{"id":125697,"date":"2026-07-12T21:48:58","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T01:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=125697"},"modified":"2026-07-12T21:48:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T01:48:58","slug":"orioles-first-half","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/07\/12\/orioles-first-half\/","title":{"rendered":"Assessing the Baltimore Orioles Through the Season’s First Half"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Orioles became the second-to-last team on Sunday to win at least four games in a row, wrapping up the first half of the MLB<\/a> season on a high note, leaving only the San Francisco Giants as the only team to not win four consecutive contests and now sit in fourth place in the AL East.<\/span><\/p>\n

Grading the Orioles’ First Half<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Expectations were rather high for a Baltimore team that went and spent more money than accustomed to, handing out a big contract to Pete Alonso<\/a> and\u00a0a big extension to Shane Baz<\/a> and signing veterans Ryan Helsley<\/a> and Chris Bassitt<\/a> to bolster the pitching staff in hopes of a deep October run, as well as a gutsy trade to bring in OF Taylor Ward<\/a> as a one-year rental.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Orioles’ young core that people around baseball had been praising for so long in the minor leagues has finally graduated to the big leagues, headlined by a catcher duo of Adley Rutschman<\/a> and Samuel Basallo<\/a>. Those two are joined by fellow high draft picks Gunnar Henderson<\/a>, Jordan Westburg<\/a>, and Jackson Holliday<\/a>. Other high prospects on the roster include Coby Mayo<\/a> and Colton Cowser<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

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HUGE homer
\nHUUUUGE bat toss<\/p>\n

Samuel Basallo puts the @Orioles<\/a> ahead with one big swing \ud83d\ude24 pic.twitter.com\/u2h1qvkjBR<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 MLB (@MLB) July 11, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n