BALTIMORE -- Sept. 6 has been the date for some of the most memorable moments in Camden Yards history -- from Cal Ripken Jr.’s record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game played in 1995, to Eddie Murray’s 500th career home run in ‘96, to plenty more.
In 2012, the Orioles hit six home runs in a win over the Yankees on the night Ripken’s statue was unveiled in Legends Park. In ‘25, they spoiled a no-hit bid by Dodgers right-hander Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Jackson Holliday’s two-out homer in the ninth inning and rallied for four runs and a walk-off victory.
Sept. 6, 2026, won’t be remembered quite as fondly in Baltimore, where the hopes of seeing postseason baseball played here this October are quickly dissipating.
The Orioles’ losing streak reached a season-long six games on Sunday afternoon, as the Red Sox secured a 3-1 win and a sweep of a four-game series. Eli White’s go-ahead three-run homer off Kyle Bradish in the second inning proved to be enough offense for Boston.
After finally getting back to .500 on Monday, the O’s (69-75) haven’t won since. They’re now four games back of the third American League Wild Card spot, which is occupied by the Guardians (73-71). The Orioles are also behind the Blue Jays (72-72) and Rangers (71-73), and they’re tied with the Twins (68-74).
It’s the first time Baltimore has lost six or more in a row since an eight-game skid from May 14-20, 2025, a slide sandwiched around the dismissal of manager Brandon Hyde on May 17.
“Of all the blows we've taken this year,” manager Craig Albernaz said, “this is by far the biggest.”
“This was definitely a big letdown this weekend,” Bradish added.
Bradish was critical of himself for the 1-0 slider he hung to White, who then deposited the offering over the left-field wall. But all three runs were unearned because the home run followed an error by shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who had a chance to get the O’s out of the inning.
It was also another tough day for the Orioles’ offense. Their only run came in the first, when Coby Mayo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand hit back-to-back two-out doubles off left-hander Payton Tolle. The southpaw then settled in to toss six strong innings with 12 strikeouts.
Baltimore struck out a season-high 17 times, and it has scored only one run in its past 27 innings. Boston starters Ranger Suarez and Sonny Gray each tossed seven scoreless frames in the Red Sox’s shutout victories the previous two days.
“All of our guys have the juice in the tank and know how they can impact it, and sometimes, it’s not throttling down, it’s understanding what the pitcher is trying to do to you, understanding the attack plan, watching the game,” Albernaz said. “These guys are prepared, but when you go into the box, you have to trust it and believe it and be willing to be wrong sometimes.
“Our guys, they have the ability to hit the ball all over the yard. But sometimes, it’s really tough to do if the pitcher is not giving it to you. Our guys, when we’re at our best, we’re diligent and stubborn to our approach and we’re making the starter work. In this series, we didn’t do that.”
Time is running out. But the only positive for the Orioles is the schedule. Their next series is a three-game home set vs. the Guardians, and they still have six to play against the Blue Jays (three in Toronto beginning Friday, then three at home from Sept. 21-23).
If the O’s play well against those two teams, then they could still have a chance for the playoffs.
“We’ve got to win tomorrow, win the day after that and win the day after that,” Bradish said. “We’ve got Cleveland and Toronto coming up, those are kind of the two teams ahead of us. So if we take care of business, we should be back to where we want to be.”
With only 18 games remaining, however, Baltimore can’t afford to let this skid spiral further.
“We just need to take a breath right now,” Henderson said. “We can still make up some ground. Can’t try to force it all at once. So, it’s pretty much now or never. We’ve got to get it going.”
“We can't look back and play, 'We could have done this,' or, 'Should have done that,’” Albernaz said. “We have to move on and get ready for Cleveland coming in, because they're ahead of us and it's a big series."