'This one hurts': O's lament missed opportunities late as road trip ends on sour note

DENVER -- Every game matters in the midst of a postseason race. And with how crowded the American League Wild Card picture is this year, a single win or loss could determine whether a team is playing in October or heading into the offseason early.

Wednesday afternoon’s game at Coors Field could be one the Orioles will most regret if they end up missing out on the postseason.

“Very disappointing,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “This one hurts.”

Baltimore had two opportunities to finish off Colorado in the rubber game between the two clubs, but the O’s failed to put away the Rockies in a 6-5, 11-inning loss. Brett Sullivan hit a walk-off two-run single off Grant Wolfram in the bottom of the 11th to end it.

You could look at the Orioles’ three-city, nine-game road trip and think they’d be pleased with a 6-3 showing. They took two of three from the Cardinals, then swept three against the A’s.

But the Rockies (54-86) have the worst record in the National League and are a team well out of the postseason conversation. This felt like an opportunity for the O’s to earn another sweep -- or at least take two of three -- and instead, they lost two of three. And not only that, but they earned a 2-1 win in the opener, thanks to Colton Cowser’s game-saving homer-robbing catch.

Baltimore scored only nine runs during the three-game set at the hitter-friendly high-altitude park in Denver. Only two other teams have scored that few over a three-game series at Coors this season -- Houston (nine, April 6-8) and Kansas City (eight, July 31-Aug. 2). No team in 2025 plated fewer than 10 runs during a three-game set at the ballpark.

“Ultimately, the road trips right now, they’re OK, but not good enough,” Albernaz said. “When we have the lead, we’ve got to close it out.”

The Orioles (69-71) certainly had their chances.

With a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth, Andrew Kittredge was one out away from a save. Instead, the 36-year-old right-hander gave up back-to-back doubles to Cole Carrigg and Zac Veen, allowing the contest to go to extras.

After neither team scored in the 10th, Baltimore took a 5-3 lead in the 11th, as Samuel Basallo and Blaze Alexander each had an RBI single. It marked the first time the O’s had scored since a three-run rally in the third.

But Wolfram couldn’t lock it down in the bottom of the 11th. The 29-year-old southpaw gave up a leadoff RBI single to TJ Rumfield. He struck out both Carrigg and Veen, but he then yielded a ground-rule double to Adael Amador, giving Colorado runners on second and third.

Sullivan stepped to the plate and worked the count full, before connecting on a sinker and sending it into left field for the game-ending hit.

“We didn't get the job done today. Should have won the game. We didn't. Very frustrated. We're all frustrated right now,” said left-hander Trevor Rogers, who recorded a career-high 11 strikeouts over 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball. “But we’ve got to flush it as soon and quickly as we can. We’ve got some really important ballgames. ... We’ve got to flush this one, as frustrating as it is, and continue to play good baseball, because we're not out of it.”

Everything Rogers said there was correct.

The Orioles are in the AL Wild Card race. They’re still only 1 1/2 games back of the Guardians for the third AL Wild Card spot.

And “really important ballgames” doesn’t even fully explain the stretch Baltimore is entering.

Of the O’s final 22 games, 19 are against teams in the postseason hunt. They return home this week for four games vs. the Red Sox and three vs. the Guardians, both teams currently in playoff position.

There will be six games vs. the Blue Jays (another team in the AL Wild Card mix), three against the NL-best Brewers and three vs. the Yankees (currently the top AL Wild Card).

So, there’s no time for the Orioles to dwell on what could have been in Colorado. They have to regroup and prepare for the 3 1/2-week stretch that will determine their fate.

“Personally, I already flushed this loss and I’m worried about Boston tomorrow,” Alexander said. “Get to go back home. We’ve got two really big series, Boston and Cleveland. And yeah man, we’re going to show up and give our best.”