The Orioles are still hanging around, and Wednesday’s 9-5 win over the Guardians kept that reality intact. It gave Baltimore the series win over the club it’s chasing for the wild card, but it also underscored the bigger picture: they probably needed a sweep to make this feel like something more than a long shot.
For now, the path remains open, if barely. Baltimore is three games behind Cleveland with 15 left, while the Blue Jays sit just one game back.
The Orioles and Jays both have Thursday off and will pick things back up in Toronto on Friday night. That series comes before another matchup between the two clubs a week and a half later, and those six games could end up shaping whether another AL East team gets pulled into the race.
The math is tight. The Orioles likely need to go 4-2 just to keep the conversation alive, though 5-1 may be the safer standard.
A 4-2 run would leave them tied with Toronto and holding the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Blue Jays. Cleveland is still in front, and Texas is right there too, sitting 1.5 games back.
The Rangers finish a series with the Mariners today before heading to Arizona, while the Guardians face the Twins this weekend. Baltimore can only watch and hope those teams stumble.
The Orioles will have to keep chasing without Blaze Alexander, who went on the injured list yesterday with back soreness. Alexander is the team’s only hitter batting .300, and he’s also the lone player sitting at .270.
Gunnar Henderson’s status is still unclear as well. Before Wednesday’s game, manager Craig Albernaz said, “He’s pretty banged up.”
However uneven Henderson’s season has been, the lineup doesn’t get better with Jackson Holliday at shortstop and Jeremiah Jackson at second base.
There’s still no clean read on what this team is. They could get hot enough to make every one of the ugly losses from earlier in the year sting even more.
They could stay right where they are. They could slide backward.
They could still pull off the miracle. All of it remains on the table, even if some outcomes look a lot more realistic than others.
Friday night brings the next checkpoint. Chris Bassitt is scheduled to start for the Orioles in the 7:07 game, and Toronto has not yet announced a starter.
In other Orioles notes, Samuel Basallo’s learning curve includes dealing with failure, as one piece noted, while another pointed out that Albernaz said, “Coby is the one I’m most proud of” in reference to Coby Mayo. Mayo has been especially strong against lefties this year, and he also homered off a righty last night. There’s also a new look at former Oriole Merv Rettenmund in John Eisenberg’s Orioles history series.
Among former Orioles born on this day are Mike Baumann, Matt Angle, and Danys Báez, who turns 49 today. Birthday wishes also go out to Marie Laveau, George Kelly, Arnold Palmer, Colin Firth, Randy Johnson, and Misty Copeland.
On this day in history, English and Scottish forces fought the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547, the British fleet was beaten at Put-in Bay in 1813, Nazi forces occupied Rome in 1943, and Hamida Djandoubi was executed by guillotine in 1977, the last time that method was used in France.
In Other News...
Orioles Front Office Change Raises Bigger Questions During Wild Card Push
Matt Blood is no longer with the Orioles organization, a notable change in the front office while the club is trying to stay in the postseason race. Blood, who was promoted to vice president of player and staff development in November, had been a key part of Mike Elias operation since being hired in 2019 and worked through several roles, including director of player development and vice president of player development and domestic scouting.
The move comes amid a stretch of recent front office promotions for Baltimore, but it also arrives with the team still three games back in the chase for the last Wild Card spot. For an Orioles club trying to balance long-term stability with the urgency of the standings, the timing only sharpens the questions around how the organization is handling both its present push and its future structure. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Win Came With Another Injury Scare They Couldnt Afford
The Orioles got the kind of win that should have brought relief, but the night still carried the uneasy feeling that has followed this team for much of the season. Brandon Youngs frustration after the loss was understandable after Baltimore gave up eight runs in the third inning, and the lineup and defense were already being stretched thin by the injuries that have thinned the roster, including absences for Luis Robert Jr., Tyler ONeill and Samuel Basallo.
Gunnar Hendersons injury during the game only added to the anxiety, especially with the Orioles already making unusual defensive adjustments just to keep the pieces in place. For a club trying to stay afloat through all the uncertainty, every new scare feels bigger than a single game, and this one left Baltimore waiting to learn how much more damage it might have to absorb. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Fans May Keep Coming Back To Pete Alonsos Costly Mistake
Pete Alonso has been one of the Orioles most productive bats this season, but in a September 8 game against the Guardians, one miscue in the field stood out for all the wrong reasons. His throwing error helped open the door to an inning in which Baltimore slipped behind, a frustrating moment in a game the club could not afford to let get away.
For an Orioles team trying to steady itself in a rocky September, plays like that carry extra weight. The club has struggled through the month and is now chasing in the Wild Card race, leaving every mistake just a little more expensive as the playoff margin keeps shrinking. [Read more 🡒]