The Baltimore Orioles faced two chances at playoff elimination on Wednesday.
They didn’t let either faze them.
If they had dropped either game of their doubleheader against the Toronto Blue Jays, that would’ve guaranteed another season without the postseason in Baltimore.
Instead, the Orioles swept their division rival, ending the Blue Jays’ playoff hopes in the process.
It doesn’t exactly make Baltimore’s path to the playoffs easy, but it does keep it alive — yep, we’re telling you there’s a chance.
Can Orioles Still Make Playoffs?
The Baltimore Orioles are still alive to make the MLB postseason.
They’re in a very specific scenario now that will require exact results from Baltimore, from the Chicago White Sox and from the Texas Rangers.
Orioles Playoff Scenario
The first step of this is the only one the Orioles have control over:
They have to sweep the New York Yankees in a three-game series at Yankee Stadium this weekend.
While that seems difficult, there is good news on that front for Baltimore. The Yankees are locked into their specific playoff spot, and so they have a lot less to play for this weekend than the Orioles. It would make sense for the Yanks to give their guys a bit of rest, and their pitching plan will essentially be to line up their studs for the Wild Card Round, so that could leave lesser arms to eat the bulk of the innings against Baltimore.
The second piece of the Orioles’ playoff equation is this: the White Sox can’t win again. They have four games left. They have to lose all four.
That will be easier said than done. The White Sox are in Kansas City to take on the Royals on Thursday afternoon — if Chicago wins, Baltimore is eliminated without even being on a field. Then the White Sox host the lowly Colorado Rockies for three games to end the regular season. It’d be a surprise if the Rockies swept them, but that’s what the Orioles would need.
Even if the Orioles go 3-0 and the White Sox go 0-4 to end the regular season, the Rangers could still ruin it, because they hold the tiebreaker on Baltimore.
The Orioles and Rangers both have 78 wins, but the Rangers have four games left plus the tiebreaker. That means Baltimore needs them to lose two out of four to close the season — with one more game remaining at home against the Mets, and then three in Minnesota against the Twins.
If all of that happens, the Orioles would be the American League’s third-and-final Wild Card team. Incredibly unlikely? Yes. But still a chance? Also yes.
How Orioles Can Still Make Playoffs in Wild Scenario