The Orioles came up short of a sweep again, and with it went another small but important step in their chase toward .500. Baltimore dropped Sunday’s finale to the Cardinals, 7-5, after Trevor Rogers ran into trouble, the offense took a while to wake up against a Cardinals bullpen game, and a late push didn’t quite get the job done. The loss left the Orioles three games behind the idle Guardians for the third wild card spot.
That was the Orioles’ fourth failed shot at finishing off a sweep since their last one, which came July 17-19 in Houston. Two wins out of three still count, sure, but at some point the Birds are going to need to finish the job if they want any real shot at getting back to .500.
Now comes the part of the schedule that should, in theory, give them a real chance to stack wins. Over the next six days, the Orioles will face the easiest slate in baseball, with series against the Athletics, who are 53-81, and the Rockies, who are 52-82. On paper, this is the kind of stretch where Baltimore ought to grab at least four of the six games.
But this is also the Orioles, and that makes confidence a dangerous thing. They went just 3-3 this year against the Angels, the other bottom-dweller in MLB, and these next two series will be played on the road in Sacramento and Denver, where strange things tend to happen. Dropping one or both series would hardly be a shock.
If Baltimore doesn’t make the most of this trip, the road ahead gets much steeper. September brings series against the Red Sox, Brewers, and Yankees, plus a head-to-head meeting with Cleveland.
The Guardians, by contrast, have a far softer path the rest of the way, with only two of their nine remaining series coming against teams currently at .500 or better. As the source put it, the Guards will only have themselves to blame if they miss the postseason from here.
So the Orioles’ playoff math remains messy, but not dead. There’s still a path, and for now the dream stays alive. Game time tonight in Sacramento is 9:40 Eastern Time.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday!
You share it with three former Orioles: infielder Kelvin Gutiérrez, who turns 32, right-hander Mike Torrez, who turns 80, and outfielder Lou Piniella, who turns 83. Piniella began his big league career with four games for the 1964 Orioles, then went on to play 18 seasons and manage for another 23.
There’s also a strange one from this date in 1960: the Orioles beat the White Sox at Memorial Stadium in a game that turned on an umpire’s timeout call. Ted Kluszewski hit what looked like a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth, but Ed Hurley stopped play just before the pitch because two White Sox players were near the right field foul line. The homer was wiped out, Kluszewski later flied out, and Baltimore held on for a 3-1 win after Chicago’s protest went nowhere.
And on Aug. 28, 1980, the Orioles piled up a team-record 26 hits in a 13-8 win over the Angels in Baltimore. Every starter had at least one hit, Terry Crowley added three off the bench, and Eddie Murray, Rich Dauer, and Gary Roenicke each collected four hits, with Roenicke doubling three times.
None of those 26 hits left the yard. The Orioles went 13-for-28 with runners in scoring position and still stranded 14 men.
One more from Aug. 28, 1956: Maryland native Ray Moore delivered the Orioles’ only shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over Cleveland.
He gave up four hits, struck out six, and finished the game in 2 hours, 6 minutes. Baltimore scored the lone run in the first inning on a Bob Nieman RBI double.
In Other News...
Pete Alonso's Orioles Turnaround Followed A Huge Offseason Life Change
Pete Alonsos first months in Baltimore came with more than the usual challenge of changing teams. After spending his entire career with the Mets, he signed a five-year, $155 million deal with the Orioles and then had to adjust not just to a new clubhouse and routine, but to a major life change at home as well. The early stretch was an adjustment period, and it showed at times as he settled into both roles.
Since May, though, Alonso has looked far more like the middle-of-the-order force Baltimore expected. He has posted a .940 OPS and hit 27 home runs, a strong sign that the personal and professional transition is finally smoothing out. For the Orioles, the encouraging part is not just the production, but the way he has managed to find it after such a significant offseason shift. [Read more 🡒]
Tyler O'Neill Said Exactly What Orioles Fans Needed To Hear
Tyler O'Neill gave the Orioles one of their biggest defensive moments of late with a diving catch in the Aug. 22 win over Tampa Bay, the kind of play that can change the feel of a game and, in this case, helped set up a walk-off finish. Just a few days later, Baltimore had to move him to the 10-day injured list on Aug. 26 because of a strained rotator cuff, a reminder of how quickly a key contributor can go from difference-maker to sidelined.
Even with O'Neill out, the clubhouse tone has stayed upbeat as the Orioles keep chasing a Wild Card spot. Reliever Andrew Kittredge has pointed to the team's positive momentum, and for a club trying to bank wins in late August, that matters almost as much as the box score. Baltimore still has to navigate the stretch ahead without one of its more impactful defenders, but the confidence around the group has not gone anywhere. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Suddenly Have A Christian Encarnacion-Strand Decision To Make
Christian Encarnacion-Strand has quickly turned himself into a relevant Orioles conversation piece at the right time. Over the last 13 games, he has given Baltimore a real jolt at the plate, driving in 15 runs while batting .294/.302/.588, and his surge has come with the kind of timing that forces a front office to start thinking beyond the current stretch run.
Craig Albernaz has already acknowledged the impact Encarnacion-Strand has made, especially after Blaze Alexander went down with an injury, and now the bigger question is how that production fits into Baltimores long-term picture. With trades and positional shuffles potentially reshaping the roster, the Orioles suddenly have to decide whether his recent run is a short-term burst or something they need to build around going into next season. [Read more 🡒]