Orioles face difficult road in final month of season

BALTIMORE—The Orioles have 27 games to play, and they must play well and hope that the three teams ahead of them in the wild-card standings, the Seattle Mariners, Tampa Bay Rays and Toronto Blue Jays, stumble.

After Monday’s doubleheader loss, the Orioles will have to go 19-8 to win 90 games, which may not necessarily guarantee a playoff spot. The Blue Jays, who are currently the third and final wild-card team, would have to win only 15 of their final 28 games to win 90.

The Orioles are capable of running off a streak that could vault them back into the picture. Since July 3^rd, when their 10-game winning streak began, they’re 36-20.

After losing two games at Seattle and two in Minnesota, the Orioles were 35-44 and were 23 games out of first place. They had the fourth-worst record in the American League, and a wild-card berth wasn’t a consideration.

Even a .500 record would have been considered an accomplishment. Now, a .500 record would be a disappointment. That would mean a 10-17 finish.

If the Orioles get hot and end the regular season in a tie with Seattle or Tampa Bay, they lose. The Orioles dropped four of six to the Mariners and were 9-10 against the Rays. Even with Monday’s doubleheader loss to the Blue Jays, they’re 6-5 against Toronto.

There are eight games remaining with Toronto — on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, a three-game series at the Rogers Centre on September 16^th-18^th, and the final three games of the season at Camden Yards October 3^rd-5^th.

The Orioles have seven games left with Boston, three at Oriole Park September 9^th-11^th, and four in Boston (September 26^th-29^th).

There are five games left with teams not in contention, two at Washington (September 13^th-14^th) and Detroit (September 19^th-21^st). They also play four against Houston (September 22^nd-25^th as Trey Mancini makes his return and three against the suddenly vulnerable New York Yankees in the Bronx (September 30^th-October 2^nd).

They don’t have to play out of the Eastern time zone, and 15 of the final 27 are at home.