Baltimore Orioles avoid common mistakes after securing a playoff spot

The Baltimore Orioles had a lot of fun after securing a playoff spot on Tuesday night, but that didn’t stop them from making a statement at Yankee Stadium on Wednesday.

The Orioles followed up their 5-3 win on Tuesday with a 9-7 victory over the New York Yankees on Wednesday, giving them four wins in their last six games. The game was an even bigger victory than the final score suggested, as Baltimore led 9-3 until the bottom of the ninth inning before the Yankees rallied and scored four runs – three of them on Aaron Judge’s 57th home run.

It would have been easy for the Orioles to just play through Wednesday’s meaningless game, but they did it. Their offense scored nine runs on 17 hits (no home runs), including at least one hit by every starter.

The nine runs were their most since a 9-0 win over the Chicago White Sox on September 3, ending a brutal three-week stretch in which Baltimore averaged just 2.8 runs per game.

The Orioles came out swinging, scoring three runs in the first for second-half hero Zach Eflin, and adding four more in the fourth, knocking Marcus Stroman out of the game and putting the game virtually out of reach.

There was no hangover in Baltimore, where something similar happened last year.

After securing a playoff spot with a 5-4 walk-off win over the Tampa Bay Rays last season, the Orioles hit the road the following day and beat the Houston Astros 8-7, exploding their lineup and yielding 16 hits against the defending World Series champions.

Say what you will about Baltimore, but the city knows how to keep the party going.

The Orioles are now 8-4 against New York this year and have kept their slim hopes of winning the AL East alive. If Baltimore wins its final four games and the Yankees lose their final four, they will finish with identical 92-70 records. In that case, the Orioles would win the division because they have the better head-to-head record.

That’s unlikely, of course, but Baltimore will still try to pull off a win on Thursday in a thrilling duel between former Cy Young winners Corbin Burnes and Gerrit Cole. The Orioles will then close out the regular season at Target Field against the Minnesota Twins.

With the Twins two games back in the wild card race and fighting for their playoff spots, Baltimore has a chance to send them home for the winter.