Hitting walk-off home runs on back-to-back days didn’t get Colton Cowser a regular spot in the lineup. The last two opponents started left-handers, which bumped Cowser to the bench.

This seems to be the preferred arrangement for the Orioles. Tyler O’Neill can play right field against lefties and Cowser can get the starts versus righties.

Cowser followed his heroics with a single and walk Tuesday night. He pinch-hit for O’Neill on Wednesday after Tampa Bay’s pitching change, and his single in the seventh preceded Blaze Alexander’s home run.

The Blue Jays had veteran Patrick Corbin on the mound last night to begin a four-game series. O’Neill stayed in right field, with Blaze Alexander in left and Taylor Ward serving as designated hitter. Cowser batted for O’Neill in the seventh inning with right-hander Jeff Hoffman pitching and he bounced to first baseman Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He grounded into a force in the ninth.

Cowser was 8-for-23 in the last 10 games before last night, starting only five times, and his average jumped from .169 to .210.

Manager Craig Albernaz’s faith in Cowser hasn’t dipped. He just made certain concessions while the former first-round pick fell deeper into a slump. Leody Taveras is getting more starts in center field than anticipated, and Dylan Beavers moved ahead of Cowser for right field duty before straining his oblique.

Asked on April 18 why he didn’t pinch-hit for Cowser in the ninth inning, Albernaz replied, “With Colton at the plate, he’s dangerous. He’s a guy where, if he’s not feeling great, he can still get one pitch and do damage on, and that’s something where we feel very confident in.”

Cowser came off the bench to single and score a run on April 26 after going 2-for-4 with a double in his last start. Asked about him again on the 28th, Albernaz said, “I think Cowser is trending in the right way. The at-bats have been better, the impact quality has been better. Swing decisions are trending, too.”

Implementing a leg kick for timing purposes seems to be having the desired effect. Some hitters eliminate it, others embrace it.

“I think the thing with him is, he’s such a good athlete that we can give him a lot more than other guys with regards to his swing,” said hitting coach Dustin Lind. “So for him, it just frees him up to be more athletic and go be a hitter. That’s the biggest thing for us. We want him to trust his instincts and to be able to trust his swing. And that allows him to leverage some of his best traits, which are namely, his athleticism.

“We’ve seen some really encouraging signs. I think the at-bat quality’s gotten a lot better. It was pretty good to start the year. He was really tough, putting balls in play and stuff like that, and then things kind of slid a little bit. But he started to work back out of that. He’s a really good athlete, and so we’re betting on that upside for sure.”

Cowser takes his usual rounds of batting practice but also is busy behind the scenes. Teams refused to feed him fastballs and he had to find a way to defend himself at the plate.

A May 17 home run in D.C. was Cowser’s first of the season, but also his first hit off a breaking ball – a slider from Miles Mikolas that resulted in a two-run shot. Cowser was 0-for-24 with 14 strikeouts against breaking pitches.

Cowser was 2-for-22 overall in his previous 12 games. He talked afterward about trying to stack quality at-bats, and he seems better equipped to do it.

“Obviously, we’ve seen the swing adjustments and everything like that, but it’s also come down to just being a more adjustable hitter,” Lind said. “There’s no secret that he’s getting a ton of off-speed, and so for him to be able to cover both speed times – hard stuff, the fastballs, the cutters that he’s really adept at hitting – in addition to the off-speed as well has been a big focus. And that athleticism and that adjustability, we’re trying to bring that out of his swing as much as possible.”

No other player in the majors has multiple walk-off homers this season. Manny Machado was the last Oriole with more than one back in 2017, when he hit three.

An interesting Cowser-related fact from STATS: The Orioles have won three quarters of their games when he’s homered in his career.

Cowser ranks sixth on the list in a minimum 40 games with a homer, with the Orioles compiling a 31-10 record.

The Orioles went 42-7 when Merv Rettenmund homered, 38-9 with Jeffrey Hammonds, 41-11 with Nolan Reimold, 36-10 with Andy Etchebarren and 32-10 with Ryan O’Hearn.

*Pitcher Cameron Weston had his contract selected yesterday from Triple-A Norfolk and was assigned uniform No. 80.

Who else has donned 80 for the Orioles?

Pitcher Spenser Watkins wore it in 2021-22 and outfielder Jordyn Adam in 2025.

Weston had lots of family and friends at Camden Yards. He said that his mother, Erin, was the most emotional by far.

“Wasn’t expecting it,” he said of his promotion. “It was late at night. And then, just been on the move ever since. Always a little bit surprised. Just ended a game in Norfolk, and then you just get the call and all of a sudden you’re hurrying up to catch a flight and on the move after that.”

Weston got his first strikeout and his first walk and double play.

Hard to treat it like any other game.

“Everything feels brand new,” he said. “It feels like you almost don’t know what’s going on. You just try to relax, take a deep breath and just try to calm down all together.”

Weston is the fourth Oriole to make his major league debut after Anthony Nunez, Cameron Foster and Gibson.