Kyle Bradish posted another strong start, and the Orioles hit four home runs as Baltimore beat the Kansas City Royals 6-1 on Saturday to win the second game of a three-game set at Camden Yards.
The Orioles (45-51) have won three straight – and have yet to win four in a row this season. They’ll have a chance to do that on Sunday for the eighth time this season, and in their final game before the All-Star break.
Bradish had a no-hitter going through six innings Saturday night while Baltimore accumulated runs.
Pete Alonso was 2-for-3 with a two-run homer, his 21st long ball of the season, and Taylor Ward, Coby Mayo, and Gunnar Henderson had solo home runs. Samuel Basallo started with the scoring with an RBI, singling in Alonso in the second inning.
Bradish ultimately exited with two outs in the sixth after allowing two hits and an earned run. He tossed 96 pitches, struck out five and walked two as he located his fastball effectively.
“He had really good stuff,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “He did a great job of pounding the zone.”
Bradish (6-9) appears to be in the form he was before he went down with a UCL injury in 2024 that required Tommy John surgery. He has a 2.10 ERA in his past five starts, and lowered his season ERA to 3.61.
“Getting both breaking balls to both sides, and then fastball command,” Bradish said of what’s working. He said he didn’t know he had a no-hitter until the crowd gave an unusual ovation before the seventh inning and catcher Adley Rutschman told him why.
The Orioles’ hitters, meantime, managed to get to a lefty starter, the Royals’ Noah Cameron (5-7). Baltimore improved to 12-17 against left-handed starters in 2026 and finished with six hits while inching within two games of the final American League wild-card berth.
The Royals fell to 38-58 with the loss.
Injury updates on Helsley and Akin
Hopeful closer Ryan Helsley has inflammation around the UCL in his right elbow, but doesn’t have ligament damage, Albernaz told reporters before the game.
Helsley, who went on the injured list after feeling pain while warming up in the bullpen to enter the Orioles July 2 game against the Chicago White Sox, will remain on the IL while he rehabs the injury, but a timeline for his return is unknown.
Meantime, reliever Keegan Akin is meeting with an orthopedic surgeon next week to evaluate his own UCL injury. His ability to return this season is in doubt. If the Orioles do make moves to add at the trade deadline, adding to the bullpen would be a logical strategy.
Home of the brave
On a night on which the Orioles celebrated America’s 250th birthday, 103-year-old World War II veteran Cpl. Wilbur J. “Jack” Myers, of Williamsport, Maryland, sang the “Star-Spangled Banner” pregame. Here is the rendition, captured by the Baltimore Sun:
103-year-old World War II veteran Cpl. Wilbur J. “Jack” Myers, a Williamsport native, sings the national anthem at Camden Yards as part of the Orioles’ America 250 celebration on Saturday.
— The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) July 11, 2026
Myers served as a corporal gunner in the U.S. Army’s 692nd Tank Destroyer Battalion. He… pic.twitter.com/ZTfhC2GWCU
The performance evidently set a tone for the night. “The energy in the ballpark was outstanding,” Albernaz said. “The guy singing the anthem was 103 years old. He’s out there dancing. You felt it in from the crowd.”