The last time these teams met, one ended the other’s season.
Orioles players sat still in the dugout of Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, after the final out of last October’s American League Division Series, unsure how to process how their 101-win campaign ended in such a flash. They were puzzled, frustrated and eager to get another chance.
“That was painful,” outfielder Anthony Santander said.
It’s a stark contrast to how many of those same players carried themselves during Thursday night’s victory. The energy was plentiful, from the team’s four home runs to the dominance ace Corbin Burnes brought on the mound, culminating in an 11-2 win over the Rangers that surely felt as good as any in June can.
Baltimore took the opening game of a four-game set, the first meeting between the clubs since that infamous week in October. Orioles players didn’t discuss the concept of avenging that crushing postseason loss before Thursday’s game. They didn’t need to.
“I think we’re gonna remember,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “That feeling sat with us for a long time. Those three losses will stay with us for a while.”
The Orioles couldn’t solve Texas last October. The Rangers outscored Baltimore by 10 in the three-game sweep that jump-started their run to a World Series victory.
But this year’s been different for Texas. The Rangers came to Baltimore six games under .500, in third place in the AL West and six games back of a wild-card spot. Even compared with a year ago, they have 11 fewer wins than they did last June 27, when they held a five-game division lead.
Much of the roster is the same, though. Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Adolis García still patrol the middle of the lineup. Baltimore will see left-hander Andrew Heaney, who started the opening game of the October series, on Sunday.
“They played great against us. They swung the bat well all the way through until the end,” Hyde said. “And it’s pretty much the same team, pretty much the same lineup we’re gonna see.”
The Orioles, meanwhile, are on pace for another 100-win campaign. The path to another division crown might be more difficult, but the Rangers proved last season that a ticket to the playoffs, where randomness trumps whatever teams displayed over 162 games, is all that’s needed.
Baltimore does look different than last season. The Orioles now possess a Cy Young Award candidate but have also been decimated by injuries to pitchers who were at the center of last year’s staff. Henderson has morphed into one of the faces of baseball, and other young players have improved to form a more dangerous and deep lineup than the last one the Rangers saw.
“Our pitching staff’s different,” Hyde said. “I think we’re more balanced offensively. Gunnar Henderson is an MVP candidate and playing like the best player in the game right now.”
The Orioles flashed those developments in the dominant win. Burnes completed seven innings for the fifth time in his past six starts, induced 19 swings and misses — his most since 2022 — and allowed just one run to lower his season ERA to 2.28. Lineup staples such as Henderson, Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins combined to go 7-for-13. Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser and Heston Kjerstad, who Texas faced as different players or didn’t see at all last October, went a combined 5-for-11.
The Orioles scored 11 total runs across three ALDS losses. They matched that in eight innings Thursday.
No player or coach declared this game had a heightened importance. It’s still only June, and the Rangers are currently out of the playoff picture. But it gave the Orioles their first chance to fight back against the team that prematurely ended their breakthrough season.
Thursday’s drubbing proved they’re better positioned than Texas to reach October again. And this time, the Orioles will be better prepared.
“It’s kind of burned in our memories from last year,” designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn said. “It’s something that we definitely don’t want to happen again.”
