The Orioles had another opportunity to inch forward in the waning days of this ever-stranger American League wild-card race. All they had to do was beat the winningest team in the major leagues … and they almost did.
They staged a pair of multi-run comebacks against a Milwaukee Brewers club that is on the verge of the first 100-win season in the franchise’s 57-year history, but the Brew Crew eventually showed why it is in a position to accomplish that as early as Saturday night at Oriole Park.
Somehow, the 6-5 extra-inning loss did not cost the O’s any ground to the Chicago White Sox, who currently hold the third wild-card slot and also lost Friday night. But the clock keeps ticking and the chances of overcoming a three-game deficit with two other teams ahead of them get slimmer by the day.
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Still, manager Craig Albernaz praised his team for staying in the fight, especially after they rallied from two runs down to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth inning against Brewers closer Trevor Megill.
“Our guys have shown their resiliency all year, coming back and fighting back,’’ he said. “But also, where we are right now, that we have to win as many games as we can is an understatement. But I’m always proud of our guys.”
The wild-card race remained almost static with the White Sox and Blue Jays also losing, but the enemy of the Orioles right now is the hour glass … and the fact that they have a very tough eight games remaining on their regular-season schedule.
Getting Friday night’s game would have been huge, but it was not hard to see why the Brewers are where they are and the Orioles remain in a losing battle with the .500 mark.
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The O’s had runners all over the place and the only needle-moving hit through the first eight innings was another big home run by Pete Alonso – a three-run shot that tied the game in the third. He now has 38 homers and leads the league with 105 RBIs.
He would be a strong candidate for the American League MVP award if the rest of the team had come along for the ride, but he’ll likely have to settle for being a slam-dunk to be named Most Valuable Orioles when the award is announced before the final home game on Wednesday.
The Orioles’ comeback in the ninth featured a leadoff single by Gunnar Henderson and the third double of the game by hot-hitting Coby Mayo, each of them scoring on a sacrifice fly.
O’s starter Cade Povich lasted just 3 ⅔ innings, forcing Albernaz to go to his bullpen seven times, which is far from a best-case scenario in the first game of a critical series against such a formidable opponent.
But as long as they avoid mathematical elimination, the games will remain meaningful and fans can continue to dream.
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