Orioles Late Inning Collapse Keeps Wild Card Race Close
By Ben Palmer
The Baltimore Orioles late-inning collapse against the New York Yankees will keep the season close down to the very end.
The Orioles had a chance to put themselves in a commanding lead for the Wild Card spot with another win against the Yankees, and for the first six innings last night it looked like they were going to do just that.
When the Orioles took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth, it seemed like it was about time to get the champagne ready. Wade Miley had been dominant, and one of the best bullpens in baseball was ready to shut things down when needed.
Then all of a sudden everyone blinked, the Orioles lost 7-3, and Baltimore fans were left staring at their TVs in disappointment. Some fans may even have been cleaning up the shards of a lamp that mysteriously broke in the bottom of the eighth or explaining to their kids what that word meant that they shouted at the TV and why it’s not a nice word to say.
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So what happened? There’s no way around it, the Orioles just completely collapsed. I give a lot of credit to the Yankees; they kept fighting, and it worked out. The game started out well, with the Orioles being able to put up three runs against Luis Severino, who in all honesty, had some great stuff working. His two-seam fastball was sharp and had some serious bite to it, he just struggled a little with his command, and the Orioles were able to take advantage of it.
Coming into this game, I was just praying that Miley wouldn’t be the dumpster fire of a pitcher that he typically is (despite the random, odd deviations into looking semi-competent) and would keep the score down at least a little bit.
Not only did he do that, but he dominated, ending the night with a 2.81 FIP and nine strikeouts. Yes, Miley gave up three runs which ultimately lead to the game being tied, but overall, he looked excellent, and I have to give him a lot of credit.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | |
| Yankees | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | - | 7 |
| Orioles | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
The real kill shot came in the bottom of the eighth, when All-Star Brad Brach came into a tie game and, as he put it, just sucked, giving up four runs on two hits with two walks. It was uncharacteristic for Brach, and especially for the Orioles bullpen in general, who was the best in baseball over the past month.
Now, the season comes down to the final game, which airs this afternoon at 3:05 PM, and the fact that the Blue Jays beat the Red Sox 4-3 last night makes things even tighter.
Next: Unlikely Heroes Helping O's in Playoff Race
It’ll be Kevin Gausman against Luis Cessa, and if the Orioles can keep things together, they’ll be back in the playoffs for the third time in three years.