BALTIMORE -- If the Orioles have any hopes of contending this season -- and the manner in which they closed out the first half has caused some cautious excitement around Baltimore -- they’re going to have to claw through this slate. And then do more.
Much of that is because of the quality of competition. The Orioles are being welcomed out of the All-Star break with seven games against AL East foes they have struggled mightily against in recent history, ones they’re also chasing in the standings. It doesn’t get much easier from there.
Friday night sucked some of the Orioles’ momentum, as they fell to the Yankees, 7-6, at Camden Yards at the mercy of a two-homer game from Aaron Judge despite a late show of life from Anthony Santander. The loss dipped Baltimore back under .500, a mark the Orioles are entertaining because of a 10-game win streak that ended a week ago, and one they have lauded as a “significant mile marker” for Year 4 of the rebuild.
The Orioles’ first seven games out of the break are against the Yankees -- the best team in baseball -- and the Rays. They have played them far better this year than in years past, now with a combined 9-17 record against them after a 9-29 mark last season. But moral victories are just that.
“I feel like the majority of our losses are like this,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. “I'm just proud of our guys. I think that we continue to fight and scrap and claw our way back into games. Sometimes it would get away from us in the past. Our dugout stays into it, and we're right there.”
Even after this stretch is over, Baltimore still has 15 more games remaining against the Blue Jays, a team that set a franchise record with 28 runs in Boston on Friday night. In all, over half of the Orioles’ remaining 69 games this season are against AL East foes. They are 16-22 against the division this season compared to 30-25 against the rest of MLB.
The Orioles entered Friday with a strength of schedule the rest of the way that has an opponents’ winning percentage of .515 -- third toughest in baseball.
“This is the division we're in,” Hyde said pregame. “It's coming down the stretch now a little bit, and we're turning the corner on the second half. Love how we played the last couple of months before the first half ended. Just love to see us continue. We've been playing good teams all year and playing them tough and being competitive. We’re playing two teams that are ahead of us in our division that are important games.”
All the while, they are doing what they can to keep the focus internal. The sheer fact that talk of a postseason spot has found Baltimore is itself a revelation. But if things go south, the Orioles could see their approach change, selling off pieces as the sellers they were expected to be entering the season.
Truthfully, that change could happen no matter how the next couple of weeks unfold.
“I don't want to put any more pressure on our team, to be honest with you,” Hyde said. “… I don't want anything to change the vibe, and everything that's going on right now is really good. I don't think we need any sort of motivating speech. These guys know the position they put themselves in.”
The manner in which the Orioles fell on Friday night was important. It featured a rough outing for Tyler Wells, his five runs allowed snapping his Orioles record of 17 consecutive starts allowing three or fewer. Two middle-middle pitches to Judge did him in -- the AL MVP frontrunner’s seventh and eighth homers against Baltimore this season -- unaided by a two-out walk to Joey Gallo in the top of the third.
The Orioles did feature late life, as they have grown accustomed to showing this season. Santander’s three-run shot off Aroldis Chapman was the big swing, trimming the deficit to one in the seventh inning after the Yanks scored in five consecutive frames. And after Joey Krehbiel’s two-run outing, Bryan Baker, Félix Bautista and Dillon Tate combined to strike out seven of the nine batters they faced to keep Baltimore within striking distance.
The belief was long there to exit the ballpark victors on Friday night. That belief has been festering throughout the season, and it will be put to the test no more than in the next two-plus months.
“It's a matter of staying confident, just continuing to stay positive,” Santander said through interpreter Brandon Quinones. “We know we play well against these guys and we've done it all year long. There's been a couple rough and close losses here and there, but we feel confident every time we come to the ballpark and face these guys.”