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The Final Strike

The Final Strike

Written by: Stephen Heckman
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The final strike for your Orioles insights, updates and moreStephen Heckman Baseball & Softball
Episodes
  • Walk-Off Heroics: Colton Cowser Seals 13-Inning Thriller

    Walk-Off Heroics: Colton Cowser Seals 13-Inning Thriller
    May 26 2026

    Stephen Heckman hosts the Final Strike podcast with a Memorial Day weekend update on the Baltimore Orioles: a 13-inning victory over the Rays capped by Colton Cowser's walk-off homer, solid starting pitching from Kyle Bradish, and concerns about Trevor Rogers and the bullpen.

    The episode also touches on lineup health and lineup options, base-stealing and defensive notes, upcoming games against Tampa Bay and Toronto, and shout-outs to veterans, the Baltimore Battery, and sponsors.
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    23 mins
  • Birdland Breakdown: Orioles’ Offense in Crisis

    Birdland Breakdown: Orioles’ Offense in Crisis
    May 19 2026
    Straight brought to you by the Baltimore Battery, and we are ready to rock and roll with another episode. Kind of hoping that things were going to be a little bit better than we were on last episode. I want to give a special thanks to Nathan from Full Count Chaos for joining us on our last episode, but, you know, things have gotten worse. Still 500 team at home. We're looking in my notes here, we're 9-14 on the road. We're 21-26 overall. We're now in fourth place. Tampa Bay is actually in first place now. So the Yankees are no longer in first place. We did actually take two or three from the Yankees, but then we went ahead and looked abysmal against the Athletics. We won the first two games against the Marlins and then looked atrocious in the last game. We just, I don't, we can't seem to put anything consistent together. I don't know what is lacking here. I mean, the coaches can only do so much. The coaches aren't the ones playing in the field. They can only prepare so much. Even Albert has come out and said that Bunning is going to start being more involved in their game. He sees that the offense is not producing the way it should produce. Beyond the expectations that, you know, many people had. I mean, we signed Peter Longa to a five-year deal. Expecting the offense to get better than it was last year. As of right now, we're scoring 4.54 runs a game, which is actually 17th in the league. 17th in the league. That's when you have Gunnar Henderson, Pete Alonjo, Adley Rutschman, Samuel Beseo in your lineup. Tyler O'Neal, Taylor Ward. I mean, these are guys who you expect to be producing runs. These are guys that you expect to be powering an offense. Colton Couser just hit his first home run the other day. I mean, really, Colton, you know, Kobe Mayo, he has four home runs, and when he hits the ball, he hits it a freaking mile. Don't get me wrong on that. But there's something seriously lacking here. And I've talked to many, many, many people who are fans of the Baltimore Orioles and they're scratching their heads. They're frustrated. They're just as confused. And the only thing I can think of is it's individuals playing baseball. And I can hear it now, people, well, there's nine guys out there playing. It's got to be a team sport. Well, you know, yeah, it is a team sport. But what I mean by that is you got Gunnar Henderson going up there, and I'm going to pick on Gunnar right now because Gunnar is having an abysmal year. Yeah, he might hit the ball a ton when he does hit it, but he's batting below 200. This is a guy that apparently is going to get a 10-year, $600 million contract, okay? And yet, his shoulder's not hurt like it was last year, and yet last year he had a better year than he's having right now. But this is a guy who will go up there and swing at horrible pitches, or watch pitches, he goes straight down the middle of the plate, and then either swing at a pitch so far out of the zone that it looks like he has no clue what the strike zone is, or sit there with the bat on his shoulder and watch the ball go straight down the middle of the plate like he's trying to guess what the pitch is going to be. And when he does swing the bat, he swings it so hard, it looks like he's going to drill himself into the ground. So it looks like he's trying to hit a six-run home run, trying to win the game every at-bat when we're down four, five, six runs instead of trying to get on base, instead of working a walk. Taylor Ward. I love the guy. I think he was a great pickup, but it's gotten to the point now he's trying to get a walk every single bat to the point that he's striking out because of it. Or he's putting the ball in play and getting thrown out because he's not getting the ball past the infield or he's lining it straight to an outfielder. He's so focused on getting a walk now, he's forgot how to play regular offense. I mean, seriously, I am picking on the offense big time. Yes, I can pick on the starting pitching. Yes, I can pick on the defense. Yes, I can pick on the bullpen. The bullpen actually at one point was one of the strongest parts of our team, and now it's gone to shit. You can only blame so much on the coaches, on the management, on the front office. You can only blame so much on them. This is a team where most of this team has been together in the big leagues for the last three, four years. Went through the minor leagues together. So it's not like they're not familiar with each other. But it seems like there's a disconnect with each other. It's almost like they've gotten to the point where, okay, you might be moved, you might be moved, you might be moved. Okay, so I'm not going to get close to you. I'm not going to, you know, we're not going to have that bond that we had before. So I'm not going to cheer you like I did before or pump you up. And because of that, you have no player leadership. Adley Rushman is out there playing his ass off, which is a welcome sign compared to the way he played ...
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    20 mins
  • Birdland in Turmoil: Orioles’ Offense and Defense Collapse vs. Yankees

    Birdland in Turmoil: Orioles’ Offense and Defense Collapse vs. Yankees
    May 5 2026

    Stephen Hekman breaks down the Orioles’ 11-3 loss to the Yankees, highlighting offensive struggles, mental lapses in defense, and bullpen collapse. He examines shaky pitching mechanics, injuries, and which players may need a reset.

    With calls for fundamental baseball and a return to small-ball, Heckman asks Birdland to weigh in on how the team can regain cohesion and start winning again.
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    26 mins
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