BALTIMORE — It’s not like the Orioles need another test.
They play in the American League East. They’ve been underestimated most of 2023. They’ve been down 48 times in the regular season and rallied to win.
The Orioles don’t need to build character this time of year. They don’t need to show what they are made of, to prove their mettle.
But that’s what they are left with after getting knocked around by the Texas Rangers, 11-8, on Sunday at Camden Yards.
They now need three consecutive wins – starting Tuesday night in Arlington, Texas – in three games to advance in this tournament. If the Rangers win just one, the Orioles’ glorious, 101-victory campaign is over. And winter starts in Birdland.
“Our backs are against the wall right now and tonight wasn't our best night on the mound,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said after the loss. “We have to go to Texas and play well. We haven't played our two best games here. We played well on the road all year, so hopefully we can play well on the road.”
A three-win rally isn’t impossible. Remember, this team hasn’t been swept all season. It’s a group of young players that believes in itself more than most teams I’ve encountered.
The reality, though, is that any edge the Orioles had coming into the ALDS against the Rangers has fully disappeared: the homefield advantage, the raucous crowds, the better Game 1 starter.
All gone.
Even the Orioles’ significant bullpen edge has been neutralized, given that Orioles relievers were tasked with throwing 11 2/3 plus innings in two games. The Rangers’ bullpen still may not be as good, but it might be a little fresher.
The task left for the Orioles is to travel to Arlington and face veteran right-hander Nate Eovaldi, who has owned them in his career (8-2 with a 3.23 ERA) in 16 starts.
This is a completely different Orioles club, of course. Eovaldi hasn’t faced this one.
And these Orioles aren’t packing it in.
“We’ve found a way all year,” said Orioles outfielder Austin Hays. “A lot of come from behind wins. A lot of series where we lost the first couple games of the series and we fought hard and finished strong throughout the series. So, I’m confident our team can do that again like we’ve done all year.”
Because this team is so young and inexperienced, the players don’t know that maybe they skipped ahead in the rebuild process. Maybe this is just a learning experience for the next step. Many of these guys only have known winning in the big leagues. So, what’s three more in a row? It’s a great attitude to have.
But that youthful approach is both a boost and a hurdle. We saw that in the first two innings Sunday, when 23-year-old rookie Grayson Rodriguez made his first postseason start and 24th overall in the majors. He recorded just five outs and was charged with five runs, allowing six hits and four walks in 1 2/3 innings.
The Orioles didn’t make the wrong call by starting Rodriguez. He is uber-talented and incredibly poised. In the second half – after emerging from a minor-league demotion – Rodriguez was the Orioles second best starter behind only Kyle Bradish, who started the first game.
Rodriguez was the only choice to take the ball in Game 2. That’s not arguable, even in retrospect. But it was a difficult ask for a rookie: Neutralize one of the best and hottest offenses in the game and go six innings to give a little break to the bullpen during the first time with these lights in your eyes. He didn’t answer the challenge, but this won’t be his last call. The future is bright for Rodriguez. And most of the rest of his teammates.
The argument, however, can certainly be made that Rodriguez shouldn’t have had to be in this position. That the Orioles should have gotten a legitimate No. 1 or 2 in the offseason or at the trade deadline. The starter they acquired in August, Jack Flaherty, was used in mop-up duty on Sunday.
Of the two starters the Orioles picked up to boost the rotation this offseason, Kyle Gibson was warming in the bullpen in the ninth Sunday and Cole Irvin didn’t make the ALDS roster.
Gibson is one of two candidates to pitch Tuesday’s Game 3, along with Dean Kremer. The other would likely pitch Game 4 on Wednesday, if necessary.
Hyde said don’t read anything into Gibson being in the bullpen in the ninth. He had already used seven relievers and he needed an emergency arm in case something unpredictable occurred.
He said Gibson is still an option to pitch Tuesday.
“We need to win the next game,” Hyde said. “Pretty much everybody is going to be available.”
One thing that should be gleaned by this postseason – especially if the Orioles bow out soon – is that priority No. 1 in the offseason should again be a top-of-the-rotation starter, and preferably one with some postseason experience to join Bradish, Rodriguez, et al.
The priority for now, though, is to put these two roadblocks behind them, and get ready for the comeback of all comebacks starting Tuesday.
The challenge with the playoffs is that you play good teams every game. You must pitch well and hit well and field well every day.
If you don’t, you get beat, and sometimes clobbered.
The Orioles held the Rangers to three runs on Saturday but had just five hits and lost. They piled up 14 hits and eight runs Sunday but couldn’t pitch and lost again.
You must put full games together to win in the postseason. And these Orioles are running out of time. But it’s not over yet.
“It’s baseball. Anything can happen,” Hays said. “We were very confident we were gonna win the first two at home. That’s not how the cards played out. But now we’ve gotta win three in a row.”
