The results of today’s Tigers and Royals games will determine who the Orioles play starting on Tuesday.
Hello, friends.
After the Orioles spent two or so months confounding expectations in a bad way, they’ve sure flipped things around in the real last stretch of the regular season, haven’t they? Thanks to a 9-2 victory over the Twins last night, the O’s will head into October with wins in their last two series. Before this was the Yankees, who the O’s will have to beat if they are going to march towards the World Series. The Twins were in the race almost to the end too. Check out John Beers’s recap for more of the lovely totals.
Saturday night’s win was the 90th of the season for the Orioles. It’s really not bad considering that a couple of weeks ago we were (or at least I was) coming up with pleading scenarios of the Orioles just being able to win 87. It’s a noteworthy milestone for this reason: This is the first time in my life that the O’s have ever had consecutive 90+ win seasons. The last time it happened was the 1982 and 1983 Orioles. It’s been a while.
This last week could hardly have done more to make Orioles fans feel better about the direction of the team heading into the postseason. Most of September was spent hoping that getting back Ryan Mountcastle, Ramón Urías, and Jordan Westburg would make a difference for the struggling offense. Five games into having all of those guys back and it seems like that hope is coming true.
To be sure, the Orioles are going to face better pitching than what they saw from the Twins last night. There are not many Zebby Matthews- or Louis Varland-tier guys who they will run into on any postseason roster. The Twins, in general, have been falling apart for a month and a half. They actually completed the kind of collapse that we feared might happen to the Orioles. But when you add this series to the one against the Yankees right before it, I think that’s encouraging going into the playoff tournament.
Not that the Orioles even know who they will be playing yet. Whether it is the Tigers or the Royals depends on results today. Both the Tigers and Royals lost yesterday, preserving a one-game edge for Detroit heading into the season’s final day. (Or at least, the American League’s final day.) If the Tigers beat the White Sox, that will seal it. However, if Detroit does manage to lose, and the Royals then beat the Braves, the teams will be tied and KC has the tiebreaker over Detroit.
This will all be playing out more or less simultaneously since MLB learned from the 2011 Game 162 craziness that it’s fun when things are happening at the same time if the last day matters. Every game across the league starts from between 3:05 to 3:20 Eastern. Detroit’s game against the White Sox starts at 3:10. The Royals take on the Braves at 3:20.
The Braves end of that game is also quite significant since there’s still a potential rain-shifted doubleheader between the Mets and the Braves set for Monday, after everyone else’s season is over. That could be needed to determine which two of the three of the Braves, Mets, and Diamondbacks make the last two NL wild card spots. Whew! I’m glad that the Orioles are not involved in that kind of mess. It’s also possible that today’s results will mean they just cancel that Monday doubleheader.
The Orioles and Twins also get under way at 3:10. A win or loss might ultimately be meaningless for each of the teams, but all of the stats still count. Will Brandon Hyde choose to rest any of the regulars? How will he handle the pitchers? Albert Suárez has been named as the starting pitcher, which probably means he won’t be part of the wild card roster and that he will be the Game 1 starter of a hypothetical ALDS round, if the Orioles advance after a 3-game series.
Around the blogO’sphere
Burnes named Orioles Game 1 starter in Wild Card (School of Roch)
The tea leaves have been there at least the last week that the Orioles would be using Corbin Burnes as the #1 starting pitcher for the wild card series. Only how well Zach Eflin has pitched since joining the team created any kind of uncertainty there.
Pressure of postseason stage awaits Orioles bullpen (Orioles.com)
Does anyone feel good about these guys holding a narrow lead in the late innings of a postseason game? Be honest, now. I guess Tigers and/or Royals fans might feel good.
The weakest positions on the remaining AL contenders (FanGraphs)
FG’s Jay Jaffe thinks the Orioles problem areas, relative to the competition, are bullpen (yes), defense, and second base. I’m not as worried about second base.
Domino Sugars making a sweet gesture of support as Orioles enter wild card series (The Baltimore Banner)
Starting tonight and apparently for as long as the Orioles season is continuing, the iconic Domino Sugars sign in Baltimore will have only the O’s and the S’s lit up
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1996, Brady Anderson hit his 50th home run of the season during a 4-1 Orioles loss in Toronto. At the time, Anderson was just the 14th player to ever have a 50+ home run season. There have now been 50 such seasons, with two players, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge, hitting the mark in 2024.
There are a few former Orioles who have a birthday today. They are: 2022 reliever Jake Reed, Maryland-born 2019-20 pitcher Branden Kline, 1998-99 infielder Calvin Pickering, 1992 pitcher Craig Lefferts, and 1963-64 pitcher Mike McCormick.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Roman leader Pompey (101 BC), novelist Miguel de Cervantes (1547), admiral Horatio Nelson (1758), physicist Enrico Fermi (1901), musician Jerry Lee Lewis (1935), Polish statesman Lech Wałęsa (1943), and musician Halsey (1994).
On this day in history…
In 61 BC, the birthday boy Pompey received a third triumph in Rome due to his role in Roman victory in the Mithridatic Wars, a series of conflicts against powers bordering what is today the Black Sea.
In 1907 AD, the cornerstone of the Washington National Cathedral was laid. This date in 1990 marked the official completion of the cathedral.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on September 29. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!