Good morning, Camden Chatters.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Orioles are done. Cooked. Finito. The miraculous run to the postseason ain’t happening. Start planning accordingly.
The Birds haven’t yet been mathematically eliminated, but there’s no feasible path to the final wild card spot at this point. They made it all but official with yesterday’s futile 8-1 defeat in Toronto that capped a lackluster series loss. It was a game that featured a nonexistent Orioles offense, a bullpen blowup,
and the kind of shoddy defensive play to which O’s fans have become all too accustomed.
The Orioles are now four games behind the Guardians — essentially five, since Cleveland holds the tiebreaker — as well as three games behind the Blue Jays and two behind the Rangers, both of whom also hold tiebreakers over the Birds. In short, stick a fork in ’em. The O’s needed nothing less than a series win in Toronto, and preferably a sweep, to have any chance of staying alive. Instead, they crumbled.
I would say, Well, at least the Orioles had a good run, but…did they? The O’s were nominally involved in the postseason race into September, but only because of the American League’s historic mediocrity, not because the team itself was ever particularly good. The Orioles haven’t been an above-.500 team since April, and they’re not going to reach a winning record again this year.
The Orioles’ ineptitude has invited Baltimore sports fans to fully turn their attention to the NFL. It seems only appropriate that at the same time the Ravens won a 41-23 beatdown to begin their season, the O’s were limping through one of their most uninspired losses of the year. It’s as if the Orioles themselves were asking fans, “Why are you watching us instead of football right now?”
With the 2026 season now a lost cause, the Orioles should shift their focus to 2027 for the final two weeks. Give everyday playing time to the hitters who will still be on the team next year, and forget about those who won’t. Let Heston Kjerstad get regular at-bats. Play Samuel Basallo, Colton Cowser, and Dylan Beavers against left-handers. We don’t need to see Leody Taveras in the lineup anymore. Normally I would advocate for calling up Enrique Bradfield Jr. just to get his feet wet in the majors, too. But with a lockout looming this offseason, the O’s might not want to add him to the 40-man roster because then he’d be ineligible to play if MLB games are wiped out next year, whereas the 2027 minor league season will be unaffected.
While they’re at it, the O’s should protect the health of their homegrown pitchers who are showing visible signs of fatigue. Yesterday they finally shut down Kyle Bradish for the season by placing him on the 15-day IL. It would also be a good idea to call it a wrap on Brandon Young, who has set a career high in innings pitched. Call up Cade Povich or go with a few bullpen games to finish the season. As with Bradish, there’s no reason to push Young’s arm any further.
It stinks that the Orioles are once again playing out the string in late September, with nothing to play for but pride. But that’s where we are. It’s an organization in need of drastic changes this offseason, if the lockout allows. For now, let’s just hope they can play somewhat entertaining baseball for these final 12 games.
Links
Blue Jays hit 3 straight homers off Trevor Rogers to capture series win vs. Orioles – The Baltimore Banner
I understand why the Orioles keep saying things like, “We’ve just got to turn the page and go on a hot streak.” But those words ring hollow when you’ve been hearing them for three months with the O’s continually failing to follow through.
Do Orioles platoon too much? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Every team platoons to a certain extent, but the O’s seem to be particularly obsessive about it. The world won’t end if you let your $67 million, 22-year-old catcher face some southpaws from time to time.
Bradish placed on injured list – School of Roch
This probably should have been done weeks earlier. But Bradish’s dud of a birthday outing was the last straw.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Two former Orioles were born on this day: right-hander Chad Bradford (52) and outfielder Delmon Young (41), which means I am obligated to post this video:
Never gets old.
On this day in 1980, the Orioles’ Eddie Murray bashed three solo home runs against the Blue Jays, including a game-tying blast in the ninth and a go-ahead shot in the top of the 11th. Unfortunately, he was the only Orioles hitter who showed up that day; Murray had four hits and the rest of the team combined had just three, and Eddie’s three homers accounted for the Birds’ only runs in an eventual 4-3 walkoff loss.
And on this date in 1987, Cal Ripken Jr.’s record consecutive innings streak of 8,264 ended when his father, O’s manager Cal Ripken Sr., took him out of the eighth inning in an 18-3 loss to the Blue Jays. The early exit, of course, didn’t affect his consecutive games streak, which was five years deep and continued for another 11 years.
Random Orioles game of the day
The random number generator has given me the number…2025. So I guess we’re only going back one year for this one. On Sept. 14, 2025, the Orioles were blasted in Toronto, 11-2. (Why is every Orioles game on Sept. 14 against Toronto?) The O’s held their own in a bullpen game for a while until reliever Carson Ragsdale, making his major league debut, coughed up eight runs in three innings. It was one of just two MLB appearances for Ragsdale, who is currently pitching for the Hanshin Tigers of the Japan Farm League. Solo homers by Coby Mayo and Colton Cowser provided the only runs for the Orioles, who dropped to 69-80.
