Three Vital Things We Learned During Orioles Three-Game Series Against Yankees

There has been no greater development in the Orioles suspect first few months of the 2026 season than besting the Yankees in a series this week.

After getting whacked for four days in the Bronx and entering the three-game set with New York at Camden Yards having been woefully noncompetitive against winning teams, the O’s needed to take advantage of a Yankees team that was spiraling. And they did, getting quality starting pitching for the most part, desperately-needed timely hitting and riding a bullpen that’s been the strength of the team thus far.

Three things stood out above all for The Birds in that series that simply must continue moving forward, if this is going to be more than a middling operation and if Baltimore is really going to contend in 2026 the way the front officed claimed it would. Winning two of three against New York can’t erase a systemic rot that has marred their fundamental play for years, but it did serve notice that they could put together relatively clean play against a playoff club for the first time this season.

Bradish Is Back?

Nothing from the last two weeks of Orioles baseball is more paramount than their most accomplished in-prime starting pitcher, Kyle Bradish, looking like his form pre-Tommy John surgery. Bradish kept a potent A’s lineup off balance and then sliced through the Yankees on Wednesday afternoon, making some significant adjustments to his pitch mix from earlier in the season.

He was continually ahead and he leaned into his sinker, running it in on righties, and, and flashed the curveball early and dictated to New York through six innings, allowing one hit and striking out seven. If he can continue to cut down on the walks, Bradish is a stopper, and this team has been prone to losing spells.

“That’s vintage KB,” was how skipper Craig Albernaz summed up the start, which looked like many Bradish strung together when he earned Cy Young votes in 2023.

The last two times out he looks like a top-of-the-rotation starter and anything less than that, with how slim the margins are with another team lacking sufficient fielding prowess and with too much swing-and-miss (hallmarks of baseball czar Mike Elias rosters), will ensure this is a second-division ballclub again.

Everyday Adley

Albernaz made a point of throwing shine on catcher Adley Rutschman not just for coming through in the clutch Wednesday with a two-run homer to clinch the series, but for his work behind the plate. He’s been better controlling the run game this season than ever before, the Yankees kept trying to run on him to no avail, and Rutschman did that Wednesday afternoon despite catching three straight game, with back-up Sam Basallo absorbing a heavy collision in the A’s series.

Adley catching three straight days was a big deal. And after he caught just 50% of their games in the first half of the season (a brief Injured List stint played a role), they need him back there with far greater frequency to climb out of the hole they’ve dug. After two years in the abyss, it’s more than necessary.

In the past Rutschman, the first-overall pick in 2019 and the face of the Elias rebuild attempt, has hit far better when he was the designated hitter, but that’s a luxury this team can’t afford with Basallo just 21 and not having caught a ton of innings in the minors and this rotation far from the most talented in MLB.

The team hadn’t had a scheduled day off in a while, but Thursday checked that box, and with Gunnar Henderson struggling and Taylor Ward getting on base a ton but not providing much thump, Rutschman smashing doubles to the gap with men on base has been a sight to behold.

Rutschman has superior contact numbers from the left side, but is slugging at a monster clip from both sides of the plate, making that bat essential right now. He is an .918 OPS (.556 SLG) from the left side and .852 from the right (.550 SLG) and is destroying the ball with runners in scoring position: .310/.323/.690 – 1012 OPS in 31 plate appearances. He has 17 RBI in those situations to just two strikeouts.

More Small Ball, Please

RBI base hits aren’t as sexy as home runs, but they do the job. Sac flies work, too. This lineup has been feast or famine for years and they need to stem that trend by leaning into some of what we saw vs the Yankees.

Blaze Alexander bunting for a hit and stealing bases. Henderson hitting the ball to the correct side of the infield to move runners over with no outs. Basallo and Leody Taveras have maintained this approach well for much of the season. It needs to become more contagious.

Subscrube On YouTube For The Best Orioles Coverage:

Add us as a preferred source on Google