​DETROIT, MI – JULY 29: Coby Mayo #16 of the Baltimore Orioles hits a two-run triple to center field against the Detroit Tigers during the eighth inning at Comerica Park on July 29, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images) | Getty Images Here, in a season that’s been confusing and frustrating, are a few candidates for “Orioles Low Point of 2026”:May 20, when a blown 3-1 eighth-inning lead against the Rays (lost 5-3) dropped the O’s to 21-29, eight games under .500 — their worst mark of the season at that point. Not only that, but MASN analyst Ben McDonald got in hot water for saying, of this team: “You either do or you don’t. And right now, the Orioles don’t.”June 25 vs. the Angels, 7-6 in 10 innings. Baltimore chased the Angels’ starter after three innings, didn’t score again until the 10th, then Keegan Akin and Alonso failed to cover first on what should’ve been a game-ending grounder—the tying run scored, and the Orioles got walked off on a check-swing bunt.July 28, 2026, vs. Detroit: Dean Kremer allowed a career-worst eight runs in four innings, his ERA leaping up a run-and-a-half in one 14-0 loss, the worst of the Orioles’ season. It made you question your faith in everything: Kremer, this team, the mercy of the universe.Now, for a young hitter who’s also been confusing and frustrating, not to say quite often bad, here are a few candidates for “Coby Mayo Low Point of 2026”:  May 7, vs. Marlins: With the game tied in the ninth, Miami’s Javier Sanoja hit a chopper to Mayo at third. He bobbled it on an in-between hop, recovered enough to throw, but bounced the ball past Pete Alonso at first, letting the winning run score in a 4-3 walk-off loss. At the time, Mayo was hitting .152/.218/.283 to a .521 OPS, and carried a .922 fielding percentage. Also he’d made 66 errors across five minor-league seasons at third (.911 fielding percentage there too), so this wasn’t a one-off.June 6, vs. Toronto: Mayo went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in a 6-4 loss, bringing his season average to below the Mendoza Line. He was then benched for the series finale the next day.June 12, vs. San Diego: Not even a week later, Mayo again struck out three times and didn’t reach once. His average dropped to .192 and he was again benched the next day. Blaze Alexander started getting a lot of his reps, and ran with the opportunity,Fans were starting to lose faith in Coby Mayo around the time they lost faith in this Orioles’ team, late spring/early summer. Mayo’s May 7 fiasco, his fourth error of the season, prompted a Baltimore Banner column by Kyle Goon, arguing the Orioles were “setting him up to fail” by keeping Mayo at third. It made sense; there wasn’t much good to see.Mayo had a rough spring (.190/.239/.262 in Grapefruit League play). He hit well south of the Mendoza Line for most of May, going .174/.242/.321 with a strikeout rate north of 30 percent. And he certainly wasn’t playing good defen