Baltimore Orioles Playing Out the String

Sep 28, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters (32) throws Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak (not pictured) out at first base during the eighth inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Toronto Blue Jays defeated Baltimore Orioles 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

For the Baltimore Orioles, a painful season is limping to a fitting conclusion.

On Thursday, the Baltimore Orioles still had an outside chance to make the playoffs.  They sat 3.5 games out of first place, with a struggling Houston team going into Texas to play the division-leading Rangers.

Well, it was all for naught.  The O’s went to Boston and laid a giant egg. Rich Hill absolutely dominated them on Friday night in a lopsided shutout loss.

The next day, the Red Sox went with a bullpen game, started by Craig Breslow, who the team had already rocked earlier this year. Again, in a bullpen game, the Orioles put no runs up on the board, and also played terrible defense in another lopsided shutout loss.

More from Baltimore Orioles

• What other Baltimore Orioles Offseason Storylines will you be interested in seeing?
• Baltimore Orioles to Face Numerous Playoff Contenders Down the Stretch
• Baltimore Orioles Showing Encouraging Signs During Recent Wins
• The Baltimore Orioles and the Expanded September Roster
• Orioles Josh Rogers Expectations in his Major League Debut

Then on Sunday it was Henry Owens‘ time to shut down the Orioles’ bats, as the O’s were shutout for the series.

Playoff chances, dead and gone. Chance of finishing at .500, shrinking quickly.

So, then the O’s came home to Baltimore to face the division-leading Jays.

Maybe the O’s can not let the Jays clinch on their field, fans thought.

And early on, it looked good. Ryan Flaherty had a three-run home run and Chris Tillman was cruising.  But, once he was pulled, the bullpen, and particularly two of the best parts of an overworked bullpen, Brad Brach and Darren O’Day, coughed up the lead, and the game.

And the O’s suffered another late-inning loss. The team just looks like they are playing out the string.

No, they haven’t turned on each other like it appears the Nationals may have. But, they also appear to be just trying to wrap up a disappointing season.

Fans of the Baltimore Orioles expected the team in the playoffs.  The team had even higher expectations. But, the team could never put it together, and every time they got close enough to make a run at a playoff spot, they came out and got dominated in a series.

The 2015 season is about to wrap up. We will have recaps on the season, we will go over why predictions didn’t work out. I will look at the position-by-position breakdowns and see where I was right, and where I was way off.

But, despite football being on now, and hockey preseason starting, and basketball as well, you might want to see if you can find time to watch one last Orioles game.

Because by the time we get to spring training next year, this Baltimore Orioles team is going to look a lot different, and the team might be worse off because of it.