Orioles news: Colton Cowser played the hero again

Happy Tuesday, Camden Chatters! And what a happy Tuesday it is after yesterday’s wild extra-innings win. The back-and-forth game went on for over four hours, but when the dust settled, Colton Cowser was the hero once again. He tied the game with a fantastic slide in the 12th inning, then sent the Orioles fans home happy with another walk-off home run in the 13th.

You can read all of the details of yesterday’s win over the Rays in Paul Folkemer’s game recap.

It’s been an incredible few days for Cowser, who has been disappointing since his ROY runner-up season in 2024. It’s hard to look back at the excitement we felt at his future back then, now that we know what was coming next. He missed time last year and we later learned he played through broken ribs. When he was on the field, he underperformed. And it seemed like all he did was strike out. Just strike outs, as far as the eye can see.

This year, Cowser has continued to struggle at the plate and has lost his place as a primary starter. He went from up-and-coming young player to fourth outfielder faster than we could process.

And don’t get me wrong, he deserves to have lost his spot. But when you look around at the other outfielders on the team, is he really the guy who should be sitting on the bench? Taylor Ward and Leody Taveras have earned their spots in this underwhelming outfield, but Cowser should have that third spot regularly. Maybe things would be different if Dylan Beavers wasn’t injured, but I don’t know when we’ll see him again.

Tyler O’Neill is a righty batter who was signed to hit lefties. Cowser is a lefty batter. But for me, at this point, why is O’Neill starting over anyone regardless of what side of the plate they hit from? As Tyler Young wrote yesterday, something has got to give with him. His OPS is .498. That’s horrendous. Against lefties, it’s .191. His OPS, not his batting average!

This is a small sample size alert, but Cowser has shown life at the plate over the last week when he actually gets the chance to play. I’m not suggesting he’s going to turn some corner and great, but surely he can be better than O’Neill. If the Orioles are trying to win games, it seems like he’s a better option than O’Neill in every situation.

I am sure that I am just wearing my Cowser-tinted glasses after he hit two walk-off home runs in two days. But I remember 2024 Colton Cowser. If he is healthy, he should be the regular right fielder. Maybe he’ll continue to strike out and remind us all that he doesn’t deserve it. But it’s not like there are any better options at the moment, and maybe he’ll surprise us.

Tonight the Orioles will try to win their series against the Rays with former Ray Shane Baz on the mound. Baz was pretty good his last go round, also against the Rays. If he can go six innings with just one run allowed again, maybe the Orioles can win a second game in a row.

Links

Updating Mayo, Holliday in today’s lineup, O’Neill tumbles to ninth in order – MASN Sports
Remember Coby Mayo? We haven’t seen him in a few days. He’s still day-to-day with lower back pain. The way this season is going, he’ll be on the IL in no time.

Again! Colton Cowser’s walk-off ends 13-inning thriller – The Baltimore Banner
Andy Kostka’s game story from yesterday’s triumph, along with team quotes.

Birthdays and History

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have three Orioles birthday buddies, all pitchers. Gabriel Ynoa (33) pitched for the Orioles in 2017 and 2019; John O’Donoghue (57) appeared in 11 games with the 1993 team; and Stacy Jones (59) had four appearances in 1991. But his name is Stacy! That’s really cool. Would be cooler with an E.

Not much Orioles history on this day, but here are some other fun baseball facts, courtesy of Baseball Reference:

• In 1959, Harvey Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings for the Pirates. 36 up, 36 down. It was broken up in the 13th inning on an error, of all things. The Pirates lost to the Braves, 1-0.
• In 1969, Hank Aaron hit his 500th double, becoming just the third player at that time to have 500 doubles and 500 home runs.
• In 1995, Ken Griffey Jr. made one of the finest catches you’ll ever see to rob Kevin Bass of the Orioles. Unfortunately, it resulted in a broken wrist and Griffey missed three months.
• In 1997, Sammy Sosa of the Cubs and Tony Womack of the Pirates hit inside-the-park home runs in the same inning!

And on this day last year, the Orioles defeated the Cardinals 5-2. Charlie Morton pitched six innings and allowed both runs. Félix Bautista pitched a perfect ninth for his eighth save. Ryan O’Hearn had three hits, and Dylan Carlson hit his second home run. Remember Dylan Carlson?