Reinforcements Arrive: Orioles Poised for Resurrection as Cowser, Westburg Near Return
Sound the horns. Open the gates. The cavalry is here.
After enduring a soul-crushing, morale-eroding 9-18 disaster of a May, the Baltimore Orioles finally have a lifeline. Not just a spark. Not just a glimmer. A full-on injection of life. Two of the team’s brightest stars — Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg — are on the cusp of returning, and with them comes a real, tangible shot at salvaging a season teetering on collapse.
Neither Cowser nor Westburg suited up for Triple-A Norfolk on Sunday, and in baseball, that silence is deafening. It means a move is coming — probably as soon as Tuesday. And for the Orioles, it couldn’t come at a better time.
Colton Cowser: The Spark Reborn
Cowser, 24, was one of April’s breakout stories — launching homers, gunning down runners, and injecting swagger into a team that badly needed it. His May slump and subsequent oblique injury sent both him and the Orioles into a nosedive. But he’s back, healthy, and ready to remind the league why he was once talked about as the future face of the franchise.
Baltimore’s outfield has been a black hole of production in Cowser’s absence. His return alone could flip the script. He doesn’t just fill a hole — he rewrites the lineup.
Jordan Westburg: The Backbone Returns
Westburg, meanwhile, was blossoming into an everyday force — hitting for average, slugging with power, playing steady defense — until a hamstring issue yanked him off the field and left the Orioles scrambling. His absence forced Baltimore to duct tape an infield together with waiver claims, backup catchers, and vibes.
Westburg’s return brings structure, professionalism, and pop back to the lineup. It also finally lets the team field a real infield — something that hasn’t consistently happened in weeks.
Time to Clean House
The return of these two rising stars will, thankfully, spell the end of Baltimore’s recent cast of misfit fill-ins. Cooper Hummel. Chadwick Tromp. Jordyn Adams. Players who were summoned in desperation during the injury plague of May. They came, they tried, and now they’ll likely be DFA’d back to baseball’s shadow realm.
General Manager Mike Elias now gets to make the decisions every executive dreams of — cutting the fringe to make room for real contributors. And in doing so, he’s giving fans something May never did: hope.
June Could Be the Turning Point
Let’s be blunt: May was a month the Orioles need to bury in the woods and never speak of again. Injuries, blowout losses, roster chaos — it was a trainwreck from top to bottom.
But June? June could be a resurrection.
With Cowser and Westburg returning, the O’s are no longer limping through the season. They’re reloading. And they might just be ready to fight again.
A sweep of the White Sox on Sunday would be the first this season — a small win, sure, but symbolically massive. Add in the return of two young stars? Suddenly, the vibe is different. This isn’t just survival. This is the beginning of a comeback.
Forget May. The Orioles are back, and they’re bringing real talent with them. Cowser. Westburg.
Orioles Eye First Sweep of 2025 After Surviving a Miserable May
The calendar has finally flipped, and with it, the Baltimore Orioles hope to turn the page on a nightmarish month. After going 9-18 in May — a .333 winning percentage that encapsulated injuries, inconsistency, and a revolving door of role players — the Orioles head into June with a chance to do something they haven’t managed all year: complete a three-game sweep.
Yes, even these Orioles, who spent the last month staggering through weak pitching, quiet bats, and an IL list that reads like a roll call, are one win away from sweeping the worst team in the American League. After taking the first two games of their series against the Chicago White Sox, Baltimore has set itself up for a feel-good Sunday that could offer the kind of reset they desperately need.
A Glimmer in the Gloom
Saturday’s 4-2 win, recapped by Tyler Young, wasn’t just a rare Orioles victory — it was something that felt like momentum. Rookie slugger Coby Mayo played the role of spark plug, not just at the plate but in a benches-clearing dust-up that brought some overdue fire to a team that’s too often looked listless. For a squad in need of an identity, maybe that was it.
The O’s now have a chance to win three straight games — something they’ve only done once all season, and that streak stretched across two different series. A sweep, even against a team as bad as the 15-39 White Sox, would be their first of the year. That says more about Baltimore’s struggles than Chicago’s.
Today’s Matchup: Opportunity Knocks
Veteran right-hander Charlie Morton will take the mound in today’s 1:35 p.m. finale. Morton, 41, was solid in his last outing — his first win of the season — and gives the Orioles a steady presence as they try to close this series strong. Baltimore hasn’t often supported Morton with runs, but Saturday’s showing gives some hope they’re ready to provide just enough.
Opposing Morton is Adrian Houser, the 32-year-old righty who’s quietly been dominant in limited action, tossing 12 scoreless innings over two starts. The Orioles’ bats will need to avoid falling into early silence — something that’s plagued them through much of May.
Chaos Management
Beyond the scoreboard, today’s real win would be getting through the game without another roster shake-up. Baltimore’s May was as defined by personnel churn as poor play. Injuries to key contributors forced executive Mike Elias to patch holes with a parade of fringe players and waiver pickups — names like Cooper Hummel, Chadwick Tromp, and Jordyn Adams, few of whom were on any spring depth charts. Hummel, notably, has already been designated for assignment once and returned, like the cat in the folk song.
But relief may be in sight. Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg, both rehabbing with Triple-A Norfolk, sat out Sunday’s game. That’s usually a tell: the Orioles are preparing to activate them, possibly as soon as Tuesday. Their returns would immediately raise the talent level — and force yet another round of difficult roster decisions.
One Win, One Statement
In a vacuum, a win over the last-place White Sox might not seem like much. But for this Orioles team, still trying to find its footing in a season that has thus far veered off-course, it would be something more: a marker that June doesn’t have to be like May.
A sweep won’t erase the bad baseball that came before it. But it could be the start of something better. And right now, that’s something the Orioles — and their fans — could really use.
First pitch is scheduled for 1:35 p.m. at Camden Yards.
