Baltimore Drops 12 on the Dodgers, Four Orioles Go Deep
Baltimore walked into Los Angeles and handed the Dodgers a 12-1 beating on June 21, with four different Orioles hitting home runs. Colton Cowser led the demolition — 3-for-5, a homer, and 4 RBI — but this was a full-roster embarrassment for a Dodgers team already short-handed.
The story of the night was Baltimore's lineup operating like a wrecking crew from top to bottom. Cowser went 3-for-5 with 1 HR and 4 RBI. Pete Alonso was 2-for-3 with 1 HR and 3 RBI, crossing the plate twice. Blaze Alexander matched Cowser's hit total — 3-for-5 — and added a homer and 2 RBI. Taylor Ward went 2-for-4 with a home run, 1 RBI, and scored three times. Gunnar Henderson chipped in 2-for-5 with 2 runs scored. Jeremiah Jackson drove in a run as well. Four home runs, 12 runs, and every bat in the lineup contributing — that's not a hot streak, that looks like a team that came to make a statement.
On the mound, Baltimore starter Brandon Young handled five innings, allowing 5 hits and 1 earned run while striking out 5. He didn't dominate, but he did exactly what his team needed — keep the game from getting complicated while the offense went to work. Keegan Akin followed with 2 scoreless innings, and Grant Wolfram closed it out with 2 more hitless frames. The Dodgers' bullpen absorbed the bulk of the damage; their starter, Edgardo Henriquez, worked only 1 inning, allowing no hits and striking out one. Whatever happened after that inning, the final score tells the story plainly enough.
For Los Angeles, this one appears to sting beyond just the scoreboard. The Dodgers are without Shohei Ohtani, who is away from the team on paternity leave after welcoming a new child, and catcher Will Smith remains on the injured list with a neck injury, with reports suggesting he may not even travel with the team this weekend. That's two significant absences for a club that recently reclaimed the top spot in the MLB Power Rankings. One bad night doesn't erase that standing, but getting outscored 12-1 at home — with four balls leaving the yard against you — is the kind of game that demands answers. Baltimore, meanwhile, looks like a team that doesn't care whose house it is.