O’s vanquish Dodgers, tie Rays for AL East lead

BALTIMORE — The rebuild? That’s prior to now. The postseason push? It was already on.

The battle for the American League East crown? Properly, that’s clearly removed from over. As a result of on Wednesday afternoon, the Orioles — one of the crucial thrilling, younger, up-and-coming groups within the sport — moved right into a tie for first place with the Rays within the hardest, best division in MLB.

Fittingly sufficient, it’s now time for the highest two groups within the AL East to satisfy once more in one of many largest sequence of the season up to now starting Thursday night time at Tropicana Area.

The marquee stage was set Wednesday, when Baltimore once more prevented being swept for the primary time this season by beating the Dodgers, 8-5at Camden Yards. Shortly after that recreation concluded, Tampa Bay fell, 5-1in Texas.

With these outcomes, the upstart Orioles (58-37) pulled even with the mighty Rays (60-39) for the primary time since March 31, when each groups had been 1-0. It’s the primary time Baltimore has been in first place within the AL East after the All-Star break since 2016, the final yr it reached the postseason, however as a Wild Card crew.

Because the O’s eye their first division title since 2014, they notice the stakes they’re dealing with Thursday, then all through the weekend as nicely.

“It’s going to be a enjoyable sequence. That is what you need, and that is what baseball desires,” stated left-hander Danny Coulombe, who pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings of reduction to earn the win Wednesday. “It’s simply two actually good groups, and it’s going to be some enjoyable video games.”

Very like a lot of his teammates, Gunnar Henderson, a 22-year-old rookie, has by no means performed in a Main League sequence of this magnitude. How is Baltimore getting ready for what might be a big-time, postseason-like environment?

“Towards an AL East rival, it all the time feels that method,” Henderson stated. “We’re simply going to go on the market and do our factor.”

The Orioles have made it clear what that entails.

They’re not going to roll over at any level in a recreation. After falling behind, 2-0, through the prime of the primary within the finale towards Los Angeles, Baltimore answered by rallying for 4 runs within the backside of the body through RBI singles by Aaron Hicks and Jordan Westburg and a two-run double from Ramón Urías, setting the stage for its MLB-best thirty fourth comeback win of the season.

The O’s gained’t let the outcomes from earlier video games dictate their effort degree on a given day, both. That’s why they’ve performed 70 consecutive sequence with out being swept, a streak relationship again to Might 13-15, 2022, once they misplaced three at Detroit. Baltimore is the one crew in MLB that hasn’t been swept this season.

“You lose the primary two video games of the sequence, and you may simply get down and lose that final recreation,” stated Henderson, who swatted his fifteenth homer of the season on Wednesday. “That’s only a testomony to our crew. We’re not going to present away any video games.”

In response to the Elias Sports activities Bureau, the Orioles grew to become the eighth crew in AL/NL historical past to keep away from a sweep in 70 consecutive multi-game sequence. Previous to their feat, the latest incidence was a 72-series stretch by the Braves from 2003-05. The file is 125, set by the Cardinals from 1942-44.

Wednesday marked the sixth time this season Baltimore was on the verge of being swept heading right into a sequence finale. It additionally staved off sweeps on Might 28 (vs. Texas), June 8 (at Milwaukee), June 18 (vs. the Cubs in Chicago), June 21 (at Tampa Bay) and July 2 (vs. Minnesota).

“Each recreation is simply separate for us,” Coulombe stated. “We don’t get down on ourselves if we [are] 0-2 in a sequence. I feel that this crew simply has a lot combat in it that each recreation, it’s a battle for the opposite crew.”

The Orioles’ never-quit mindset is precisely why they by no means fell too far out of first place, even when the Rays had an historic 13-0 begin and gained 30 of their first 39 video games. Tampa Bay’s AL East lead by no means exceeded 6 1/2 video games.

Whereas Tampa Bay has struggled this month — the Rays have misplaced 4 straight and 11 of 14 — the Orioles have capitalized. Baltimore recorded a season-high eight consecutive victories from July 5-16 and has gained 9 of its previous 11.

With another win Thursday night time, the O’s might discover themselves someplace they have not been since Aug. 12, 2016 — alone atop the AL East.

“We simply proceed to play,” supervisor Brandon Hyde stated. “We have now an awesome angle. I like how our guys put together, they arrive to the park able to play. However we’ve nonetheless bought a protracted approach to go.”