Colton Cowser’s robbery in Colorado on August 31 felt like the kind of moment that could change a season. It saved a game against the Rockies, pushed the Orioles back to .500 for the first time in four months and kept Baltimore hanging around the third and final wild card spot.
In hindsight, though, that catch may have been the peak. The Orioles lost the next six games, including two more in Colorado and four straight against Boston.
The Rockies trip got brushed off as the wear and tear of a long road swing, but that explanation didn’t hold once Baltimore returned home and got flattened. Adley Rutschman homered twice in his return to Camden Yards, yet the offense still managed just one run across the final three games of that Boston series.
From there, the season unraveled fast. Baltimore took two of three from Cleveland when it really needed a sweep, then dropped two of three in Toronto. A playoff chance that had been sitting there in September slipped away.
That’s what makes the final stretch so frustrating. In most seasons, the Orioles would have been out of the race long before this point.
A weak American League outside the AL East and the presence of that third wild card gave them a path, and they actually held that spot a little more than two weeks ago. If you had offered that in March, it would have been hard to turn down, even if the expectation would have been for a better record along the way.
So how much of this was on Craig Albernaz, and how much was simply a roster that didn’t have enough left?
The Colorado series brought plenty of questions. Baltimore needed wins badly, and instead of leaning on a more established arm, the club called up Luis De León, its seventh-best prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
The 23-year-old had started 22 of his 26 minor league appearances this year, but Baltimore had given him a few relief outings before bringing him to the majors. Albernaz put him in a high-leverage spot right away, and De León gave up the go-ahead homer in a 4-2 loss.
That decision stands out even more because De León didn’t exactly force his way onto the roster. The Orioles needed a lefty in the bullpen, but they chose a prospect with a 6.50 ERA over 18 Triple-A innings instead of a pitcher like Cade Povich.
The bullpen problems didn’t stop there. Andrew Kittredge and Grant Wolfram both blew saves in the series finale.
Kittredge, one of the few experienced relievers in the group, looked like he had lost a step after the break. That leaves the bigger question: was Albernaz misusing what he had, or was he simply trying to steer a bullpen that wasn’t built to finish the job?
Boston put the final stamp on things with a four-game sweep. Facing their former franchise player for the first time, the Orioles looked overwhelmed. They were shut out on Friday and Saturday, then scraped together just one run in the finale.
The bats didn’t provide much help. Baltimore deserved credit for claiming Luis Robert Jr., but he landed on the injured list soon after arriving.
Gunnar Henderson went 3-for-13 with no RBIs against Boston. Samuel Basallo still hasn’t hit since coming off the injured list.
Carlos Narváez served as a reminder in Baltimore of what a real backup catcher can do at the plate. Blaze Alexander tried to create a spark before going back on the injured list.
The offense entered last night with a season-low .650 team OPS in September. That stood out because Baltimore had posted an OPS in the .700s in every other month of the season.
Some of the fade was predictable. The rotation was carrying arms nearing career highs in innings, and Brandon Young, the club’s leader in WAR at 2.1, had been outperforming expectations all year. But the bigger issue was simple: the bullpen didn’t have the guys, and the offense didn’t have the punch.
The Orioles benefited from a weak field, but they ended up being the weakest team in it. Albernaz will take some of the blame for how it all came apart, but he didn’t manage this group out of a playoff spot.
Jackson Holliday and Colton Cowser didn’t make the leap many expected. Ryan Helsley got banged up, and Félix Bautista never came back.
In Other News...
Orioles Suddenly Face A Bigger Injury Concern Than Just Holliday
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The more pressing concern, though, may be the health of the pitching side, where Kyle Bradish has been diagnosed with a sports hernia. Baltimore also has Shane Baz dealing with a swollen elbow, though he is expected to be ready to pitch soon. With the offseason instructional camp for top prospects also part of the Orioles broader calendar, the club suddenly has a few medical storylines to monitor at once, and the Bradish diagnosis adds a different kind of urgency than Hollidays latest setback. [Read more 🡒]
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Orioles Have A Chance To Change The Final Stretch In Queens
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There is still a little uncertainty around the pitching picture on both sides. Shane Baz exited the previous game after taking a shot off the elbow, though the early expectation is that he will be fine, and the Mets have had to shuffle their own plan by going to Xzavion Curry in place of Robert Stock because of injury. For Baltimore, the task is simpler in theory than it is in practice: handle the moving parts, keep the bullpen from being overextended, and leave New York with momentum heading into one last run at Camden Yards. [Read more 🡒]