Labor Day is right around the corner, and that’s when baseball stops being a story about possibilities and starts becoming a story about what’s actually in the bank. For the Orioles, the ledger is messy: they’re 65-69, they’ve been hit hard by injuries in both the rotation and the bullpen, and the trade deadline stripped away several important pieces.
Still, with about a month left, Baltimore is hanging around in the AL Wild Card race. The Yankees and Red Sox sit atop the field, the Cleveland Guardians hold the third spot, and the Orioles, Rangers and a few others are still within striking distance.
That alone is enough to keep the conversation alive. And lately, the Orioles have at least given people a reason to look twice.
The biggest reason for optimism is the bat. Baltimore’s offense has been a season-long headache, even with the power numbers.
The team’s .237 batting average has sat near the bottom of the league, but that hasn’t been the case recently. The average has climbed by 20 points, and the latest series against the Cardinals was one of the club’s most productive stretches of the year.
The Orioles scored 13 runs on Tuesday, added eight more Wednesday, and still managed five in Thursday’s loss.
The surge has come with several hitters taking turns driving it. Pete Alonso has nine homers in his last 16 games.
Coby Mayo has been part of the push as well; he’s tied Matt Olson for the MLB lead with 14 homers against lefties. Christian Encarnacion-Strand has suddenly been OPS’ing over .800 and coming through with clutch hits.
Dylan Beavers and Jackson Holliday are also finding their footing. In all, eight Orioles hitters now own a 100-plus wRC+.
The problem is that the lineup’s timing is running headlong into a rough patch on the mound.
The bullpen has become a serious issue, and not just because of the names missing from it. Keegan Akin went down with elbow pain in July and is done for the year.
Ryan Helsley has been on the injured list since July 3 with UCL inflammation, his second elbow-related IL stint of the season, and there’s still no clear timetable for his return even though surgery has been avoided. Félix Bautista has been out with elbow troubles for more than a year.
Tyler Wells, meanwhile, was dealt at the trade deadline, which didn’t exactly help a group trying to piece together late innings on the fly.
Craig Albernaz still hasn’t settled on a ninth-inning answer, either. He has rotated through Andrew Kittredge, Rico Garcia, Grant Wolfram, and Alex Hoppe. Kittredge did finish off Wednesday’s save, but the overall picture is still unsettled, and Hoppe only joined the club in early August.
The rotation, which looked sturdier on paper, is starting to show its own cracks.
Trevor Rogers ran into fatigue on Thursday, giving up six runs on seven hits over five innings after getting burned by a hanging changeup and control issues. Kyle Bradish has also started to fade, crashing in the fifth inning on Wednesday and forcing the bullpen to cover 4⅔ scoreless frames to preserve the win.
Bradish just signed a five-year extension, and he’s already at 143 innings this season after throwing barely 70 combined over the previous two years while rehabbing elbow trouble. Brandon Young is another arm worth monitoring.
The rookie nearly threw a perfect game this year, owns a 3.50 ERA, and has been a legitimate bright spot, but 123⅓ innings is already more than he’s ever logged as a pro. Shane Baz has his own strange wrinkle: he has a 4.02 ERA, the third-worst run support of any starter in baseball, and a league-high 14 losses.
That’s the tension with this team now. Baltimore has enough offense to stay alive in the race, but the margin for error is shrinking fast.
The Yankees are 75-58 and the Red Sox are 73-60, and those two look out of reach. Cleveland sits three games ahead in the third Wild Card spot.
The Orioles can still make things interesting, but the schedule isn’t doing them any favors, with a run through AL East opponents looming. A thin bullpen and a tiring rotation might survive a softer stretch against the Athletics and Rockies, but that gets a lot tougher against Boston, Tampa Bay and Toronto, all of whom have postseason hopes of their own.
So the Orioles are good enough to keep this thing alive. The harder question is whether they’re deep enough to do anything dangerous once they get there.
For now, though, there’s still a chance to ride the momentum and see where it goes. Baltimore gets a three-game set at Oakland beginning today, then a weekend trip to Colorado. If this team is going to show it’s more than a late-season tease, this is the kind of stretch that needs to tell the story.
In Other News...
Trey Mancinis Baltimore Return Will Hit Orioles Fans Right In The Heart
Trey Mancinis next trip through Camden Yards will come with a very different kind of spotlight. The longtime fan favorite announced his retirement on Aug. 18, and hell officially close out his playing career as a member of the Orioles, signing a one-day contract before being honored at Oriole Park on Sept. 19.
The pregame ceremony is shaping up as a full Baltimore reunion, with former teammates, coaches and medical professionals set to be part of it. Mancini will also throw out the first pitch and sign autographs for children, a fitting touch for a player whose time in Baltimore meant plenty to the clubhouse and even more to the people who watched him over the years. [Read more 🡒]
Trey Mancini Is Getting A Birdland Farewell Fans Will Feel
Trey Mancinis return to Camden Yards for a final Orioles sendoff has the feel of a full-circle moment for a player whose Baltimore years meant far more than just box scores. After announcing his retirement from professional baseball, Mancini will sign a one-day contract and retire as an Oriole on Sept. 19, when the Brewers come to town, giving Birdland a chance to salute one of the most beloved figures from the clubs recent era.
The Orioles are planning to make it feel special, with a limited-edition hat, a new permanent sign in the dugout and a ceremonial first pitch for Mancini as part of the celebration. His career arc, from major league contributor to cancer battle to comeback story, has long resonated with fans, and this farewell gives Baltimore a chance to recognize all of it in the place where so much of that journey unfolded. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Put Craig Albernaz On Notice For Stretch Run
The Orioles uneven season has left them in a familiar but uncomfortable spot, still close enough to the postseason picture to keep hope alive and far enough from preseason expectations to raise questions about what comes next. Baltimore sits at 65-69, a record that reflects just how hard it has been to turn talent into consistent results, and it has put Craig Albernaz under a sharper spotlight as the calendar moves into the final stretch.
A Sports Illustrated writer recently floated the possibility that Albernaz could be pushed out after just one season if the club sputters down the stretch, a scenario that would add another layer of uncertainty to a team already trying to define its direction. The Orioles have not been fully buried, which only makes the tension more pronounced, because the next few weeks could shape not just their playoff chances but also the long-term outlook of the dugout. [Read more 🡒]