Hello, friends.
The 2026 Orioles rollercoaster ride continues. Over the last couple of days, we were reminded why there have been slightly more downs than there have been ups this season. Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s losses to the Rockies were particularly maddening, with such sad offensive outputs in Coors Field against the Colorado staff, with various shenanigans on the basepaths, on defense, and from the bullpen. The Orioles could not afford to waste that series but they wasted it anyway.
Check out
my recap of Wednesday’s walkoff, 11-inning loss for more of those not-so-lovely totals.
After Wednesday’s results, here is the state of the race for the third American League wild card spot. The Orioles trail the Cleveland Guardians by 1.5 games. They are tied alongside of the Rangers and Blue Jays at that playoff position. There are three games to be played against the Guardians; the Orioles have to sweep Cleveland to secure the head-to-head tiebreaker. Six games remain against the Blue Jays. I think that the Orioles need to go 14-8 in their final 22 games. Maybe they need to go 15-7.
Following losses like the Orioles just had, it feels absurd to bring up the postseason situation. Yet, the expanded postseason field, foisted upon us by owners wanting more postseason TV money, in combination with the weakness of the American League contenders this year, keeps the Orioles in it. If there were only two wild cards, the Orioles would be six games out. It’d be over, if not mathematically official yet. They do have problems. So does everybody else. The odds are long but not insurmountable.
The Orioles just have to play better! They have to do it for three weeks running instead of just for a game or two. There are no unwinnable games from here to season’s end. It’s just, if things go badly, they will lose. If the offense continues to scuffle, they won’t win enough. If relievers alternate who is going to blow games each night and Craig Albernaz keeps pressing bad buttons, they won’t win enough. If the defense and baserunning keep costing them, that will also be a problem. Same if the starting rotation runs ragged with several of its pitchers nearing or already on career high counts for innings.
We are running a poll this week asking Orioles fans which of these problem areas you are most worried about down the stretch. Have you voted yet? If you haven’t, here it is:
After watching and having to recap yesterday’s game, my answer to this question is, “Yes.”
National television awaits the Orioles tonight. The powers that be who decide on Fox broadcasts have deemed this Orioles-Red Sox matchup to be worth airing for a wider audience. There will be no MASN broadcast, and the game will begin at 7:15 instead of the now-usual Monday-Thursday evening 6:35 start time. Brandon Young and Jake Bennett are the scheduled starting pitchers. Young, with a total of 147 innings pitched between Norfolk and Baltimore, is one of the guys who is past his career high (111 IP in 2024).
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Albernaz on Orioles schedule: “We know what’s ahead of us” (Baltimore Baseball)
Evidence from the just-concluded Rockies series is thin that the Orioles are productively acting on that knowledge.
Orioles takeaways: Kyle Bradish not concerned about growing workload (The Baltimore Sun)
Bradish is at 148 innings. His pre-surgery high was 168.2. If he makes three more starts, he probably won’t pass that, but if he makes four, he probably will. That depends on how the Orioles want to manage the rotation down the stretch, which might itself depend on whether they plausibly remain in the race.
Luis De León’s fastball focus once again saved his season. This time, it brought him to the big leagues. (The Baltimore Banner)
The not-great Triple-A performance from De León made the promotion a bit of an eyebrow-raiser, and unfortunately his first outing didn’t do anything to change that impression.
How lefty pitching prospects Boston Bateman and Caden Hunter have emerged for the Orioles (Press Box Online)
Hunter has been a real revelation as he’s pitched through three levels this year. I do hope he can keep the walk rate in check as he climbs the ladder further. A 4.1 BB/9 is a little higher than you’d like.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1999, Cal Ripken Jr. hit his 400th home run in the middle of a 11-6 victory over the then-Devil Rays. At the time, Ripken was just the 20th player to reach the milestone. Now, there are 59 players on that list. Former Oriole Manny Machado (393 homers) may be the next player to join the club.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2010-14 pitcher Troy Patton, 1987-90 infielder Rene Gonzales, 1956 pitcher Morrie Martin, and 1956-57 pitcher Sandy Consuegra.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: auto engineer Ferdinand Porsche (1875), actor Charlie Sheen (1965), and snowboarding legend Shaun White (1986).
On this day in history…
In 301, the republic of San Marino, a microstate located entirely within modern-day Italy, was founded. It is the oldest continuously-existing republic.
In 1260, the Mongolian army was defeated by Mamluks in the Battle of Ain Jalut in modern-day Israel. This was the first serious defeat dealt to the Mongols and marked the end of an era of expansion for their empire.
In 1838, Frederick Douglass escaped from being enslaved.
In 1939, France and the United Kingdom declared war on Germany, two days after Germany invaded Poland.
In 1981, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, to which the United States is a signatory, although the treaty was never ratified here.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on September 3. Have a safe Thursday. Go O’s!
