Cowser back in the lineup versus righty

This will be Robert Jr.'s first start with the Orioles since being claimed off waivers. This game is against a right-handed pitcher, and Leody Taveras has been moved to the bench with Colton Cowser in center field and Dylan Beavers in right field. This is great news for Robert Jr.'s fantasy value, and also implies that Beavers and Cowser could stay in strong-side platoon roles. With the Orioles facing three lefties against the Red Sox this weekend, Robert Jr. could be in for a nice week.

The Rockies should have had an inning-ending double play on Cowser’s grounder to second in the seventh, but Connor Norby did an underhand flip from a mile away and Cowser, thanks to an overturned call, ended up beating out the relay, allowing the go-ahead run to score. Cowser, though, still had more in store. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Jake McCarthy crushed a ball to center, only for Cowser to make an outstanding jumping catch while crashing into the wall, denying what would have been a two-run walkoff homer and giving the Orioles a 2-1 victory. It brought the Orioles, now 69-69, to .500 for the first time since they were 15-15 on Apr. 30.

This is a bit of a surprise. Robert is hitting well in August, slashing .267/.321/.520 with six home runs, 10 runs scored, and 11 RBI; however, the Orioles have been getting solid production from Dylan Beavers, Colton Cowser, and Leody Taveras in the outfield. Their DH spot has also been filled by Coby Mayo since Christian Encarnacion-Strand has emerged as the regular third baseman. Somebody who is playing well is going to be bumped from the starting lineup now, and you have to wonder if this is a sign that the Orioles plan to pick up Robert’s $20 million team option for 2027.

Mayo got the Orioles back into the game with a three-run homer off Jeffrey Springs that made it 5-4 A’s in the fourth inning. It gives Mayo his 19th homer in his first full season, and he’s driven in 55 runs. The .218 average leaves a lot to be desired, but Mayo’s power is readily apparent.

Cowser’s home run was his 13th of the season. He hit a solo shot off Jack Perkins in the fifth inning. Cowser is 15-for-44 (.341) with five home runs and eight RBI in his last 17 games. He’s hitting .228 with a .709 OPS and 36 RBI this year.

The homer was Mayo’s 14th off a left-hander, which ties him with Matt Olson for first in the majors. He’s also first with an 1.109 OPS against southpaws (min. 100 PA), with Andrew Vaughn second at 1.041. And the homer today was projected at 446 feet, making him one of just eight players this year to exceed 440 feet four or more times (Junior Caminero and Kyle Schwarber are tops at six times apiece). Unfortunately, Mayo is still at a pretty horrible .199/.227/.272 in 225 plate appearances against righties this year, leaving his future as a regular rather murky. The power spike would be more promising if it wasn’t coming with a 32.5 percent strikeout rate. He finished at 28.6 percent as a rookie last year.

Cowser accounted for the only two hits the Orioles could muster on the afternoon, one of which was a solo home run off Bryan Baker in the bottom of the ninth. The 26-year-old entered Sunday with a career wRC+ below 100, as he continues to fall short of some lofty prospect expectations that preceded a productive 2024 campaign. Given he’s still a strong-side platoon bat, he’ll need to improve in a big way to have much fantasy value heading into 2027.

Mayo crushed a gargantuan 468-foot moonshot off Rays lefty starter Shane McClanahan to kick off the scoring in the second inning. It was his 16th big fly of the season. The 24-year-old former top prospect continues to do serious damage against left-handed pitching. He’s been finding ways to get into the lineup between the infield corners and DH over the last couple weeks.

Cowser tagged left-hander Steven Matz for a 392-foot (103.6-mph EV) two-run shot in the sixth inning that extended their lead to 5-1. For the season, the 26-year-old outfielder is now hitting .217/.317/.364 with 11 long balls and 33 RBI in 294 plate appearances.

Encarnacion-Strand has typically been sitting against right-handed pitchers, but he went 3-for-4 with a home run on Tuesday, so the Orioles are gonna give him a chance to stay hot. We should note that, in 40 plate appearances against righties this season, CES is hitting .211/.250/.342, so the results haven’t really been there. However, it’s just a 15 percent strikeout rate in those plate appearances, so maybe the hits will start to fall. Coby Mayo is on the bench on Wednesday.