Orioles Player Talks Openly About Team's Struggles

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Joe Rutland | Last updated May 17, 2025 5:00 PM ET

No one has to tell the Baltimore Orioles about their bad start to this 2025 season. Everyone on that team, from manager Brandon Hyde on down, knows this isn't a version that they want to keep showing up.

Yet it does, especially on Friday night, May 16, when Baltimore lost to the Washington Nationals 4-3. The Orioles' bats were cooking with 14 hits in the game. But Baltimore was 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position, ending up leaving 15 runners on base.

That's not a tonic for success, especially with a 15-28 record around mid-May in the MLB season. Rutschman believes that his team can play much, much better.

Despite encouraging advanced metrics, Adley Rutschman has been struggling at the dish.

Brandon Hyde on his catcher. pic.twitter.com/xp9KsGgAOi
— Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) May 16, 2025

“It’s about leaning on each other right now,” Rutschman said, according to MLB.com. “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.

“But really, it’s on us, and it’s on us leaning on each other and really just buying into that and doing what we can to scrape out victories.”

Rutschman was the No. 1 pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, eventually becoming a fixture in the Baltimore lineup. He's been an anchor to these young, competitive Orioles teams in recent seasons. Rutschman knows that Baltimore has a lot more going for it than its record shows right now.

“We’ve got a great group in this locker room,” Rutschman said. “A lot of leaders, a lot of guys with amazing character. Just got to show up tomorrow ready to go and just continue to take it day by day and try and learn from days like today.”

Baltimore continued its weekend series against Washington on Saturday night.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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