Happy birthday to Kyle Bradish, and the Orioles are hoping the present comes in the form of another win.
Baltimore got exactly what it needed in the opener in Toronto, piling up five runs in the second inning and cruising to a 7-4 victory. The problem was that the rest of the wild card picture didn’t budge in the Orioles’ favor.
Cleveland also won in Minnesota, so the Guardians kept their three-game edge over Baltimore. Because Cleveland owns the tiebreaker, that gap effectively plays like four games if the teams finish tied.
There’s another wrinkle Orioles fans need to watch, too. Cleveland is just a half-game behind the White Sox in the AL Central, and if the Guardians take over first place, Chicago becomes the team Baltimore has to catch for the third wild card.
The Orioles have the tiebreaker over the White Sox, so matching Chicago’s record would be enough. That scenario also depends on the Blue Jays, who are currently two games back, getting knocked out before it comes down to the wire.
That puts even more weight on this series in Toronto, where the Orioles have five games left against the Jays and a real chance to push them out of the race. Bradish gets the ball on his 30th birthday, looking to help lock up the series.
He’s been showing signs of wear lately and hasn’t logged a quality start in his last four outings. In his last start, he went four innings and allowed three runs, though all of them were unearned after a Gunnar Henderson error opened the door before a home run.
Toronto is not rolling out ace Dylan Cease on normal rest today. Instead, the Blue Jays are giving him an extra day, which pushes him to the finale tomorrow.
For this game, they’ll piece it together with a bullpen start, beginning with Spencer Miles. Miles has opened eight other games this season and can sometimes give a few innings, but his season high is 4.1, so Baltimore should see plenty of Toronto relievers.
The Orioles are sticking with eight of the same nine hitters from last night’s productive lineup, Heston Kjerstad included. Samuel Basallo gets the day off before catching Trevor Rogers in tomorrow’s finale.
Orioles lineup:
LF Dylan Beavers
1B Pete Alonso
2B Jackson Holliday
DH Coby Mayo
SS Gunnar Henderson
3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand
RF Heston Kjerstad
CF Colton Cowser
C Carlos Narváez
RHP Kyle Bradish
Blue Jays lineup:
CF Brett Bateman
DH George Springer
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
C Alejandro Kirk
RF Nathan Lukes
3B Kazuma Okamoto
2B Josh Smith
SS Andrés Giménez
LF Rudy Martin Jr.
In Other News...
Orioles Suddenly Have A Kyle Bradish Problem They Can't Ignore
Kyle Bradishs season ended the way the Orioles could least afford it, with another trip to the injured list and another reminder of how unstable their rotation has been. Baltimore placed the right-hander on the 15-day IL because of lower abdominal discomfort, a move that effectively shuts him down after a difficult finish to the year. He went 7-14 with a 4.12 ERA and 142 strikeouts across 29 starts, and his recent outings never really gave the club much reason to expect a late lift.
Yaramil Hiraldo was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to take the roster spot, but the larger issue is what Bradishs absence means for a team that has been trying to hold its pitching together. For an Orioles staff that already needed reliability, losing one of its key starters at this stage leaves another thin layer peeled away, and it comes at a time when Baltimore can least afford more uncertainty on the mound. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Wild Card Hopes Keep Fading After Another Brutal Loss
The Orioles had an early opening at Rogers Centre, loading the bases in the first inning, but the big chance came and went without a run. Baltimore kept chasing from there, and Toronto finally took control in the fifth before rolling to an 8-1 win that left the Orioles at 72-78 and drifting farther behind the Guardians in the Wild Card race.
For a club trying to stay relevant in September, the frustration was less about one bad night than the pattern underneath it. Baltimore could not cash in when it mattered, and the Blue Jays made them pay by turning a tense game into a comfortable one in the middle innings, another reminder that the margin for error keeps shrinking with every loss. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Wild Card Push Is Running Out Of Time
The Orioles needed a steadier night on the mound to keep pace in the Wild Card race, but instead they got another uneven outing in a 7-3 loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Kyle Bradish was tagged for five runs in three innings, and Baltimore spent much of the night chasing the game while trying to stay in touch with the teams ahead of it in the standings.
With 13 games left, the margin for error has all but disappeared. Baltimore sits three games behind Cleveland for the final American League Wild Card spot, which leaves little room for losses like this one as the club tries to hang on in a crowded finish. [Read more 🡒]