Shhh. Don’t say anything. Don’t jinx it. But…there’s a chance that the Orioles could end today tied for an AL Wild Card spot.
It’s hard to believe such a thing could be true, after all the trials and tribulations and the often foolish play we’ve witnessed from the 2026 Orioles. But if they win this afternoon and the Guardians lose to the Mets, then the O’s would vault ahead of Cleveland and move into a tie with the idle Rangers for the third wild card spot. Even while still being under .500. Wild
stuff.
But first things first: the O’s need to take care of business against the Angels, the worst team in baseball. The Birds have done so in the first two games of the series, even if their hitting performance wasn’t quite as potent as we’d like. But their pitching has been stellar, with Cade Povich and Trevor Rogers each delivering quality starts and a patched-together back of the bullpen locking things down late. It helps that the Angels can’t really hit, but let’s not pick nits.
Today the O’s have their most reliable starter, Brandon Young, on the mound as they try for the sweep. As a reminder, the Orioles are a whopping 15-3 in Young’s starts this season. The right-hander passed the 100-inning mark in his last start and carries an 8-2 record and 3.31 ERA. The Angels will be facing him for the first time in his career.
On paper, the Birds would appear to have the pitching advantage with Young taking on Ryan Johnson, a rookie righty with a 7.63 ERA. Johnson has been absolutely dreadful against every team he’s faced…except the Orioles. Back in June, Johnson faced the Birds in Anaheim and dominated them for six shutout, one-hit innings, striking out eight. It was by far the best outing of Johnson’s career, and the only time he’s ever pitched more than five innings. The O’s offense was absolutely pathetic in that game. It wasn’t the first or last time the Orioles had been shut down by a pitcher with a sky-high ERA. Hopefully we won’t see a repeat performance today.
Orioles lineup:
LF Dylan Beavers
1B Pete Alonso
DH Gunnar Henderson
3B Christian Encarnacion-Strand
SS Jackson Holliday
RF Leody Taveras
2B Jeremiah Jackson
CF Colton Cowser
C Yohel Pozo
RHP Brandon Young
Angels lineup:
LF Wade Meckler
DH Mike Trout
1B Nolan Schanuel
SS Zach Neto
3B Vaughn Grissom
C Moisés Ballesteros
CF Jose Siri
LF Josh Lowe
2B Oswald Peraza
RHP Ryan Johnson
