The Orioles’ operating existence has been in the moment. That’s the only way they know how. Venture too far back and you’ll see years of toiling, 100-loss seasons filling the memory bank. Too far forward and you’re allowing the bit of momentum seized this season to possibly fall into a mirage.
Well, there’s no bigger present than right now.
Sunday’s 5-0 loss to the A’s at Camden Yards was a letdown, as the Orioles allowed a series sweep to fall by the wayside and more importantly, failed to keep pace with the Blue Jays in the Wild Card hunt. It was the O’s eighth shutout loss of the year and their first since July 24 — this one ending a string of five consecutive wins.
They can do much to wash away any ill feelings as soon as Monday, arguably their biggest slate of games in the past six years. That’s when Baltimore welcomes Toronto for four games in a span of three days, starting off with a doubleheader. The Orioles enter the slate 2 1/2 games back of the Blue Jays for the third and final American League Wild Card spot; the two teams play one another 10 times across the O’s final 29 contests.
That deficit can slim to as little as a half-game or balloon to as much as 4 1/2 games come Monday evening. Six years ago, the Orioles punched their last ticket to the postseason amid a back-and-forth Wild Card battle with Toronto.
“We’re going to have to let it go right away, get some rest and come back for a long day tomorrow,” manager Brandon Hyde told reporters. “We’re disappointed with today’s outcome, but we’re going to have three big days in a row now.
“A lot of our guys have never been in this position in September. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
That the Orioles operate at the moment also serves them in the micro. Head back to July 3 — the day Baltimore began its 10-game win streak that vaulted them into contention — when the club saw itself 7 1/2 games back of the Wild Card with five teams between it and postseason contention. Entering Sunday, the Orioles’ 36-17 record from July 3 forward was third best in the Majors, behind only the Dodgers (42-13) and Mariners (37-16).
Also in that span, Baltimore has moved itself from last place in the AL East, 23 games back of the Yankees in first, to now fourth place, just 8 1/2 games back of New York. The O’s would be in first place in the AL Central.
But in recent days, since they temporarily sat in postseason position after a win over Tampa Bay on Aug. 12 and then saw teams around them surge all the same, the Orioles have made up little ground on the third Wild Card spot. At the very least, they’ve kept pace with Toronto for the most part, until Sunday, when the Blue Jays capped a sweep of the Pirates while Spenser Watkins was hit around nine times and conceded four runs. Toronto enters the week 5-1 in its last six games.
“The morale is still good,” Watkins said. “I mean, yeah, we played a bad game. It is what it is. Going into Toronto, I think everybody’s still hungry. We see that Wild Card spot, and we’re going to fight for it.”
In order to try and make up any ground against the Blue Jays this week, the Orioles will need to go through three horses of Toronto’s rotation, starting with Cy Young hopeful and old friend Kevin Gausman and ending with Cy Young hopeful and new foe Alek Manoah .
Pumping air into the O’s wings, though, is how aptly they’ve stacked up against the Blue Jays so far this year — now 6-3 in the nine contests to date, while outscoring them 48-45. Last year, Baltimore was 5-14 against Toronto.
“I think we played a lot of close games, and I think we played them well,” Hyde said. “But it’s the same core group of guys that we’ve seen now for a few years. They’re really dangerous.”
Two weeks from Sunday, the Orioles will have wrapped up their final trip to Toronto this season. After that point, they will have 17 games left to try and will themselves into the postseason. Until that point, their outlook might still not be clear.
The O’s season could very well be determined by their season series result against the Blue Jays. But frustrating is that, in the end, they finished the year 3-4 against the AL-worst A’s.
.