Orioles on Pace to Become Worst Hitting Team of Century Against Left-Handed Pitching

This Baltimore Orioles offense is on a historically poor pace against left-handed pitching.

May 2, 2025; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle (6) | Daniel Kucin Jr.-Imagn Images

There are plenty of things that can be pointed to as the reason for the Baltimore Orioles' struggles.

The offense has been poor, the pitching staff has been worse and the injuries have mounted for their key players once again in the first full month of the season.

But there is one area that could have this Orioles team finishing as the worst of this century if they continue to perform in this manner.

They cannot hit left-handed pitching.

That is a shocking development when considering they had the ninth-best offense against lefties in 2024, and on paper, they came into this campaign looking poised to improve upon that after signing Tyler O'Neil, Ramon Laureano and Gary Sanchez -- hitters who mash left-handers.

It was not worked out in that fashion, though.

Sandy Koufax in 1963 posted a 1.88 ERA, 0.875 WHIP, 10.7 bWAR and was named the NL’s Cy Young and MVP.

MLB hitters posted a .501 OPS off Koufax that year. Orioles hitters this season have a .501 OPS vs. LHP.

The Orioles are making every LHP they face look like Sandy Koufax.

— Jacob Calvin Meyer (@jcalvinmeyer) May 5, 2025

When facing lefty starters, Baltimore is 2-9.

Against right-handed starters, they are 11-11.

Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun dove into the historically deficient offenses when facing left-handers, and the OPS mark of .598 set by the Miami Marlins in 2022 is the worst of the 2000s.

Right now, the Orioles have an OPS of .501.

Conventional wisdom would suggest that Baltimore will eventually turn things around, but for them to avoid the mark set by the Marlins, they would need to hit .222 with a .639 OPS the rest of the way, a marked improvement from the .179 batting average and .501 OPS they currently have.

The good news is positive regression should come from their stars.

Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle are all hitting below .170 with their OPS figures below the .450 mark against left-handers.

Last year, Henderson batted .257 with an OPS of .794 against lefties. Mountcastle hit .306 with an OPS of .813 and Rutschman hit .329 with an OPS of .902.

Improvement should be coming for this trio.

And once it does, then the Orioles should see their offensive output improve against left-handers and get them to the point they were last season when they dominated in those matchups.