Baltimore has clinched a spot in fall baseball for the first time in seven years. It’s a dramatic turnaround for a team that was in last place in the majors with 110 losses just two years ago.
The Orioles defeated Tampa Bay 5-4 in 11 extra innings at Oriole Park in Baltimore, Maryland, on Monday (Aug. 18).
The Orioles rallied from a 1-3 deficit with an eighth-inning home run by Adley Rutchman and a ninth-inning RBI double by Adam Frazier. The teams traded runs in the 10th inning of extra innings.
After a scoreless top of the 11th, Baltimore loaded the bases with one out, and Cedric Mullins hit a sacrifice fly to end the game.
With the win, Baltimore, which is in first place in the American League East, improved to 94-56 for a .624 winning percentage and punched its ticket to the wild card regardless of the outcome of the remaining games. This is the first time since 2016 that the Orioles have advanced to fall baseball in the AL East, a division that includes powerhouses like the New York Yankees and Boston.
After finishing at the bottom of the division for three straight years beginning in 2017, the Orioles finished last in the league in 2021 with a 52-110 record (.321). But the team has rebuilt in just two years, thanks to a stellar minor league system. Last year, the Orioles finished fourth in the division but won 83 games and topped the .500 mark with 79 wins.메이저놀이터
“Everyone thought we were going to struggle this year, and I wanted our players to be a little upset with that prospect,” said Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde. I believed we were a good team.”
District runner-up Tampa Bay (92-59-0.609), two games behind Baltimore, also clinched a wild-card berth and advanced to the postseason for the fifth straight year.