutout.

And in the ninth inning against Erceg, Henderson walked again. Again, before the first pitch of the next plate appearance was thrown, Henderson was picked off. It was a hard-to-fathom mistake that emphasizes the fundamental mistakes with Baltimore, even as the club treads water near .500 (11-12).

The pitching staff, despite ample traffic, allowed this comeback to become possible.

The performance from Bradish was one of incongruous ingredients. Consider this: Bradish allowed 10 hits, his most since 2022, with three walks. The Royals loaded the bases twice against him. He only managed one 1-2-3 inning.

But he managed to avoid significant damage, allowing one run in 5 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts.

“If you look at it, the 10 hits, four of them were hit hard,” Bradish said. “I think five or six were below, like, 85 exit velo. It’s just been how it’s going so far, but today was able to work out of those jams and keep the team in it.”

By the end of Bradish’s outing, it was both his best and worst appearance this season. There were 104 high-stress pitches that showed Bradish’s deceptive capabilities, his door-closing mettle, and the imprecision that is still present as he works back to his best post-surgery self.

“Bradish has elite stuff,” Albernaz said. “And when you have elite stuff on the mound, you can get away with some stuff.”

Bradish kept the Orioles firmly in this game, though, despite the 437-foot home run from Jac Caglianone in the second inning.

The bullpen got in the high-wire act, too. Bradish left two runners on base for right-hander Rico Garcia, and a walk loaded the bases. But Garcia — Baltimore’s record-holder for most appearances without allowing a run to begin a season — extended that streak to 11 innings by stranding the bases loaded for a third time.

Left-hander Grant Wolfram maneuvered out of trouble in the seventh, too. Right-handers Yennier Cano and Ryan Helsley followed with their own scoreless frames, and Anthony Nunez managed to prevent the automatic runner from scoring in the 10th before allowing one in the 11th.

The Basallo and Taveras duo in the 12th built enough of a lead for the Orioles to finally pull out the win. Albernaz was full of praise for both of them. He told Basallo that his performance defensively and with a bat is “the standard you set. I’m holding you accountable to it, now. I expect it every game.” And with Taveras, Albernaz “can’t say enough” good things.

That’s OK. Taveras’ final swing of the night was a breakthrough in this late-night drama.

It was weird. It was the best of times and the worst of times, all in one game. It was a distinctly Orioles win.