How the Orioles Can Surpass Their Wild Card Rival Against Twins This Week

The return of Dean Kremer, another look at Gunnar Henderson, an argument for Coby Mayo and more make up the four keys to success in a pivotal series.

Jul 29, 2026; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Baltimore Orioles third baseman Coby Mayo (16) receives congratulations from teammates after scoring in the seventh inning against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

After a disappointing series with the Rangers, the Baltimore Orioles look to even the odds in the American League wild card race. As of Monday, the Orioles are 1.5 games back out of a third-place spot along with the team they face for the next three games: the Minnesota Twins.

Looking back on their previous series, the O’s displayed their usual hardships that fans are way too familiar with by now. In games one and two, the offense scored a combined two runs and failed to back up their overall strong pitching performances.

The defense continued to fall behind the rest of the league as well. Gunnar Henderson picked up another error as did Kyle Bradish on an attempted pick-off in game two.

The O’s will have to not only correct these ongoing struggles but also focus on these four keys to defeating the Twins in a battle for the wild card.

A Familiar Face

For game one of the series, the Orioles offense faces Dean Kremer. The righty and six-year Oriole was recently traded to the Twins for outfield prospect Jhomnardo Reyes at the deadline.

 His 2026 season has been one to forget, posting an ERA just under six in 41 innings pitched. However, he is coming off a hot start against the Royals where he gave up three hits and one run in five innings.

During his Orioles years, Kremer was infamous for giving up most of his runs in the early innings. Looking at his career splits, Kremer’s ERA in the first and third inning of games are well above five. Pair this with his pent-up emotions and anger towards the front office (he was traded for an 18-year-old, after all), and this O’s lineup has a keen opportunity to capitalize on their former teammate.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

At this point in the season, it’s safe to say that Gunnar Henderson has lost some of his Orioles magic. Not only has his glove at shortstop fallen apart, but his hitting ability has also plummeted as well.

This season, he has a WAR of 1.2, an OBP under .300, and an OPS+ of 91, all stats that are well below league average. His woes have continued into August, recording a batting average under .100.

What does this mean for manager Craig Albernaz and the rest of the hitting staff? Obviously, Gunnar isn’t going anywhere. However, they can make the (not so) difficult decision and move him down in the lineup. By leaving him in the top three spots, the Orioles are depriving themselves of RBI opportunities. This could also extract some motivation for Gunnar to fix his approach and find the version of himself that O’s fans know and love.

Giving the Kid a Chance

The Coby Mayo experiment has been ongoing since 2024. He’s spent part of three seasons bouncing back and forth between the big leagues and AAA Norfolk.

This year, though, Mayo has spent the majority of his time in Baltimore, playing a sort of platoon role in the lineup. While his overall stats this year haven’t lived up to his original prospect hype, he has seen quite the surge since the All-Star break.

His OPS and slugging percentage rank second among the team, and his .300 batting average ranks third. He has also proven that he can hit pitchers from both sides, as shown by his 1.022 OPS against righties and .844 OPS against lefties.

However, Albernaz continues to favor righty bats like Jeremiah Jackson and Tyler O’Neill. Albernaz also places Christian Encarnacion-Strand in most lineups, who albeit produced for the team during the first couple weeks of his call-up. He has significantly cooled off since then, and like Jackson, is a failed prospect who has had their turn on this squad.

Mayo is still only 23, but each day the manager refuses to put his chips on him, the more it makes you wonder: what are they waiting for?

Baz Hung Out to Dry

The Orioles offense couldn’t produce for their pitchers in the Rangers series, specifically with Shane Baz on the bump. He pitched eight innings and punched out nine while only giving up two runs on three hits, yet the O’s could only muster a single run. Unfortunately, this has commonly become the case for him.

Among the whole league, Baz has the third most starts in which the starter goes six or more innings with three runs or less of support. The same stat applies to two or less runs as well. In both stats, he is 0-8 (3.04 ERA) and 0-7 (3.43 ERA) respectively.

Baz is scheduled to start the Wednesday game, the last game of the series, hoping the story doesn’t repeat itself.

Time is running out for this team to fix some of the blunders that have been a part of their identity for the whole season now. This series could truly be the Orioles’ last chance to turn things around and compete for a playoff opportunity.

With another failed series, the O’s will have to travel to Tampa Bay for a four-game showdown that could look more like a bludgeoning.

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