To get a glimpse of what a future Orioles lineup might look like, you don’t have to go much further than the one they used Tuesday night.

This was, in a perfect world, what they would have been running out every night in the second half: Jackson Holliday at leadoff, followed by Jordan Westburg and Gunnar Henderson. Add Tyler O’Neill, Dylan Beavers and Adley Rutschman as the middle of the order, with Samuel Basallo, Colton Cowser and Coby Mayo rounding out the nine.

The order might change, and another piece or two might — and should — be added this offseason, but this is the foundation for the Orioles’ 2026 roster. And if they can perform like they did on Tuesday, in a 6-0 win over the Rays, the Orioles should be in a solid spot to begin the year.

“It is a nice night for us,” interim manager Tony Mansolino said. “It is probably a lot of those parts are going to be in the lineup next year, and there’s probably going to be some external parts as well, would be my guess. So, it was good to see them with runners in scoring position handle the bat appropriately.”

Tuesday was a blueprint they can follow, with nearly every player in the order contributing. In the first, Holliday walked and Westburg doubled. Henderson brought in Holliday on a sacrifice fly and then O’Neill grounded out, allowing Westburg to score. In the third, Mayo singled and Henderson hit a two-out line drive single to bring him in. Two innings later, Cowser had a base hit and scored on a sacrifice fly from Westburg. And in the sixth, Cowser hit a two-run home run to make the score 6-0 and really put the game out of reach.

So how can they carry this success over to next year? It starts with staying on the field.

Injuries have killed the lineup’s productivity — Westburg, O’Neill, Cowser and Rutschman spent a combined 329 days on the injured list this season — and this exact lineup had never played together prior to Tuesday. Only two players on the field, Mayo and Holliday, managed to play a full season without an IL stint. The Orioles’ bench might change, and they probably need to add a power-hitting center fielder who can play almost every day, but no matter what they do, the key will be this core lineup staying on the field.

“I think it’s been one of those things where we joke around, I think our spring training house has not even played a game together this entire year, which is kind of wild,” Cowser said. “It’s a really good group. Getting to play together right now is really good for us.”

He’s right. That spring training house of Cowser, Rutschman, Henderson, Westburg, Ryan Mountcastle and Zach Eflin, six of the players who were expected to lead the team this season, never played a game together. If they had, they all know this season might have gone differently. But at least majority of them, minus Eflin, who had season-ending back surgery, are on the field now, prepping for what they hope will be a better 2026.

Tuesday’s win pushed the Orioles’ record in September to 13-7 and secured the team’s third winning month of the season.

“This month has been really good, and we’re looking to finishing strong,” Cowser said. “Hopefully, we win as many games as possible. We only have five left.”

Dean Kremer ended his season with 6 1/3 shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out four.

The dependable right-hander was one of two Orioles starting pitchers who stayed off the injured list all year, although he did miss one start in September after experiencing mild forearm tightness.

On the year, he pitched to a 4.23 ERA in 170 1/3 innings. He’ll be a fixture of the rotation next season, albeit as a No. 4 or No. 5 starter if the Orioles have a productive winter.

“There’s a lot to be learned,” Kremer said of his season. “There’s a lot to be happy about. There’s some things that were a little frustrating throughout the year but grow every year and try to get better.”

News and Notes

Gary Sánchez will not return this season, Mansolino said. Sánchez, who is on a one-year, $8.5 million deal, played in only 30 games, missing a majority of the season, first with a right wrist injury and then with a knee sprain. He is not expected to be re-signed.