Three games back, eight to play, three teams to climb over
Eight games. That is what Baltimore has left, and the Orioles are three out of the last American League wild-card spot with three clubs stacked in front of them. The deficit is survivable on its own. Having to pass everybody at once is the part that turns this into arithmetic nobody wants to do.
Friday stung. Down 3-0, then down 5-3, the Orioles clawed level twice and pushed two runs across in the ninth to force extra innings before losing 6-5 in the 10th. A three-game winning streak died there.
“Losing right now is tough,” infielder Coby Mayo said. “We did a really good job getting back in it, and there are games where you do that and still lose anyway.”
Try it for $0.99.
Of all the teams to run into in late September
Milwaukee arrives at 96-58, the best record in baseball, two games clear of the Dodgers in the fight for the No. 1 seed in the National League. The schedule handed Baltimore this series at the worst possible moment.
Brewers manager Pat Murphy was not about to look past the home side. “I don’t know where they are in the standings,” he said of Craig Albernaz’s club. “But the way they’re playing, the effort they’re showing, the crowd getting into it, they look like a first-place team.”
Milwaukee gives the ball to left-hander Robert Gasser (4-5, 4.30 ERA). September has been kind to him, a 2.57 ERA across three starts. He has never pitched against Baltimore.
Rogers has owned the Brewers, at least until now
Trevor Rogers (10-10, 4.22) takes the mound for the Orioles. He has won his last three at home, and his career file against Milwaukee reads 4-0 in five starts with a 2.84 ERA. Then came Sunday in Toronto, an 8-1 beating that ended a stretch of two very clean outings.
Felix Bautista is the other name hanging over the weekend. The right-hander is back with the club in Baltimore and has finished his rehab assignment, 16 months after rotator cuff and labrum surgery in August 2025. Whether he gets activated may come down to where the Orioles sit in the race by the time the decision lands.
Before first pitch, Baltimore honours Trey Mancini, who signed a one-day contract to retire in an Orioles uniform. 701 games, a .270 average, 117 home runs, 350 RBIs.
Discover the rest of the MLB news on our mathodds site and app!
in your pocket.
Real-time notifications & alerts
Leave a Reply