Orioles' starting pitching issues continue in blowout loss to Yankees

Two innings laters, Trent Grisham opened up a 5-1 lead for the Yankees with a two-run home run off a 3-2 sinker that was also left over the heart of the plate.

Bradish's struggles are part of a larger problem for Baltimore. Per FanGraphs, Orioles starting pitchers entered Saturday with the fifth-worst combined ERA in the majors (4.77). Opponents were hitting a league-high .289 against them.

On April 30, The Baltimore Banner's Andy Kostka shared that starter Chris Bassitt and the rest of the rotation "had a come-to-Jesus" talk recently, with "hard talks about how the rotation was pitching."

An impressive recent start against the Houston Astros from Shane Baz offered hope, but it hasn't carried over to others on staff.

Over their last three starts, The Baltimore Sun's Jacob Calvin Meyer noted, Bradish, Brandon Young and Cade Povich have combined to allow 20 earned runs in 12 innings.

Starters are responsible for setting the tone, and Baltimore's are consistently establishing poor ones, putting the Orioles at a huge disadvantage.

As Kostka pointed out, Bradish's struggles are particularly painful, with the front office having planned on him being a key cog in the rotation. From 2023-25, Bradish started 44 games and posted a 2.78 ERA in 240 innings, striking out 268 batters while allowing 182 hits. Following Saturday's start, he has a 5.03 ERA this season.

After back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since 1996-97 in 2023 and 2024, Baltimore was one of the sport's biggest disappointments a season ago en route to a last-place AL East finish. Over a month into the 2026 campaign, and the Orioles are no less disappointing, in large part because of a starting rotation that continually comes up short.

It also doesn't help that pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano, whom the team allowed to leave in free agency after allowing an AL-high 33 home runs last season, is 3-1 with a 2.84 ERA this year with the Colorado Rockies.

That suggests some broader underlying problem. Until the organization figures out why it can't find consistent quality starting pitching, it won't be able to compete with MLB's best.