Cowser is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies.
Cowser had started every game dating back to the Orioles' penultimate contest before the All-Star break, so he was well overdue for a day off. Austin Slater will pick up a start in left field in place of Cowser, whose move to the bench comes while he's gone 4-for-23 (.174 average) with 12 strikeouts over his last six starts.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Smacks homer in win
Rotowire
Cowser went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run scored in Friday's 7-5 win over the Astros.
Cowser ended a 12-game homer drought with his third-inning blast. In that span, he hit just .224 (11-for-49). The outfielder is now slashing .249/.326/.454 with 19 homers, 57 RBI, 61 runs scored and eight stolen bases through 122 contests. He remains the preferred leadoff hitter versus right-handed pitchers, though any prolonged slump at the plate for Cowser could cause manager Brandon Hyde to try someone else atop the order.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Swipes bag in Monday's loss
Rotowire
Cowser went 1-for-4 with a stolen base in Monday's 4-3 loss to the Mets.
Cowser had gone 26 games without a steal entering Monday, though he produced 20 RBI and five home runs in that span. The outfielder is up to a .245/.323/.441 slash line with 18 homers, 56 RBI, 56 runs scored and eight steals through 118 contests this season. He continues to play on a near-everyday basis, often starting in left field versus right-handed pitchers and in center field against southpaws.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Three hits, two runs in win
Rotowire
Cowser went 3-for-6 with a double and two runs scored in Saturday's 7-5 win over the Rays.
Per Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com, Cowser was sporting a wrap on his left wrist, but he still had another productive game. The outfielder is batting .306 (11-for-36) over nine games in August, even though it appears he's not quite 100 percent. For the season, he's up to a .254/.332/.466 slash line with 18 homers, 17 doubles, seven stolen bases, 54 RBI and 54 runs scored over 110 contests.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Slugs 15th homer
Rotowire
Cowser went 3-for-7 with a home run, three total runs, three total RBI and a walk across both games of Monday's doubleheader split versus the Blue Jays.
Cowser went 1-for-3 with a sacrifice fly in the matinee and followed that with a solo homer and an RBI single in Game 2. He extended his hitting streak to 11 games, during which he's batting .375 with three home runs, 10 runs, 12 RBI and two stolen bases. Cowser failed to go deep in 77 plate appearances during his initial big-league cup of coffee last year, but he's hit 15 long balls across 337 plate appearances so far in 2024.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Logs steal Sunday
Rotowire
Cowser went 2-for-4 with a double and a stolen base in Sunday's 3-2 loss to the Rangers.
Cowser has started all three games coming out of the All-Star break, going 4-for-11 with a homer and two steals. The outfielder has provided modest speed this year, going 7-for-9 on stolen base attempts. He's added a .225/.313/.431 slash line, 13 long balls, 36 RBI, 35 runs scored, 14 doubles and a triple through 304 plate appearances. Cowser continues to split his time between left field and center field, resulting in smaller roles for Austin Hays and Cedric Mullins, though Heston Kjerstad is also back in the mix for outfield playing time following his return from a concussion.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Sitting versus righty again
Rotowire
Cowser is not in the lineup for Tuesday's game against the Cubs.
For the third straight game, Cowser is out of the lineup against a right-hander (this time Jameson Taillon). Heston Kjerstad has recently emerged as the Orioles' preferred option in left field against righties, while Austin Hays typically gets the call at the position versus lefties. Meanwhile, Cedric Mullins has tightened his grip on the center field job. After posting a 1.004 OPS in April, Cowser has collected just a .621 OPS since May 1.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Slugs homer in rout
Rotowire
Cowser went 2-for-4 with a solo home run and an additional run in Thursday's 11-2 victory against Texas.
Cowser contributed to the convincing win with a solo shot in the eighth inning. It was the outfielder's second long ball over his past three games and his fourth across his past 14 contests. He's up to 11 homers on the campaign after failing to go deep across 77 plate appearances in his first taste of the majors last season.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Reaches 10-homer mark
Rotowire
Cowser went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and a walk in Tuesday's 10-8 loss to the Guardians.
Cowser has gone a modest 11-for-61 (.180) over 22 contests while seeing a part-time role in June. Five of his hits this month have gone for extra bases, and he's up to 10 homers on the year after Tuesday's long ball. He's slashing just .226/.317/.429 with 32 RBI, 29 runs scored and five stolen bases. Anthony Santander is about the only constant in the Orioles' outfield, leaving Cowser to compete with Cedric Mullins, Austin Hays and Heston Kjerstad for two positions on a regular basis.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Not in Friday's lineup
Rotowire
Cowser is not in the lineup for Friday's contest in Houston.
