BALTIMORE -- The Orioles’ odds of reaching the postseason are taking a drastic hit. And as manager Craig Albernaz said Friday night, “We’ve done it to ourselves.”
On Saturday night, Baltimore’s losing streak reached a season-high-tying five games with a 5-0 loss to Boston at Camden Yards. It’s the first time the O’s have dropped that many consecutive contests since April 30-May 4, when they lost one vs. the Astros at home and then got swept in a four-game set against the Yankees in New York.
The timing of the Orioles’ current skid is about the worst imaginable. They finally got back to .500 on Monday by improving to 69-69 -- their first time at the mark since April 30 -- and have since lost two at Colorado and three to Boston, which eyes a four-game sweep on Sunday.
“We’re just falling on our faces right now,” Albernaz said. “Like I’ve been saying all year, I know it’s tough for the fans to hear, but we’ve been in this spot multiple times this year and our guys continue to find a way to keep on going, and that’s all we can do.”
The O’s (69-74) are now three games back of the third American League Wild Card spot, which features a tie between the Blue Jays (72-71) and the Guardians (72-71). The Rangers (70-73) are also ahead of the Orioles.
It’s impossible to win without scoring any runs, which is what Baltimore has done twice in a row.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit a two-run home run off Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman in the ninth inning of Thursday’s 6-5 loss. Since then, Boston has tossed back-to-back shutouts -- courtesy of the trio of Ranger Suarez (seven innings), Garrett Whitlock (one) and Chapman (one) on Friday and the quartet of Sonny Gray (seven), Jovani Morán (one-third), Greg Weissert (two-thirds) and Wyatt Olds (one) on Saturday.
The Orioles loaded the bases with two outs in the eighth inning on Saturday, but Pete Alonso went down swinging on a three-pitch strikeout by right-hander Weissert. It was the continuation of a team-wide offensive slump that began when they scored only nine total runs across a three-game series at hitter-friendly Coors Field earlier this week.
“Honestly, we just need to do a better job of just capitalizing on pitches in the zone and not expanding,” Alonso said. “That's just getting back to basics, focusing on shrinking the zone in offensive counts, not giving the pitchers anything and, also, when they do come over the heart of the plate, don't miss the mistakes.”
At this moment, it feels like nothing has been going Baltimore’s way.
The game was scoreless in the sixth inning, when Boston loaded the bases with two outs against right-hander Chris Bassitt. Albernaz went to the mound to check on the 36-year-old right-hander -- who had thrown 88 pitches to that point -- then decided to leave him in.
Then, Eli White hit a broken-bat, 69.1 mph flare into shallow left field for a two-run single.
Bassitt, who pitched well for 5 2/3 innings, was visibly frustrated after the game. The 12-year MLB veteran knows there’s not much of the season remaining, and the O’s have to halt this skid before it becomes too late.
“We’ve always got to be better. That’s it. We’ve got to be better,” Bassitt said. “Literally, you can try to point fingers, try to put blame on stuff. It is what it is. Yeah, we’ve got to start winning games. There’s not many games left. We’ve got to start winning.”
Since MLB’s postseason format expanded to include a third Wild Card in each league in 2022, the fewest number of wins a playoff team has recorded during the regular season is 83. Last year, the Reds went 83-79 and secured the final NL postseason berth.
In order for the Orioles to finish 83-79, they would need to go 14-5 over their final 19 games, a stretch that includes series against the Guardians, Blue Jays, Brewers and Yankees, all teams in the postseason mix. Maybe it will take fewer wins -- the race for the third AL Wild Card is quite competitive -- but Baltimore has to play better than it is currently.
How do the O’s regroup, get back on track and still make a push into the playoffs over the next three weeks?
“Win tomorrow. Win tomorrow, got to turn the page,” Alonso said. “Obviously, losing the series [to Boston], this is a big series, tough. But we have to win tomorrow. And I know Cleveland [this week], that's a big series as well. They're just as much in the hunt as we are.
"The only way to regroup and move forward is to win."