Peter Schmuck’s short take: If the Orioles are going to make a playoff run, they better start sprinting right now

Considering the way the 2026 season has gone, it’s nice to see the Orioles put together a couple of series wins over the past week, but we all know that won’t be enough.

Two steps forward, one step back might be acceptable under other circumstances, but the O’s find themselves needing to win at least five of the games remaining on this long road trip if they want to keep hope alive heading into a September stretch that includes next weekend’s homecoming series against the Red Sox, the red-hot wild-card rival Guardians next and the sport’s winningest team – the amazing Milwaukee Brewers – lurking at mid-month.

Anything’s possible, of course, even for the team with the toughest remaining schedule of all the American League wild-card contenders, but it ought to tell you something that MASN sponsor Bet365 posted the Orioles as a 125-1 long shot to win the World Series.

Those are some pretty high odds for a team that is just three games out of the final AL playoff spot, even one that has had such a disappointing season. The Orioles still have pretty good pitching and an MVP caliber first baseman on a terrific heater right now, so it’s conceivable that they could get on a big roll, but you have to have quite an imagination to conceive it.

Why? Because they are also a team that just can’t seem to build on success. They finally put three solid offensive performances in a row in St. Louis, but once again could not complete a three-game sweep that would have jumped them close to the .500 mark.

We’ve been saying all along that in the muddled AL wild-card race that anybody could get on a roll and take control and – unfortunately for Orioles fans – that anybody is the Guardians, who have won seven games in a row and have only a couple of solid playoff contenders on their remaining schedule.

That’s why the Orioles have to do something right now to at least position themselves to challenge the Guardians when they go head-to-head after Adley Rutschman and the Red Sox come to town next week.

It certainly looks possible when the remaining two teams on this long trip are the hapless (and homeless) Athletics and the Colorado Rockies, who are tied with the Angels for the worst record in the major leagues.

So go ahead and dream. What have you got to lose?