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HOUSTON – “For a lot of the year, for the first month and a half, there were a lot of nights when we probably looked like the worst team in major league baseball,” Tony Mansolino said after Friday night’s dominant win over the Astros.
“We were probably 30th of 30 how we played the first month and a half. Tonight, for nine innings, we looked like the best team in baseball in all facets of the game. On the mound, defensively, and then also at the plate.”
Today, the Orioles excelled in all facets once again in a dominant 12-0 victory.
"The Friday night game, the game today, we’ve played really well, and we’ve played well for a while now," the interim skipper said today.
After taking two of three against a playoff-caliber Mariners team, they took two of three against a playoff-caliber Astros team. Baltimore didn’t play favorites with who they want to win the American League West.
Dean Kremer was nearly flawless, Jordan Westburg drove in a career-high five, Samuel Basallo got his first big-league hit and RBI, and the O’s cruised to another series victory.
The story entering play was, of course, Basallo, the No. 8 prospect in all of baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, making his MLB debut.
Basallo wasted no time getting on base. It probably wasn’t the way that he envisioned, though.
In the second inning, the 21-year-old was hit by an up-and-in fastball and took first base. His 1.000 on-base percentage, at the time, was the best in the history of baseball.
"Truly, when I went out there, I was just really, really happy to be there, I think," Basallo said, via interpreter Brandon Quinones. "It was an incredibly special feeling. I’m not going to say I wasn’t nervous, but it really just was a special feeling, and when I finally stepped into the batter’s box, I think it all hit me and I felt really happy."
And in the bottom of that frame, Gunnar Henderson reminded us why he was the best prospect in all of baseball just a few years ago. With a runner on third and two down, the shortstop made a spectacular diving play in the shallow outfield grass, wheeled and fired to first to get the final out of the inning.
When he came up to the plate in the third, the superstar almost broke the game open, too.
In a 2-1 count and the bases loaded, Henderson hit a long fly ball to right that was bound for the first row of outfield seats. Jesús Sánchez leapt above the wall and robbed him, bringing the ball back from whence it came. Henderson would have to settle for a sacrifice fly, but it did put the Orioles up 1-0.
The O’s had some quality contact against Astros starter Cristian Javier, but they didn’t see him very long. Javier left the game after the third inning due to illness, and Houston’s bullpen would have to piece things together the rest of the way.
On the opposite side of the mound, Kremer was absolutely cruising. One start after putting up eight innings of one-run baseball against the Mariners, the right-hander was at it once again. Through four innings, he allowed just two hits without allowing a run or a walk with three strikeouts.
In the top of the fifth, he got some more run support.
Dylan Beavers collected the second hit of his career, a liner with eyes up the middle to center. He then went first to third on a single from Jeremiah Jackson, a tough read for Beavers that the newly promoted outfielder made look easy. Then, he scored on an RBI-single from Jackson Holliday.
It was the first run Beavers scored in the big leagues, and he’ll surely remember Holliday bringing him home. The young second baseman described Beavers as one of his best buddies.
But the O’s didn’t stop there.
The next batter, Westburg, sent a three-run home run to right-center, his 15th long ball of the season. When The Earl landed, the Birds had a 5-0 lead.
I seem to recall something about pitching, defense, and three-run homers.
Kremer, after some help from his defense to escape a jam in the second, found his groove.
The third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings only featured three Astros hitters stepping into the batter's box.
Another nice day came from Jackson, who delivered three hits in his first three at-bats. His batting average climbed all the way up to .351. With improving defense in the outfield and the ability to play the infield, combined with a knack for putting bat on baseball, Jackson has been making a very strong case to be part of the 2026 conversation.
A few batters later, the former second-round pick was rewarded for his efforts. Westburg came through with runners in scoring position once again, plating Jackson on a 105 mph RBI-single, and putting the Orioles up 6-0.
After Henderson walked, Adley Rutschman nearly brought home a few runs on a sharply hit ball to first. Mauricio Dubón made a great stop to keep it in the infield, but still, a run did score, putting Baltimore up 7-0.
Basallo almost made it double digits.
The top prospect nearly had his first hit and home run as he launched a fly ball to right field. But, yet again, Sánchez was there to bring it back into play, his second home run robbery of the afternoon.
"Well, when I hit that first one and he caught it, I was like, ‘Dang, I thought I had it,’" Basallo said. "I think any time anyone is trying to get their first hit, they obviously want it to be a home run. But finally, when I was able to get that first hit I was like, ‘All right, much better feeling.’"
Kremer continued to dominate, and Mansolino let him eat. The right-hander got all the way up to 114 pitches, tossing seven shutout innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. He allowed just three hits, and seldom faced any real pressure.
"It’s awesome having the feeling that the manager and the pitching coaches have your back and say, ‘Hey, you’ve got a longer leash than you think,’" Kremer said. "It’s a great feeling having them have the confidence in me to try to get that job done."
If only he had thrown six more pitches, he would've reached his goal.
"Dean tells me every day that he wants to throw 120 pitches," Mansolino said with a laugh. "I don’t think we wanted to do that. But I also didn’t want Dean to leave the seventh inning with a run on base, with a runner on base, that was his."
Kremer could only chuckle when he learned about what his interim skipper shared.
"I don’t know, it’s more kidding," he said. "But, yeah, I’d love to get 120. The guys back in the day got 150, the reason why they threw 600 innings every year. It’d be cool to throw 120."
Another quality start and 114 pitches will do just fine.
The O's bats piled on in the eighth, and Westburg added his fifth RBI of the day on a single to left. It was his fourth hit of the day, too. That made it 8-0. A Henderson walk with the bases loaded made it nine. Rutschman's single made it ten.
Then, it was finally Basallo's moment.
The prospect rocketed a four-seam fastball 101.1 mph into the right-center field gap for a single, scoring two more runs. One at-bat after being robbed of his first big league knock, he found redemption. He very easily could've been 2-4 with five runs driven in if his near three-run homer wasn't robbed.
But this will work just fine.
"Well it was just really special for me," Basallo said. "I try not to place any expectations or anything like that, but being able to be here today with my family, with my loved ones, that’s what really means a lot to me."
The Orioles cruised the rest of the way, and that was the ballgame.
This was a weekend full of excitement for the Orioles. Brandon Young was nearly perfect on Friday, and two of the team's best prospects made their debuts. Beavers already recorded a few hits, and Basallo was a few feet from his first home run.
No, the Orioles won't be pushing for a playoff spot down the stretch. But they can play spoiler, and their young core can continue to grow and develop. Perhaps new players can be added to that "core" distinction, or, at least put themselves in the conversation for a roster spot in 2026.
Westburg, after two great series wins, kept things in perspective.
"Look, if we want to force the front office’s hand, or force things to happen in this organization, we’ve got to prove that we’re able to play winning baseball," Westburg said. "That’s very important to this clubhouse. That’s very important to me. I hate losing, and I don’t care what the clubhouse looks like or what the record looks like, who we’re facing. My one goal when we step on the field is to play winning baseball, any way I possibly can.
Some days that doesn’t work out, right? That’s baseball. But I think in saying that, the majority of guys, if not everybody in this clubhouse, feels the same way. Like you said, since June we’ve got a winning record. Playing some good ball. We’ve played two really good series. And it is important for us to keep stacking those together, to keep remembering that, yeah, this doesn’t happen this year, but we’re playing for the future.”
The future was on full display in the present, an impressive display of winning baseball in Houston.
