Baltimore Orioles: The question that must be asked again

I feel like I’ve written this piece a million times, but the questions must be asked again. Is this finally the end of the Baltimore Orioles postseason push? Is this feel good story about finally running out of gas?

The Baltimore Orioles took it on the chin in Toronto, losing three out of four games, and are now 4.5 games out of the last AL Wild Card spot. The Orioles now have an off day to reflect and see if they could quickly recapture their magic for a late playoff push. They won one game 9-6, but they played badly in their three losses, being outscored 19-8.

The game they won had a bunch of fireworks when the benches cleared in the seventh inning after O’s reliever Bryan Baker made a hand signal to the Jays dugout. Baker had given up runs in back-to-back days, which made it an extremely odd gesture. The Blue Jays manager, John Schneider, was so fed up that he ended up getting ejected.

The main issue, however, was that the O’s pitching gave up 25 runs in four games. The offense was also very quiet, only scoring eight runs in their three losses. This brings up the question: Are the O’s pitchers and hitters starting to regress to the mean? It’s extremely possible that this team could be running out of gas. It’s also apparent that the Jays are just a better team. The O’s can still regroup, but they need to take advantage of their soft schedule these next few days with five games against the Red Sox and Nationals. With 25 games left, every one counts and the O’s need to win all five of those.

Regarding the hitting, there’s no shame in getting shut down by Alex Manoah, who is one of the best pitchers in the league. Manoah went eight strong against Baltimore, allowing just one run.  The doubleheader offense was rough. Cedric Mullins has had a rough season with an OPS of just .730. Could he turn it around and help give this team a much needed offensive boost? They just signed Jesus Aguilar, but he’s gotten off to a tough start with just one hit in four games. If these guys could both turn it around that would be huge. Rougned Odor is a great clubhouse guy, but at this point he needs to only play once or twice a week. Gunnar Henderson needs to be at second base with Jorge Mateo at shortstop.

What about the pitching? Even in the Orioles win, Kyle Braddish struggled, giving up three runs in three innings. He has an ERA over 5 and, every time he takes the ball, the O’s have to feel like they’re at a disadvantage. Their starting pitching depth is extremely thin at this point and it could be what ends up keeping them out of the playoffs.

We’ve been down this road before so I still won’t count the Orioles out just yet