DENVER -- For most of the summer, the Orioles have been fighting an uphill battle. Their record twice dropped all the way down to nine games below .500 (39-48 on June 30 and 42-51 on July 8). They often sat somewhere between three and seven games under that mark.
But just before the calendar turned to September, Baltimore reached a point it hadn’t been at in four months: .500.
In the final night of August on Monday, the surging O’s improved to 69-69 with a series-opening 2-1 victory over the Rockies at Coors Field. The Orioles recorded their eighth win in 10 games and now sit only a half-game back of the Guardians (69-68) for the third American League Wild Card spot.
Baltimore hadn’t had a .500 record since it was 15-15 on April 30 in between games of a doubleheader against Houston.
However, it wouldn’t have happened this time without an unreal game-ending catch by Colton Cowser, who robbed Jake McCarthy of what would have been a walk-off two-run homer. Instead, Cowser made an incredible leaping catch at the center-field wall to end the contest.
The O’s continue to capitalize on a weaker part of their schedule, positioning themselves to play meaningful games in the final month of the regular season. So far on their current three-city, nine-game road trip, they have taken two of three from the Cardinals (68-70) and swept three vs. the A’s (53-85). Now, Baltimore is off to a strong start against Colorado (52-86).
Monday’s opener was delayed by thunderstorms for one hour and 38 minutes after the fifth inning. At that point, the game was tied at 1. The Rockies scored first on Jordan Beck’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, but the Orioles immediately responded with back-to-back doubles by Dylan Beavers and Samuel Basallo to open the top of the fifth.
After Baltimore starter Cade Povich tossed five innings of one-run ball -- and following the delay -- the O’s relief quartet of Grant Wolfram (two innings), Alex Hoppe (one-third), Rico Garcia (two-thirds) and Andrew Kittredge (one) combined to blank the Rox the rest of the way. Kittredge's shutdown ninth also notched his ninth save of the year, which sets a new career high.
The Orioles scored the decisive run in the seventh despite not recording a hit in the frame. They loaded the bases with one out via three walks and Coby Mayo scored from third when Cowser legged out a fielder’s choice grounder. (Cowser was initially ruled out at first for what would have been an inning-ending double play, but the call was overturned by replay review.)