BALTIMORE -- When Friday began, the Orioles sat three games out of a postseason spot. When Friday ended, the Orioles still sat three games out of a postseason spot.
But at this point in the season, treading water isn’t enough. Baltimore is running out of time to gain ground, and it missed an opportunity to do so Friday night.
The O’s showed plenty of fight in the series opener vs. the MLB-best Brewers at Camden Yards, twice rallying back from deficits (including once in the bottom of the ninth inning). However, Baltimore’s three-game winning streak was snapped by a 6-5, 10-inning loss.
With eight games to play, the Orioles (75-79) are behind the White Sox (78-76), Rangers (77-77) and Blue Jays (76-78) in the race for the third American League Wild Card berth.
“Losing right now is tough,” third baseman Coby Mayo said. “Obviously, we did a great job rallying back, and you’re going to have those games where you rally back and lose. You’re going to have the games where you rally back and win.”
It was so close to being one that fell in that latter group.
After Jackson Chourio gave Milwaukee a 3-0 lead with a three-run homer in the second, Pete Alonso responded with a three-run home run of his own in the third. That was the game’s only offense over the first eight innings.
The Brewers appeared to take control of the game in the ninth, plating a pair of runs on William Contreras’ go-ahead RBI double and Christian Yelich’s RBI single. But the O’s answered back to tie the game at 5 vs. closer Trevor Megill.
Gunnar Henderson led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and Coby Mayo followed with his third double of the night. Both came around to score on sacrifice flies by Samuel Basallo and Christian Encarnacion-Strand.
Milwaukee took the lead in the top of the 10th on an RBI single by Sal Frelick. But Baltimore went down in order without scoring a run in the bottom of the inning.
“Our guys have shown resilience all year in coming back. We have numerous comebacks and keep on clawing, fighting back. But also we know where we’re at right now. We’ve got to win as many games as we can is an understatement,” manager Craig Albernaz said. “Always proud of our guys’ fight, but a loss still hurts.”
Every game at the moment has a postseason-like feel for the O’s, who are trying hard to keep their season alive. And Albernaz, fittingly, managed this one like a playoff contest.
The Orioles lifted Cade Povich in the fourth after the left-hander threw only 71 pitches in 3 2/3 innings during a spot start. They deployed seven relievers, the first four combining for four scoreless frames to keep the game tied.
In the seventh, Baltimore had runners on first and second with no outs when Basallo twice tried a sac bunt (though he was unsuccessful). The O’s failed to score during the rally, despite their attempt to play small ball.
Albernaz said Basallo approached him in the dugout with the idea of bunting in the situation.
“It was a tough lefty matchup. I get where he was coming from,” Albernaz said. “If our players want to give up themselves for the team, with first and second, I’m always for it.”
The Orioles will play two more vs. the Brewers this weekend. Then, they’ll host the Blue Jays for three before ending the campaign with a three-game series against the Yankees in New York next weekend.
Whether or not Baltimore ends up in the postseason, it’s giving its best effort to try to make it happen. It’s even apparent from members of the opposition.
“I'll tell you, this is an authentic feeling I had all game -- I don't know what place [the Orioles] are in or where they're at in the standings, but to have those guys playing the way [Albernaz has] got those guys playing, the commitment and the way the fans are into the game, they're playing like a first-place team,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "The energy and the enthusiasm in Game [154], that was impressive, man. You see Alonso, one of the best hitters in the game, on the top rail the whole game, talking about what the pitcher has. I was so impressed.
"That guy managing the team over there, he's got their attention. That was special."