Gilbert dominates Orioles, M’s win 3-1

Published 10:00 am Wednesday, June 17, 2026

SEATTLE — The Orioles were Logan Gilbert’d.

Despite an impressive performance by Brandon Young, the Baltimore Orioles (34-40, 4th in American League East) landed on the wrong side of a 3-1 effort Tuesday as Gilbert dominated for the Seattle Mariners (38-36, 1st in AL West). Baltimore mustered just three hits in the contest, and Cal Raleigh came through with a go-ahead, two-run single to win the game.

Here are three takeaways from the contest:

Gilbert dominates in a way few Orioles have

No disrespect to Young, who pitched valiantly to allow three runs in six-plus innings for his fifth straight quality start. He deserved better than the tough-luck loss he was hung with and the two runs charged against him after manager Craig Albernaz pulled him in the seventh. But Gilbert’s performance is one the Orioles rarely see out of their own rotation.

Gilbert, who when healthy has been one of the most effective starters in the American League over the past five years, allowed one run with 10 strikeouts over seven innings against the Orioles. Baltimore has had a starter match or best all three of those totals in an outing just three times since the start of the 2023 season. Only three teams have had fewer such games over that span: the Athletics, Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals.

“He was really dotting up with the heater,” Albernaz said of Gilbert’s performance. “Did a great job with the split and the changeup, and then he threw the slider when needed to, and when he was establishing the fastball and putting it wherever he wanted, it put our guys in swing mode and that’s when we got that chase.”

The Orioles’ rotation has lacked an ace ever since Corbin Burnes left in free agency after the 2024 season, and the current group is still waiting for one to emerge. Young has perhaps been the club’s No. 1 starter thus far, but there are few in the organization capable of putting together the kind of outing Gilbert had Tuesday.

Alonso’s defense proving to be no fluke

When Pete Alonso opened the season making diving stops and turning difficult double plays, skeptics had every reason to expect regression. Alonso was a negative defender at first base three of the past four seasons, and he was coming off his worst year by defensive runs saved with minus-9 for the New York Mets. At 31 years old, he wasn’t exactly a prime candidate for a bounce-back season with the glove.

Seventy-four games in, Alonso is still making highlight-reel plays with the defensive metrics to back it up. He robbed Mariners rookie Colt Emerson of an extra-base hit with a diving snag to his left in the fifth, one of the best defensive plays of the day for either team. Alonso’s plus-3 defensive runs saved are one short of the Athletics’ Nick Kurtz for the most among American League first basemen, putting him in the thick of the race for a Gold Glove.

Alonso’s bat is starting to prove worthy of the five-year, $155 million contract the Orioles gave him this offseason after he pushed his OPS up over .800 this weekend. Yet his surprise defensive contributions have made him an all-around player who’s helped keep Baltimore’s infield afloat despite the overall unit’s shaky play this season.

Helsley or not, Orioles need bullpen to stabilize

The return of closer Ryan Helsley off the injured list was a welcome sight for the Orioles’ bullpen, which struggled in his absence after the unit was a strength of the roster in April. Helsley’s reinstatement gives Albernaz an easy choice for save situations and helps him deploy the rest of the club’s relievers in more situations that suit their strengths.

It’s an encouraging thought, one that in theory could provide a massive lift to their bullpen as they attempt to climb back into the playoff race. However, for it to work, the Orioles’ relievers will need to shake off recent struggles and return to the form that they showed earlier in the season when their roles were more stable.

Wolfram recorded only one out Tuesday as he allowed Raleigh’s game-winning hit in the seventh. His ERA sits at 4.19. Andrew Kittredge and Keegan Akin both lowered their figures with scoreless outings Tuesday, but a couple of previous implosions have their ERAs starting with a six. Rico Garcia has struggled of late after a dominant first two months.

The way the Orioles’ bullpen is constructed lends itself to using their relievers for specific scenarios. But bullpen usage is hardly ever that clean, and pitchers often must face an opposite-handed hitter or pitch with runners on base because the game dictates it — as has happened often over the past six weeks. How their middle-to-late-inning relief corps responds in those situations will be just as impactful as whether Helsley returns to form.