The streak is over.
The Orioles’ 106-series regular-season streak without being swept came to an end with three straight losses to the St. Louis Cardinals on May 20-22.
St. Louis concluded the sweep with a 5-4, win at Busch Stadium. It was also the first season sweep for the Cardinals, who improved to 23-26. St. Louis won the series opener 6-3 and also took the second game 3-1 after it was suspended because of rain after a 91-minute delay the day prior.
The Orioles were last swept by the Detroit Tigers on May 13-15, 2022. The 106-series sweepless streak is the longest in AL history and tied for the third-longest in MLB history with the New York Giants of 1903-05.
The Orioles fell to 29-18 with the loss, and are now three games behind the New York Yankees for first place in the AL East.
“We’ve been playing really good baseball for two years and I think we’re disappointed more in how we played this series,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters after the game. “I think that we’re better than we showed these three games and, yeah, we wanted to keep the streak alive of course. … We made mistakes today that we normally haven’t been making and, like I said, we’ve got to start putting some at-bats together to get some rallies started tomorrow.”
Rodriguez Comes Back But Means Goes Down
Grayson Rodriguez had a solid return to the rotation but now John Means could be headed to the injured list.
On May 18, Rodriguez started for the first time since April 29 because of right shoulder inflammation. In a 4-3 loss to the Seattle Mariners on May 18, Rodriguez was sharp and allowed just one hit — an infield single by Julio Rodríguez in the sixth. The right-hander finished with seven strikeouts, three walks and a hit batter across 82 pitches.
“The guy missed a couple of weeks so we are going to keep him around that 80-pitch mark,” Hyde said about Rodriguez. “I thought his fastball command was a little erratic early but he made pitches when he had to. It was great to see him back out there.”
Rodriguez has been especially effective at home, posting a 1.14 ERA in four starts at Camden Yards this season. He has not suffered a loss in a home regular-season game since May 26, 2023, against Texas.
The good news for Rodriguez comes at a time when there are more concerns for fellow starter John Means, who went on the injured list with a left forearm strain on May 23.
In the series finale against St. Louis, Means was set to leave the game with elbow discomfort after three innings even if rain hadn’t stopped the game in the fourth. Concerns arose when his velocity was down and he issued his first two walks of the season.
Means was scheduled for testing to determine the severity of a potential injury.
“He had some elbow discomfort and so he was going to get removed after that inning anyway and he’s going to go get some further tests,” Hyde told reporters after the game.
Means, 31, was an All-Star for the Orioles in 2019, but he has been plagued by injuries since then. He has pitched just eight games since undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022. He was left off the team’s playoff roster last season with elbow soreness.
Burnes As Good As Advertised
The Orioles envisioned Corbin Burnes as being the ace of the staff when they traded for him this offseason and he has met those expectations.
Burnes was dominant in a 6-3 win against the NL West-leading Seattle Mariners 6-3 on May 19. The right-hander has been effective in each of his 10 starts this season, going 4-2 with a 2.56 ERA and 1.04 WHIP this season.
“It was awesome,” Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson said about Burnes’ most recent performance. “Just went out there and dominated. Got to see all his stuff. I got a good view of it, so it was really cool watching him go to work out there.”
Burnes allowed just one run and seven hits in six innings against the Mariners. He tied a season-high with 11 strikeouts — his most since Opening Day and four shy of his career high. He received more than two runs of support for the first time since April 20 at Kansas City.
“The curveball and slider were good,” Burnes said. “The changeup was below average. There’s still a lot of room for improvement on the cutter. The misses today were in a better spot. You’re not leaving balls over the plate.”
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