It marks two straight games that he's been absent from the lineup, and both of them have come against right-handed pitching. After putting up a 1.004 OPS in April, Cowser has just a .603 OPS since May 1. Ryan O'Hearn is in left field and Cedric Mullins is in center Friday.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Homers, steals base
Rotowire
Cowser went 2-for-2 with a two-run home run, a walk and a stolen base Sunday against the Phillies.
Cowser recorded a homer and a steal in the same game for the first time in his career, while the two hits he recorded represent just his second multi-hit effort since May 19. In total, Cowser reached base all four times he came to the plate, including on a walk and a hit-by-pitch. For the season, Cowser is slashing .234/.326/.442 with nine homers, 31 RBI, 28 runs and five steals over 227 plate appearances.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Homers off bench Wednesday
Rotowire
Cowser hit a two-run home run in his lone at-bat in Wednesday's 4-2 win over Atlanta.
Cowser entered the game as a defensive replacement for Ryan O'Hearn in the top of the eighth inning, and he was able to make some noise on offense with his go-ahead blast a half-inning later. The homer was Cowser's first since May 26 and just his second since the start of May, as his hot start to the year has faded. He's batting just .196 over his last 16 contests, though Cedric Mullins' struggles at the plate have allowed Cowser to maintain a decent share of playing time. The 24-year-old is slashing .234/.324/.436 with eight homers, four stolen bases, 29 RBI and 27 runs scored across 216 plate appearances.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Sitting Saturday
Rotowire
Cowser is not in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against the Rays.
Cowser started in the series opener Friday, going 1-for-4 with three strikeouts. The lefty-hitting Cedric Mullins will start in center field Saturday and bat ninth against Rays right-hander Taj Bradley.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Not in Friday's lineup
Rotowire
Cowser is out of the lineup for Friday's game against the White Sox, Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com reports.
Cowser started the previous 15 games but will head to the bench after he posted a .224/.350/.306 slash line during that stretch. Austin Hays will take over in left field and bat sixth.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Three-hit day
Rotowire
Cowser went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored Sunday against the Mariners.
Cowser beat out a two-out infield single in the first to secure the second run of the game for the Orioles. He later added a double and a single, eventually coming around to score after both during an impressive three-hit day. It was the second three-hit game for Cowser this season, with the first taking place April 11. He's now slashing .277/.371/.521 through 140 plate appearances with six homers, 23 RBI, 16 runs and three steals.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Opens scoring Sunday
Rotowire
Cowser went 1-for-3 with a solo home run and a walk in Sunday's 5-0 win over the Royals.
Cowser had gone 3-for-14 with no extra-base hits and seven strikeouts over his previous five games. The outfielder opened the scoring in Sunday's contest, the first of back-to-back homers for the Orioles in the third inning. Cowser is up to five long balls, 16 RBI, nine runs scored, six doubles and three stolen bases while slashing .373/.411/.784 through 56 plate appearances. Austin Hays is dealing with calf tightness, so Cowser's short-term playing time should be steady.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Resting versus LHP
Rotowire
Cowser isn't in the Orioles' lineup for Saturday's game against the Royals.
Cowser will get a breather Saturday with the Orioles slated to face left-hander Cole Ragans. Austin Hays will get the nod in left field, batting sixth.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Picks up third steal
Rotowire
Cowser went 1-for-3 with a stolen base in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Twins.
Cowser's power has come back down with no home runs over his last three games, but he's still hitting well, going 3-for-11 in that span. The outfielder is slashing .400/.429/.800 with four homers, three steals, 15 RBI, eight runs scored and six doubles over 49 plate appearances. Cowser's continued success will likely mean that Austin Hays remains in a bench role, though manager Brandon Hyde has had no trouble resting his other outfielders to keep Cowser in the lineup so far.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: Slugs first two career homers
Rotowire
Cowser went 3-for-5 with two home runs, a double and four total RBI in a 9-4 extra-inning win against the Red Sox on Thursday.
Cowser belted a solo shot in the fifth inning to give the Orioles their first run, and he added a big three-run blast in the 10th to break open the contest en route to a Baltimore victory. The long balls were the first of Cowser's major-league career, and they showcased his power potential after he went deep 17 times in 399 plate appearances in Triple-A last year. The 24-year-old has started 2024 in fine form, slashing .458/.462/.917 with 11 RBI, four runs and a stolen base through 11 contests.
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Orioles' Colton Cowser: One steal, two RBI in win
Rotowire
Cowser went 1-for-4 with two RBI, a walk, one stolen base and one run scored in Wednesday's 7-5 win over the Red Sox.
Cowser is gaining traction as the primary starter in left field with Austin Hays off to an ice-cold start in 2024. Cowser has hit safely in five of the last six games, going 7-for-16 (.438) with six RBI in that span. He crushed the competition in Grapefruit League play and has taken advantage of his early opportunity in the regular season. For now, it's a platoon situation between Cowser and Hays, with the former on the strong side of it.
