The Orioles suffered yet another disappointing loss at crunch time on Sunday, failing to move closer to wrapping up the top American League wild-card playoff berth, but their final regular-season home game was not without some feel-good moments.
The sellout crowd of 40,040 delivered huge ovations for Jordan Westburg and Ramón Urías when the Orioles’ starting lineup was announced before the series finale against the Detroit Tigers.
And while both players have been on the injured list, they appeared no worse for their unfortunate whereabouts. Each played a big role in the Orioles’ three-run rally in the fifth inning, Urías getting it started with a one-out single before Cedric Mullins cranked his 18th home run of the season, and Westburg hitting a long double to left-center field to tie the game minutes later.
For the second game in a row, the Tigers stalled the Orioles’ playoff drive while they continued their late run at a postseason berth. It’s possible they could be back here in eight days for the first round of the playoffs, but the Orioles have not locked up the opportunity to be the only American League wild-card team that will start out at home.
They are four games ahead of the other wild-card contenders, so it still seems like a done deal, but this should have been wrapped up a long time ago and the fact that they again could not close that deal against the Tigers this weekend is a continuation of a months-long struggle to regain the mojo that carried them through their 101-game division title run in 2023 and a strong first half of this season.
Of course, injuries have played a big role in their offensive mediocrity, which is why the return of Westburg and Urías at this critical juncture already appears to have had an impact on the team’s offensive chemistry – even if the O’s were held to those three runs and lost for the 10th time in their last 14 games.
“Both looked great,’’ said manager Brandon Hyde. “Westy smokes that ball in the gap, makes a really nice play at second. Ramón swings the bat well all day. Great to have both those guys back.”
Westburg was parked behind leadoff hitter Gunnar Henderson at the top of the lineup and Urías gave them back a Gold Glove infielder at third. The team finally is starting to look more like the one that was 24 games over .500 in early July. The O’s also just got reliever Danny Coulombe back, but first baseman Ryan Mountcastle remains on the injured list with a wrist injury.
The hope is that the Orioles are going to turn a competitive corner during their final road trip and gather some momentum for the playoffs, but it’s not like the Yankees and Minnesota Twins are going to cooperate. The Yankees have all but clinched the division title and will want to stay on their late-season roll. The Twins are fighting for their postseason lives.
“It’s tough,’’ Westburg said. “We have a tough stretch coming up, too. We have two really good teams [ahead] and the Tigers are a really good club. We just have to focus on what’s going on in this clubhouse and not on what’s going on outside and what people are saying about what could or couldn’t happen. We’ve just got to stay tight and really focus on the chemistry over this last stretch and playing good baseball.”