The Orioles never had a series swept all season long. This was a crucial component of their incredible season, Baltimore’s most successful campaign in decades, and a particularly delicious reward following a taxing reconstruction. They achieved the best record in the American League thanks to a strong, lively youth program.
But in October, everything abruptly came to an end. The Orioles lost all three games they played in during their first postseason appearance in seven years, getting swept by the Rangers in the ALDS.
They suffered a 7-1 defeat in the third and final game on Tuesday. Dean Kremer got hammered for six runs in his brief appearance, and for the second time in this series, Baltimore’s starter failed to make it past the second inning. With just one runner in scoring position against Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi over the first seven innings, the offense struggled mightily to get out of that hole. A happy frolic of a season came to a quiet close.
“We have a lot of guys who have never been to the postseason before. So this hurts, and it’s okay to hurt,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told reporters afterward. “It’s okay to have this kind of fuel your fire in the offseason. It’s going to take a while for us to get over this a little bit.
But I think our guys will come in hunting and hungry in spring training. The guys coming back, especially the young guys, know what this feels like, know what it tastes like, and it sucks. If they did soak it in a little bit, they’re going to be better for it down the road.”
A 1-seed losing to a 5-seed in the series was an unexpected result. However, it is not as unexpected as it might appear on the playoff bracket. As Hyde noted, a big portion of Baltimore was inexperienced and young.
The run differential between the Rangers and Orioles at the end of the regular season was superior. They possessed a more potent offense (a team OPS+ of 114 as opposed to 107) and a pitching staff that was nearly comparable (a team ERA+ of 105 as opposed to 106). The AL’s top record belonged to the Orioles. The Rangers, however, were a conceivably stronger squad.
The Orioles will still have a lot to consider after their dismal playoff campaign. Their lack of depth in the pitching staff proved disastrous, resulting in a weakened rotation and an inability to fill crucial middle relief innings when necessary. It’s true that there were injuries that contributed.
However, that is a common occurrence in the playoffs for almost every team, and the Orioles had very little room to withstand those blows, leaving them floundering in October.
But Baltimore should have this young core for many years to come. This season, they fared better than anticipated. The standard will be raised going forward, and perhaps more money will be invested and developed.
“We were supposed to win 76 games,” Hyde said. “Won 101, won the American League East. Really proud of our group. They defied all the odds. Nobody gave us a chance. These guys played their butts off for six months. We just didn’t play well for these last three , unfortunately. And it’s definitely a successful season and these guys are going to be really good going forward.”
