Leadership of Adley Rutschman Being Tested Amid Orioles Struggles

Friday and Saturday have been the latest lowlights of the season for the Baltimore Orioles.

After already losing the first series to their Beltway Rivals earlier in the year, the Orioles have now lost their second in a row after getting beat 4-3 in Game 1 and 10-6 in the second.

Prior to Game 2, Baltimore announced the news that manager Brandon Hyde had been fired, a move that needed to be done if there is any chance of things being turned around for the remainder of the season.

However, the bump that can come from a managerial change was nowhere to be found on Saturday, with the Orioles looking lifeless once again in the early going before they finally started scoring runs when it was too little, too late.

Following the changes in the clubhouse, there is a lot more pressure on the players to step up and do whatever it takes to win, and that includes becoming leaders in their own right.

Someone who will be thrust into a more prominent spotlight is Adley Rutschman.

For all intents and purposes, the star catcher is the face of this era of baseball in Baltimore, having been taken first overall in the 2019 draft before his arrival at the Major League level became the demarcating line for when things started to turn around.

Now, he's going to have to play a major part in doing so again.

"It's about leaning on each other right now," Rutschman said, per Jake Rill of MLB.com after Game 1 of this series. "We've got a great group of guys here, and it's easy when stuff like this is going on to just go on your own, be on your own. I think leaning on each other is the most important thing right now, because we have every capability to be able to turn it around and go out and win a lot of ballgames."

That statement rings even louder after the firing of Hyde.

While a change in leadership might have been needed when it comes to the daily grind of playing this Major League Baseball schedule, this decision should also serve as a wakeup call to the players.

They have not performed at a high level this season, and it cost their skipper his job.

With more responsibility on the shoulders of the players, Rutschman has to step up and deliver on the field and in the dugout for the Orioles to get back on track this year and beyond.

More From Orioles On SI