How does a 91-win season and a playoff berth feel like a failure?
Ask the Baltimore Orioles.
Or maybe not, because the players don’t have any answers.
For the past three months, the Orioles routinely talked about breaking out of their offensive slump the following game.
Now, there is no tomorrow.
The Orioles’ season ended after they were swept by the Kansas City Royals with a 2-1 loss in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card Series on Wednesday. The previous day, the Royals just needed one run to win the game because the Orioles failed to score.
Baltimore was 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position during the two games. Cedric Mullins managed that lone hit, which didn’t even drive in a run. The Orioles also struck out 22 times and left 16 runners on base.
Most Valuable Oriole Gunnar Henderson was 0-for-7 with four strikeouts.
After reaching the postseason in two consecutive years, general manager Mike Elias needs to spend the offseason doing some soul-searching because the franchise has not found any success in October of late. The Orioles have now inexplicably lost 10 straight postseason games dating back to 2014 — the longest active streak in Major League Baseball.
“I thought we battled,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “We had a couple of opportunities. … We gave everything we had. We pitched really, really well. We pitched out of traffic almost the entire game to keep the score where it was. Disappointing finish.”
After being shut out in Game 1, Mullins hit a fifth-inning homer in the second game, snapping a 13-inning scoreless streak. It was Mullins’ third hit of the series after going 0-for-12 in last year’s American League Division Series.
The Orioles suddenly had life. Later that inning, the Orioles loaded the bases with no outs when Kansas City starter Seth Lugo could not handle a grounder by Jordan Westburg.
As the 38,698 fans at Camden Yards rose to their feet — the smallest playoff crowd in the ballpark’s history — they would dejectedly sit down moments later.
Kansas City got out of the jam. Anthony Santander popped out. Colton Cowser suffered a left-hand fracture after being hit by the pitch while simultaneously striking out. Adley Rutschman grounded out to end the inning.
Both Rutschman and Santander were 1-for-8 in the series. Cowser was 1-for-7 with three strikeouts.
“I think as a team we experienced a lot of high and low,” Santander said through an interpreter. “We continued the battle. The result isn’t what we wanted but we continued to fight.”
That opened the door for the Royals, who once again took advantage of the Orioles’ struggles.
Bobby Witt Jr., who had the game-winning RBI in Game 1, provided a 2-1 lead in the sixth when he beat out a grounder. Witt was selected by the Royals with the second overall pick, one selection after the Orioles took Rutschman at No. 1 in the 2019 MLB Draft. That decision — albeit with the benefit of hindsight — is being questioned. Witt led MLB with a .332 batting average this season, while Rutschman batted .204 in the last 30 games.
“I think it was a young player who was dealing with some adversity,” Hyde said of Rutschman’s struggles. “Giving everything he had on a daily basis to try and get out of it. Maybe trying too hard at times. I think he’s going to come back next year and he’s going to be a different player.”
Witt’s RBI was the only offense the Royals would need because the Orioles could not muster any offense against five Royals relievers.
The Orioles now head to the offseason with more questions than answers, starting with ace Corbin Burnes and team home-run leader Santander hitting free agency.
“I don’t want it to end here,” Santander said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen but I would have liked to have gone further in the playoffs.”
There are questions about the health of their 2025 potential starting rotation.
Elias needs to improve an offense that floundered throughout the second half.
The weight of the 2024 season is off the Orioles’ shoulders, but more heavy lifting is set to begin.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox