Deadspin | Orioles contact-less lineup tries for better results vs. Guardians

Apr 14, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles outfielder Colton Cowser (17) reacts to an inside pitch during the eighth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

There was a glaring lack of contact from Baltimore Orioles’ hitters on Saturday.

The Orioles had four hits — two of them homers — while striking out a stunning 16 times.

Baltimore will look to have their bats smack the ball more often in Sunday’s finale of a four-game series against the host Cleveland Guardians.

The Guardians have won two of the first three games, including Saturday’s 4-2 victory when right-hander Gavin Williams dominated the Orioles.

Williams struck out 11 in seven innings and allowed one run, three hits and one walk. He leads the majors with 40 strikeouts.

“That’s not the biggest goal for me,” Williams said of the strikeouts. “I’m just trying to help the team win games. It’s cool, but I don’t think it’s necessary to have to punch that many people out. I’m just trying to win games.”

Meanwhile, Baltimore’s Pete Alonso and Colton Cowser struck out in all four at-bats and Dylan Beavers fanned three times on Saturday.

That breeze inside the ballpark wasn’t necessarily coming from the nearby lake.

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz pointed to Williams’ dominance as the reason for Alonso and Cowser’s difficulties.

“They couldn’t see the breaking ball early enough to either make an adjustment or hold off on it,” Albernaz said.

Alonzo was the club’s marquee offseason acquisition and signed a five-year, $155 million contract. But so far, he has fizzled with a .208 average, two homers and eight RBIs to go with 26 strikeouts in 78 at-bats.

Cowser has yet to go deep and is batting .178 with 16 strikeouts in 45 at-bats. The fifth overall pick in the 2021 draft continues to struggle with big-league pitching.

“Colton, he’s our guy, and he has to figure it out how he wants to approach guys and what he’s trying to feel,” Albernaz said. “But with Colton at the plate, he’s dangerous. He’s a guy where, if he’s not feeling great, he can still get one pitch and do damage on, and that’s something where we feel very confident in.”

Leody Taveras and Gunnar Henderson hit the homers for Baltimore’s runs.

All of Cleveland’s runs also came on homers on Saturday. Brayan Rocchio smacked a three-run homer and Bo Naylor hit a solo blast.

Rocchio said a more patient approach is paying off for him. He has three homers in 63 at-bats after having five in 344 at-bats in 2025.

“That’s impressive for me, too,” Rocchio said. “Last year, I was struggling at hitting. Now I’m able to help the team with my at-bats and to see more pitches is pretty cool.”

Left-hander Joey Cantillo (1-0, 2.61 ERA) will start the finale for the Guardians.

Cantillo, 26, received a no-decision against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday when he gave up two runs and five hits over six innings. Both runs came on solo homers.

Cantillo is 1-1 with a 4.50 ERA in four appearances (two starts) against Baltimore. Cowser is 2-for-4 with one strikeout against Cantillo.

Left-hander Trevor Rogers (2-1, 3.04) will take the mound for Baltimore.

Rogers, 28, was roughed up by the Arizona Diamondbacks on Tuesday and took the loss. He gave up four runs and nine hits over 4 2/3 innings.

Rogers is 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA in two career starts against the Guardians. Rhys Hoskins is 9-for-21 (.429) with four homers off Rogers while David Fry (1-for-4) also has taken him deep.

–Field Level Media

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