Orioles' Colton Cowser showing signs of a breakthrough with 2 walk-off home runs in 2 days

BALTIMORE (AP) — After spending the last year-and-a-half struggling to build on an impressive rookie season, Colton Cowser is coming through in the clutch again.

And again.

Cowser hit a walk-off home run for the second consecutive day on Monday to complete the Baltimore Orioles’ 9-7, 13-inning victory over the Tampa Bay Rays, one he said was one of his "favorite complete team wins.”

The fifth overall selection in the 2021 draft is hitting .333 with all three of his home runs over an eight-game stretch. The third homer, Monday’s two-run shot, followed Sunday’s three-run drive to decide a 5-3 victory over Detroit to open a split doubleheader.

He became Baltimore’s first player to hit walk-off homers on consecutive days since Fred Lynn on May 10-11, 1985, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

“It’s one of those things where … you get to see guys who are not getting the results they want, but the work they’re putting in and the collaboration with our hitting coaches, trying to problem solve an approach or a swing adjustment, a stance, whatever it is,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “To see it come through at the biggest moment on the biggest stage, against a really good team. Yeah, I couldn’t be happier, prouder for Colton.”

Cowser also made a pivotal head-first slide in the 12th inning for the Orioles, who rallied from two down in the 11th and 13th and one down in the 12th for their first victory in four tries against the AL-leading Rays.

Originally called out by plate umpire Ryan Additon, a successful replay challenge showed Cowser’s arm snuck beneath the tag of catcher Nick Fortes as he sprinted home on Gunnar Henderson’s grounder to first.

“I didn’t know where he tagged me,” Cowser said. “I just felt contact kind of on this arm. I didn’t know what it was. It turned out it was his leg.”

Cowser homered 24 times in 2024 and finished second in AL Rookie of the Year balloting, but followed that with a .196/.289/.385 slash line in 2025. Even after his recent uptick, he's posting similar .200/.287/.316 numbers in 2026 through Monday.

But his teammates think his holiday weekend could be the start of the return to the guy they knew two seasons ago.

“I mean, we all know what he’s capable of,” said O’s starter Kyle Bradish, who allowed a run in six innings long before the drama unfolded. “And I think he’s starting to get out of whatever he was in and starting to be the player that he is.”

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Baltimore Orioles' fielder Colton Cowser (17) scores against Tampa Bay Rays catcher Hunter Feduccia, left, during the 12th inning of a baseball game, Monday, May 25, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Colton Cowser, right, celebrates with teammates after hitting a walkoff two-run home run during the 13th inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Monday, May 25, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Colton Cowser rounds the bases after hitting a walkoff two-run home run during the 13th inning of a baseball game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Monday, May 25, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Baltimore Orioles' Colton Cowser (17) celebrates with teammates after hitting a walkoff three-run home run during the ninth inning in the first baseball game of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, Sunday, May 24, 2026, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. military said Monday that it carried out “self-defense” strikes in southern Iran, including on missile launch sites and boats placing mines.

U.S. Central Command says the strikes were done “to protect our troops from threats posed by Iranian forces” but that it was “using restraint during the ongoing ceasefire.”

President Donald Trump said Monday that any agreement to end the Iran war should include a requirement for several additional countries, including Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, to join the Abraham Accords, the U.S.-brokered agreements from Trump's first term aimed at normalizing relations with Israel.

Trump said in a social media post that negotiations are “proceeding nicely” but tied any eventual agreement to expanded participation in the 2020 accords.

The proposal came as the emerging Iran deal faced criticism from fellow Republicans who favor a harder line on Iran, and it could add new diplomatic complications to the negotiations.

Trump pointed to Saudi Arabia and Qatar as countries that should “immediately” sign on, alongside Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan. Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates became the first countries to join in 2020.

He wrote that “after all the work done by the United States to try and pull this very complex puzzle together, it should be mandatory that all of these Countries, at a minimum, simultaneously, sign onto the Abraham Accords.”

Trump has long hoped Saudi Arabia would join, but the kingdom has maintained that any normalization deal requires first establishing a clear path for Palestinian statehood. That's also key for Pakistan, which is among the countries that do not have diplomatic relations with Israel.

Islamabad-based analyst Syed Mohammad Ali said Pakistan’s position on Israel remains unchanged despite Trump’s latest proposal.

The president said he brought up the Abraham Accords plan with leaders during negotiations on Saturday. He said he would accept “one or two” countries declining to sign, but said most should be willing. Egypt and Jordan already formally recognize Israel and have long-standing peace treaties. Turkey first recognized Israel in 1949.

Masood Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the United States, said it remains to be seen how workable the proposal might be for the countries on Trump's list.

“The invocation of the Abraham Accords at this stage gives an altogether new dimension to the diplomatic and mediatory processes because this issue was not on the agenda,” he said, pointing to the domestic pressure Trump is facing to strike a favorable deal.

Still, Khan said, “the diplomatic track is still working, and I believe Pakistan is very much at the center of it, supported by regional countries.”

It remains unclear when or how any deal with Iran might be completed. Trump suggested even Iran could eventually sign on to the accords, if an agreement is reached.

The accords are a series of diplomatic, economic and security agreements created with U.S. influence during Trump’s first term, originally between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, followed by Sudan, Morocco, and, more recently, Kazakhstan.

They were framed as an effort to promote cooperation among countries in the Middle East and North Africa, and the administration saw them as partly paving a path toward full ties with Israel.

Ahmed reported from Islamabad.

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