It has been said countless times, with good reason, that the only way to get playoff experience is to play in the postseason. Having said that, this young Orioles team will be as battle-tested as possible when they play in October.
When, not if, they play.
Some of these games, wins and losses, have been epic and while it can be expected that any team as young as this one will show cracks along the way, there’s enough evidence to suggest it won’t be because of the atmosphere.
After observing live the series against the Astros that concluded the most recent homestand, and then virtually watching the series in Seattle that opened a three-city, nine-game road trip, it seems fairly obvious that not much overwhelms this bunch.
The most recent stretch of playoff-like games started with a devastating loss of a three-run ninth inning lead against the Astros that had all the signs of a potential meltdown — especially when followed by another blip the next night.
But faced with the possibility of being swept in a series for the first time in the careers of some of the key players, the Orioles managed to survive a big-time scare against the Astros. Talk about timing being everything, consider that the batter (Jon Singleton) who made the last out of that game, with the bases loaded, hit home runs in his first two at-bats the next night.
A blowout loss to the Mariners in the first game of the road trip was the third in four games, a bad omen for a team seemingly running on fumes. Desperately in need of a strong performance by a starting pitcher, the O’s got it from what seemed like an unlikely source, but one that could pay huge dividends down the road.
Cole Irvin had been obtained during the offseason to provide stability to a rotation badly in need of an experienced starter. Unexplainably, the left-hander lost control of his pitches, but not his resolve, providing five scoreless innings in what manager Brandon Hyde can only hope is an indication of what to expect the last six weeks of the season — and into October.
The Orioles would win that game 1-0 in extra innings, thanks to overtime rule that provides a baserunner at second base, something they were able to do on their own only once during the game. That game almost defied description, but paled in comparison to the next one.
Suffice it to say the Orioles’ 5-3 win against the Mariners, which restored their three-game lead in the American League East, had so many pivotal plays that some were completely forgotten in the aftermath of what might have been the most dramatic win of the last decade, if indeed not this century.
Jorge Mateo, reduced to such a role as the season wears down, was inserted as a pinch-runner for Jordan Westburg, himself an above-average runner, and scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning on a brilliant baserunning play few, if any, in all of baseball could have made.
What followed — in rapid succession — was a series of events that, once again, practically defied description. Center fielder Cedric Mullins went over the fence to snare a would-be game-tying home run, only to see the next batter hit one that could only be caught by someone with a ticket.
Minutes later, again with a free runner planted at second base, Mullins hit what looked to be a potential game-winner, only to have the ball drift foul. Two pitches later he hit one where only a customer seated in fair territory could intervene.
A nerve-wracking bottom of the 10th ensued before the Orioles escaped with the win. Forgotten was another solid effort by starting pitcher Kyle Bradish and a rare balk call that set up Mateo’s mad dash home with the go-ahead run. Even Mullins’ spectacular catch in the top half of the 10th, perhaps the best play of his often spectacular career, was pushed into the background.
The game on 8/13/23 was as crazy a game as one could imagine, full of almost forgotten plays, and closed out a week of baseball as exciting as these eyes have seen in a long, long time.
It’s not yet the postseason, but those were playoff-type games, with the atmosphere to match. When the time comes, and it’s getting close to magic number countdown, I don’t think this team will be intimidated.
Jim Henneman can be reached at JimH@pressboxonline.com
Photo Credit: Colin Murphy/PressBox