Baltimore Orioles: Forget the Division, Playoffs in Jeopardy
By Joe Serpico
The Baltimore Orioles have let the American League East slip away from them. Now, they have to focus on not missing the playoffs entirely.
Baseball is a cruel sport sometimes.
After leading the AL East for much of the season, the Baltimore Orioles are now six games back in the division with 10 games remaining. The Red Sox capitalized on a disaster sixth inning to cement their lead. It’s safe to say the division is out of their grasps.
What is more troublesome is that the Orioles are slumping at the worst time and any playoff chance is slipping away.
Baltimore holds the second AL Wild Card spot, but they have several teams nipping at their heels. The Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros are just a game back from the O’s. The Seattle Mariners are two back, while those pesky New York Yankees are two and a half behind.
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It was not a clean outing, but Ubaldo Jimenez left the game in the sixth inning with his still leading. Then, the wheels fell off. On what should have been an inning-ending double play, Chris Davis throw to Brad Brach sailed into the camera well, allowing two to score. On Brach’s next pitch, Andrew Benintendi launched a three-run home run to put the nail in the coffin on the Orioles division race.
The two teams could not be any different at this point of this season. The Red Sox are red hot right now, winning 10 of the last 13, all against divisional opponents. Meanwhile, the Orioles have lost three straight and five of their last seven games.
More troubling for the Orioles is their inability to score as of late. They lead the Majors in home runs with 238, but have failed to score over two runs in five straight games and seven of their last 10 games. All season long, the starting pitching was said to be the source of the O’s woes, but in September it has been the bats that have hurt their postseason chances.
The collapse has been brutal to watch after they lead the division for 111 days. Two teams chasing them for playoff spots, the Astros and Mariners, have owned the Orioles this year. Both teams are 6-1 against Baltimore and those series could be the deciding factor come October.
Next: AL East Comes Down to Game 3 vs. Red Sox
There are only four more games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards this season before they close out the season on the road for six games. The Baltimore Orioles need their bats to wake up or many season ticket holders will be getting a refund on their postseason ticket purchases.