Even with the Orioles trying their darndest to bury their postseason chances on their own, the rest of the American League just refuses to do all that much to throw more dirt on this team. They linger on, two or three games out – currently two – and while it’s not terribly likely that they leapfrog four teams to make it in as the third wild card team, the flame of hope has not gone out entirely just yet.
Probably it will go out when their next ten games after today are against the Rays and Yankees.
But it’s not out yet, so winning today’s game still matters. The Orioles flip back ahead of the Twins in that wild card picture if they win the finale today.
Elements of a decent enough team are in this mix somewhere. That’s the frustrating thing! That’s been the frustrating thing all season long. They should have been better than this. Even without the guys who were traded last week, they still could be better.
Last night’s effort by Gunnar Henderson was a tantalizing look at what “better” might look like. It’s pretty simple, really: If the guy who should have been the team’s best player starts playing like the team’s best player again, the Orioles are better off. It is fun to dream about that better Henderson re-emerging suddenly on August 11 and staying with us through the remainder of this season plus the next two as well.
That’s the same kind of fun that it is to dream about the stuff you’d do with a lottery jackpot in the several hundred million dollar range. It’s not going to happen, but assuming you don’t spend money you can’t afford to waste to get one or two plays, it really doesn’t cost too much to believe in it until the numbers come in.
If the Orioles prove themselves good enough to get to like 84 wins, there’s no reason they couldn’t start beating all the other flawed teams in the AL in short series. They probably won’t, but they still could. That’s better than nothing.
Orioles lineup
- Gunnar Henderson – SS
- Pete Alonso – 1B
- Jackson Holliday – 2B
- Tyler O’Neill – DH
- Dylan Beavers – LF
- Christian Encarnacion-Strand – 3B
- Leody Taveras – RF
- Christian Franklin – CF
- Carlos Narváez – C
This is the lineup supporting Shane Baz. Or at least, hopefully it will support him. Baz has not gotten much run support at all this season, his 4-11 record standing as a testament to the declining value of judging a pitcher’s quality by his W-L. Baz has a 3.76 ERA (111 ERA+) and is averaging just about six innings per start. The defense behind him at times and a lack of run support at other times have not helped him. Maybe it will go better today.
Henderson continues in the leadoff spot. As mentioned above, this finally paid off last night. Will it continue? I doubt it. The Orioles have no real choice but to believe in Henderson and they are choosing to express this in the most dramatic way possible, throwing him in at the top of the lineup when his season performance this season has not earned it in any way.
One thing I think can be said about manager Craig Albernaz is that he believes in his guys. This trait would seem laudable if his supposed-to-be-good guys were playing better and if he had better guys overall. Henderson, Rico Garcia, and Grant Wolfram between them have probably generated a decent percentage of the disappointment in the first-year skipper. For Garcia and Wolfram, at least, part of the answer is that Mike Elias could have signed better relievers.
Speaking of Henderson, we’re running a poll this week that asks if he will ever have a good season for the Orioles again. Have you voted yet?
Twins lineup
- Trevor Larnach – LF
- Royce Lewis – 1B
- Josh Bell – DH
- Koby Clemens – 2B
- Brooks Lee – 3B
- Luke Keaschall – CF
- Victor Caratini – C
- Alan Roden – RF
- Ryan Kreidler – SS
The Twins starter, Zebby Matthews, has a 5.23 ERA so far in this season. Orioles fans are regrettably well acquainted in the 2026 season with what this means for today’s game.
