When the Baltimore Orioles signed Pete Alonso over the winter and traded for outfielder Taylor Ward, they had visions of competing for an American League wild-card spot.
However, things haven’t gone as planned. Ward has since been traded to the Seattle Mariners, and the Orioles are in the basement of the American League East. Not all is lost, though. Thanks to a third wild-card slot, they are well within striking distance of a playoff berth.
Baltimore is two games back of the Cleveland Guardians for the third wild-card spot. To get there, they need to jump four teams. After missing a chance to sweep the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday, the Orioles are heading out on a nine-game road trip. It could be one that determines their postseason fate. Manager Craig Albernaz had a message on the upcoming three-city trip.
Baltimore Orioles Manager Craig Albernaz Sends Message Before Road Trip
Scoreless into the sixth on Sunday, the Rays scored three runs with two outs off former teammate Shane Baz in what turned into a 3-1 victory. That loss dropped Baltimore to 63-68, but just two games back in the wild-card race.
“We can’t look nine games ahead. We have to look at the game in front of us,” Albernaz said, per Jake Rill of MLB.com. “I think that’s where teams go awry, is that they’ll look at the end of the finish line before they actually run the race. For us, it was a good series here. Tough one today. Took a series against a really good team, and off-day tomorrow.
“Then we have a real tough opponent in St. Louis. And for us, our guys need to recover. It’s that time of year, like we’ve talked about, all the guys are banged up, just like everyone else across the league. Good day of recovery, and then come out ready to compete on Tuesday.”
The Orioles will visit the St. Louis Cardinals, Athletics and Colorado Rockies. The Cardinals will be coming off being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies. Baltimore will then head to Sacramento to play the Athletics and then visit the Rockies. Six games against the two worst teams in each league could be what the Orioles need.
Baltimore will open the trip against an angry Cardinals team. Up 4-0 on the Phillies Sunday with two outs, Philadelphia rallied with six runs for a 6-4 win. It was capped by a two-run Kyle Schwarber walk-off home run.
Baltimore Orioles Face Pivotal Road Trip
Surprisingly, the Orioles are still in this position. Aside from Ward, they also traded catcher Adley Rutschman to the Boston Red Sox. It wasn’t surprising that they sold at the deadline, but they’re still within striking distance of a playoff berth.
Baltimore will send Chris Bassitt, Kyle Bradish, and Trevor Rogers to the mound in St. Louis, looking to get the trip off to a good start. From there, they will play six games against the Athletics and Rockies. This trip will either keep them in the race or slide the Orioles further behind as they look ahead to the offseason.
Baltimore Orioles Manager Craig Albernaz Sends Clear Message Ahead of Pivotal Road Trip