It was a memorable night at Oriole Park. The Orioles celebrated their first American League East title since 2014, and the team announced it had agreed to a new 30-year lease with the Maryland Stadium Authority and the State of Maryland.
The Orioles’ 2-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox before an announced crowd of 27,543 on Thursday night secured the title. On September 17th, the Orioles clinched their first playoff spot since 2016.
They’ll host the American League Division Series, beginning on October 7th. The win gave the Orioles their 100th win for the first time since 1980, and their 10th AL East crown
At the end of the third inning, Orioles Chairman and CEO John Angelos and Maryland Governor Wes Moore were pictured on the scoreboard when the new lease announcement was made.
Anthony Santander hit his 28th home run with two outs in the bottom of the first to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead against Boston starter Chris Sale (6-5).
Oriole starter Dean Kremer (13-5) pitched 5 1/3 innings and was removed with runners on first and third and one out in the sixth.
DL Hall struck out pitch-hitter Adam Duvall and Alex Verdugo grounded to second to end the inning.
Kremer threw 88 pitches, allowing two hits and a walk. He struck out eight.
Hall retired the Red Sox in order in the seventh.
Yennier Cano allowed a one-out hit to Connor Wong and was removed after he struck out Ceddanne Rafaela. After Wong stole second, Cionel Pérez retired Rafael Devers on a grounder to first baseman Ryan O’Hearn.
Adam Frazier walked to lead off the bottom of the eighth against Zack Kelly. With one-out, pinch-hitter Heston Kjerstad’s bloop double scored Frazier for a 2-0 lead.
Tyler Wells pitched a spotless ninth for his first save since 2021.
Notes: The win extended the Orioles’ streak of series without a sweep to 91, fourth longest in baseball. … John Means (1-1, 2.60) and Nick Pivetta (9-9, 4.25) are scheduled to start on Friday.