Orioles duo spotlighted by sportscaster amid Jackson Holliday, Adley Rutschman struggles

Baltimore Orioles young stars Jackson Holliday and Adley Rutschman's struggles were highlighted by MLB sportscaster Chris Rose.

Holliday is batting .247 with two home runs and eight RBIs, while All-Star backstop Rutschman is almost at the Mendoza line with a .208 BA, four home runs, and eight RBIs.

According to Rose, the pair's poor form is one of the biggest factors in Baltimore's disastrous start to the new campaign. The Orioles sit at the bottom of the American League East with an 11-18 record. The team has won just three of its last 10 games and has incurred a -50 run differential.

"There are only two guys in Baltimore's offense that have carried them, Cedric Mullins and Ryan O'Hearn have both played exceptionally well," Rose said on Baseball Today. "Rutschman's OPS is under .700. Holliday's [is] also under .700. (28:40-28:51)

Apart from their struggles at the plate, Rose also addressed the dismal pitching staff.

"They have a lot of issues, and we just mentioned the hitting. The pitching is the main problem. Worst ERA in baseball heading into Monday and the second fewest strikeouts."

"I've just been really frustrated because I felt that they built the team right the right way and then they just didn't add the toppings. They just didn't do a good enough job."

Orioles' rough patch to start 2025

For two seasons running, the Baltimore Orioles have contended for postseason spots. In 2023, the team won the division after posting a 101-61 record. Although they were swept in the ALDS by eventual world champion Rangers, the future looked bright for the squad with their young core.

Last year, the team made it do the ALWC but fell to the Royals in two games. This year, however, leaves much to be desired.

Expand Tweet

The team's sluggish bats are currently in the bottom five in the league in terms of averages and counting stats. However, it's not actually the main issue as they own an MLB-worst 5.52 ERA, .292 BA to opposition, and are second-worst in earned runs given at 154.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

Know More

Edited by Daniel Santiago