It has been a month since the MLB trade deadline passed. There have been some teams that sold who have gotten back into the postseason race. One of those teams is the Baltimore Orioles.
Beginning the third and final leg of a nine-game road trip against the Colorado Rockies, the Orioles are looking to close the gap on the Cleveland Guardians in the American League wild-card race. They had won five of the first six games on the trip. Baltimore won two out of three over the St. Louis Cardinals, and they swept the Athletics in West Sacramento over the past weekend.
If the Orioles are going to hang around in the wild-card race, they are going to need to win the series over the Rockies. Thanks to Colton Cowser, they got off on the right foot with an incredible game-ending play.
Baltimore Orioles Centerfielder Colton Cowser Makes Incredible Game-Winning Catch
Leading Colorado 2-1 entering the bottom of the ninth, the Rockies had the game-tying run on second base with two outs. Veteran outfielder Jake McCarthy stepped to the plate and hit a deep fly-ball to straightaway center field. Cowser tracked the ball and robbed McCarthy of a game-winning two-run home run to secure a 2-1 win at Coors Field.
“I was playing a little more shallow than I probably should have been in that situation. Just trying to cut down that runner (on second base) at home (if needed),” Cowser said, per Jake Rill of MLB.com. “They have such a big outfield where your normal depth is way deeper than what it should be, so it was more than normal depth. And kind of before the play — just kind of the whole inning — it was like, ‘If there’s a ball hit kind of deep, just get your head down and go.’
“And by the grace of God, we came down with it.”
Cowser did come down with it. Both teams had to endure a 1-hour and 38-minute rain delay, which created a long night at the ballpark. However, in the end, it was well worth the wait for Baltimore. Not only did Cowser save the game with his glove, but he won it with his bat also. His RBI groundout in the top of the seventh broke a 1-1 tie.
Baltimore Orioles Get Back To .500
The win moved the Orioles to 69-69. They are a half-game behind the Guardians for the third and final AL wild-card spot. After closing out the series in Denver with two more games, Baltimore will return home to begin a home stand with four games against the Boston Red Sox. Then, the Guardians visit for a pivotal three-game series next week.
Ironically, the Red Sox are the team that benefited from the Orioles’ trade deadline moves. They acquired catcher Adley Rutschman as the biggest move that Baltimore made for Carlos Narváez and prospects. Despite that move and trading outfielder Taylor Ward to the Seattle Mariners, Baltimore is remaining in the playoff hunt.
There is still a month of baseball left, but for one night, Cowser saved the game and may have the Orioles’ season with one catch. One that will be remembered if they can find a way into the playoffs at the end of the month.
Orioles Outfielder Colton Cowser Explains Incredible Game-Winning Catch