Orioles’ terrible second-half offense reemerges at the worst possible time as O’s drop series opens 1-0

I regret to inform you, ladies and gentlemen, that the Orioles’ recent stretch of postseason failure shows no signs of ending in 2024.

The Birds suffered their ninth straight playoff loss with a brutal 1-0 loss to the Royals in Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, which immediately put them on the brink of elimination in the best-of-three series.

It’s a cruel irony. The Orioles signed Corbin Burnes last winter for exactly this moment – as the starter for Game 1 of a playoff series – and he exceeded expectations in exactly that scenario, dominating the KC lineup in the ninth inning. Everything went according to plan.

And yet it didn’t matter because the Orioles’ offense chose the worst possible time to forget to show up. And yes, they faced one of baseball’s best pitchers in Cole Ragans, who can make any lineup look silly. There’s no shame in that. But the Orioles certainly didn’t do themselves any favors with a game full of frustrating offense, poor swing decisions and lousy situational hitting, and continued to struggle even after an injury forced Ragans out of the game early. This was the ugly return of the woeful O’s offense that nearly ruined their season in the second half. It could well boost their postseason hopes as well.

Let’s start with the good news. Burnes was absolutely sensational in his (sadly) final start as an Oriole. He overwhelmed the Royals’ batters from the start, retiring ten batters in a row after Michael Massey’s bloop single put the game in the lead. His cutter was phenomenal and he mixed in an effective curve and sweeper to keep batsmen off balance. Even the few times the Royals made solid contact resulted in outs, including a red-hot liner in the fifth inning that Ryan Mountcastle grabbed a runner at first and doubled.

Burnes pitched exactly like the Game 1 ace the O’s envisioned. All he needed was for the Orioles to score him a few runs. Um…yeah, about that. Remember the last week of the regular season when the O’s brought a number of injured hitters back from the IL and it seemed like their offense was clicking again? Well, definitely the Orioles not remember. They fell into the bad habits that plagued them most of the season and failed to put together good situational bats. It cost her dearly.

The Birds went quietly in the first and second overs, with Ragans retiring six of seven batters, before wasting a great scoring opportunity in the third. Cedric Mullins led off the inning with a sharp double off the scoreboard in right field, giving the O’s a man in scoring position with no one out. But James McCann, after getting Ragans on an eighth pitch, hit a high fastball for a strikeout and lost his bat in the process. Pooh. I have to move the runner over, James.

Gunnar Henderson grounded out, and then Jordan Westburg blasted a shot into left field that, at Oriole Park’s previous dimensions, would have landed in the pitches for a two-run home run. These days, however, Walltimore exists, and left fielder MJ Melendez made the catch on the warning track. That would have been a home run in 28 of 30 MLB parks. Luck wasn’t on the Orioles’ side today, but they didn’t exactly create their own luck either.

No inning was more frustrating than the end of the fifth, when the Royals gave the Birds a turnover and the O’s still couldn’t get over the game. With one out, Ramón Urías threw a catchable fly ball to left field, and Melendez narrowly missed it. He overran the ball and fell to the ground, giving Urías a brace that should have been routine.

Next, on his 30th birthday, Mullins continued his great offensive day, blasting a soft single to center field. Urías didn’t have the best vision, held on until the ball fell into the field, and only got to third on the move (although I’m not sure he could have scored even if he had shot from goal). would have run). get started).

Still, it seems like a pretty promising situation with runners on the corners and one out, and the 41,506 spectators at Camden Yards came to life, expecting an O’s lead to be imminent. But oh, that pathetic Orioles clutch strike has struck again. McCann had an absolutely terrible swing, striking out on three pitches, the last being a helpless hit on a ball in the dirt. Pooh. You’re killing me, James.

Then Ragans made a great throw, knocking out Henderson with a nasty slider and shouting triumphantly as he jumped off the mound. If the Orioles lose this series, they will look back on this inning with regret for a long time.

Perhaps buoyed by their great escape in the fifth, the Royals collected the game’s only run early in the sixth. Burnes made just one fatal error, striking out No. 9 batter Maikel Garcia with one out. It was Corbin’s only walk of the entire game, but that’s not the right guy to put on base and the Royals made him pay for it. The speedy Garcia, who had 37 steals in the regular season, quickly caught up with Burnes, who allowed 41 of them.

Burnes retired Massey for the second time, but Bobby Witt Jr. followed suit and delivered a crucial two-out hit, ripping a sharp single through the left side to score Garcia. Oof. The way Ragans threw and the way the Orioles scored – or rather didn’t score – for a 1-0 lead felt insurmountable. And as it turned out, it was.

But my goodness, Corbin Burnes did everything in his power to keep the O’s alive. He only needed eight pitches to get through the seventh inning and only five in the eighth inning, leaving him with only 83 pitches in the eighth inning. He even returned to the mound in the ninth, leaving open the possibility of throwing his first complete game of his career.

That dream was dashed with just one pitch, which Garcia laid out for a single, prompting Brandon Hyde to head to his bullpen as the top of the order loomed. You couldn’t have asked for more from Corbin Burnes, who rose to the occasion with an epic postseason performance: eight innings, one run, with the inherited runner stranded after Keegan Akin and Seranthony Dominguez got the final three outs.

If this is the end for Burnes in an Orioles uniform, I will certainly miss him. He deserves to get his salary in free agency. Maybe he’ll sign with a team that can score runs.

As the late innings came, frustration with the O’s offense continued to grow. The Orioles seemingly caught a big break when Ragans – who had thrown just 80 pitches in six scoreless innings – had to leave the game with cramps in his left leg. But against a Royals bullpen that had struggled most of the year, the Orioles struggled even worse.

Left-hander Sam Long retired all three batters he faced in the seventh and southpaw Kris Bubic got two quick outs in the eighth, but the Orioles attempted another rally when Henderson walked and Westburg singled. Royals manager Matt Quatraro turned to his closer, Lucas Erceg, to save the foursome. The Orioles’ top hitter, Anthony Santander, had a chance to make the big hit. Instead, he failed poorly and two fell by the wayside. And that’s how it works.

With time running out for the Orioles, pinch-hitter Ryan O’Hearn worked a great swing to put the ninth in the lead, hitting a very tight 3-2 pitch just inside for a leadoff walk achieved. A leadoff baserunner! I don’t know for the life of me why Hyde didn’t arrange for Jackson Holliday to pinch-run for O’Hearn at first base – why is Holliday on the roster if not in this exact situation? – but in the end it didn’t matter because no one advanced or scored the runner. Erceg struck out Adleyrutschman on a 2-2 pitch that looked low, Colton Cowser flied out and pinch-hitter Heston Kjerstad waved on a two-strike offering that was well outside. Another bad swing decision to go out. How fitting.

Ball game over. A painful 0-1 defeat. And now the O’s have their backs against the wall and need to win their next two games to avoid another early postseason exit. I’m not optimistic, but I assume that’s why they play the games.