Finally healthy and confident, the Baltimore Orioles are ready for the 2024 MLB postseason.
About 30 minutes after the Orioles concluded their regular season with a 6-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, they learned their postseason will begin with a best-of-three wild-card series with the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday in Camden Yards. First pitch is at 4:08 p.m.
The Royals claimed the No. 5 seed in the American League on Sunday with a 4-2 win in Atlanta.
Detroit slipped to the No. 6 spot with a 9-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox, who set a modern-day record with 121 losses on Friday night, but closed the regular season with two straight wins over the Tigers.
Detroit entered the series as the hottest team in baseball and appeared set for a trip to Baltimore to begin postseason play.
Ah, the beauty of baseball.
Instead, the Tigers will open in Houston, the AL Central champions.
The Orioles believe they’re prepared
Baltimore overcame a mountain of injuries this season to make the postseason. Orioles’ General Manager Mike Elias said he feels those trials have helped prepare the team for the postseason ahead.
“This team did a fantastic job, battling through the injuries, the adversities, there never seemed to be any panic. It’s going to be great to see this team moving forward into the playoffs,” said Elias.
For the first time since the 1996-1997 seasons, the Orioles are headed to the postseason in consecutive years, but it wasn’t easy.
A pitching staff that began the year with All-Star closer Felix Bautista out for the season, continuing to rehab from a late 2023 Tommy John surgery.
Then season-ending injuries to starters John Means and Kyle Bradish left the club scrambling for pitching arms.
Then came the barrage of injuries to position players Ramon Urias, Jorge Mateo, Ryan Mountcastle and All-Star Jordan Westburg.
Externally, the Orioles placed a positive spin on the injuries for much of the season. They said all the right things and expressed confidence that by the end of the season, everything would be fine.
And, according to Elias, it is. “Hey, we’re finally getting healthy, we have the nucleus of the team we thought we would have, and that’s all we had hoped for,” Elias said.
The fortunes of the 2023 season didn’t last
The 2023 regular season was flawless for Baltimore.
The team broke out and won 101 games, avoiding many injuries, and had an amazing ability to win close games, with a 32-16 mark in one-run outcomes.
The 2023 team was an assembly of young players and veterans who played like they were the better team on the field each game.
They played carefree baseball; they didn’t know any other way.
In 2024, the club found out good fortune only lasted so long.
The low-point in the 2024 season, injury-wise came on Aug. 31, when starter Dean Kremer and super-utility player Urias both left the game against the Colorado Rockies with injuries.
Oriole Nation understandably had an edge, as the months of injuries and inconsistent play began taking a toll.
As August turned into September, the club was still struggling. Looking into the Orioles dugout, it was apparent the energy was not present. The roster was supported by journeymen, late season replacements, waiting for regulars to return.
The 2024 season has been one of difficulties, an injury list that is only now starting to slow as the postseason begins.
The same adversities that the 2023 season lacked.
The second season offers new hopes
All the difficulties the Orioles played through in 2024 will be history when the Orioles host their second playoff series in as many years.
Many of the injured players are back, and the club is starting to look like the team that began the season. A potent offense, and solid bullpen helped the Orioles to a solid start over the first three months of the 2024 season.
For much of the second half of the season the prevailing message from the Orioles was: Just wait until we’re healthy.
Elias echoed that message, saying, “there’s something positive about having familiar faces return, now that they are here, I think the confidence has returned, that we haven’t had since July.”
The regular season is over. The 91 regular-season wins are over; the Orioles’ record is now 0-0.
The playoffs ahead, many of the players healthy, the Orioles have hope that October baseball will feel more like 2023.
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