The Wild Card Series against the Royals starts this afternoon at Camden Yards. Hold on to your butts.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
It’s go time, folks. The MLB postseason kicks off today with a slate of four Wild Card Series, and the Orioles have some unfinished business to take care of.
The O’s are making their second straight trip to the big dance, but last year’s abrupt exit — swept in three anticlimactic games in the Division Series after a magical, 101-win regular season — left a sour taste in everyone’s mouths. The Birds’ three losses extended their MLB-worst postseason losing streak to eight straight games. They haven’t won a playoff game since their 2014 ALDS sweep of the Tigers.
Today the O’s begin a rematch with the Kansas City Royals, the team that handed them the first four of those eight straight defeats with a sweep of the 2014 ALCS. If the Orioles are going to turn their postseason fortunes around, there’s no opponent more fitting for them to do it against than the Royals. The Orioles have some October demons to exorcise, and everyone needs to get out of their way.
The action begins at 4:08 this afternoon at Camden Yards, where two likely top-5 AL Cy Young finishers, Corbin Burnes and Cole Ragans, will go toe-to-toe in a battle of aces. Check in for Camden Chat’s coverage throughout the day, including staff predictions, a Q&A with Royals Review, and a breakdown of the Orioles’ Wild Card Series roster, which will be announced this morning. We’ll also have in-depth analysis of every game of the Birds’ postseason run, which, if we’re lucky, will extend far beyond the Wild Card Series.
First things first: the O’s need to win two of their next three games to advance. It’s now or never. These next few days — and hopefully weeks — are going to be wild. Here we go!
Links
Orioles roster projection ahead of wild-card series vs. Royals – The Baltimore Sun
Orioles-Royals position-by-position breakdown – MLB.com
Orioles aren’t ready to announce Wild Card roster and other starters – School of Roch
O’s eye better postseason fortunes with more experienced squad – MLB.com
Playoff roundtable: Are the Orioles more prepared for the postseason now? – The Baltimore Banner
Burnes on his September cutter and Ragans on his rocky start vs. Orioles – Steve Melewski
All the postseason info that’s fit to print, plus a bonus article on the awesomeness that is Gunnar Henderson.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Two members of the 2024 Orioles have birthdays today. One is a guy you probably don’t remember, taxi squad catcher David Bañuelos (28), who had a grand total of one at-bat for the O’s. But the other is one of the most popular and longest tenured Birds, Cedric Mullins, who will celebrate his 30th birthday with some playoff baseball. While Mullins was the subject of fan frustration during his first-half struggles this season, he became one of the Birds’ most reliable hitters when everyone else was slumping in the second half. Will he be in the lineup for today’s opener against the tough lefty Ragans?
Former Orioles born on Oct. 1 include right-hander Mitch Atkins (39), lefty Chuck McElroy (57), and the late first baseman Bob Boyd (b. 1919, d. 2004).
The Orioles have played two postseason games on this date in history, and both of them went quite well. In 1996, the O’s celebrated their first playoff game in 13 years by crushing Cleveland at Camden Yards, 10-4, in Game 1 of the Division Series. The Birds’ bats erupted for 12 hits, including four home runs, against Charles Nagy and three Cleveland relievers. The Orioles’ 50-homer leadoff man Brady Anderson led off the game with a dinger, B.J. Surhoff went yard twice, and Bobby Bonilla crushed a game-icing grand slam in the sixth that turned it into a rout.
Exactly one year later, the O’s opened the 1997 Division Series with another win, this time against the Mariners in Seattle. Against menacing Hall of Fame southpaw Randy Johnson, Orioles manager Davey Johnson surprisingly benched star lefty hitters Rafael Palmeiro, Roberto Alomar, and B.J. Surhoff. His unorthodox lineup scored five runs in five innings off the Big Unit, including a Gerónimo Berroa home run, and the O’s tallied four more off reliever and future Oriole Mike Timlin. Meanwhile, Mike Mussina dominated the Seattle lineup for seven innings, holding them to two runs.
Random Orioles game of the day
On Oct. 1, 2015, the O’s beat the Blue Jays, 6-4, in a Thursday matinee at Camden Yards, their fourth to last game of the year. Manny Machado clubbed two home runs as part of a 3-for-4 day, Steve Pearce contributed an RBI double, and seven O’s pitchers combined to beat the Jays. The Orioles had long since been eliminated from playoff contention, but they won their last five games of the year to finish the season with a .500 record.