11 October 2023
The beautiful ride that had been the 2023 Orioles’ season — the modest expectations, the consistent dominance over ostensibly mightier foes, the historic avoidance of sweeps — sped forward all spring, all summer, and into the fall. It whistled and wowed and stormed past setbacks. But with a whimper in Texas, it stalled, finally to a halt.
The Orioles’ 101 regular-season wins could not help them here, in the wilderness of the postseason, as the fragility of a best-of-five series quickly crashed down on what had been a dream season.
Here’s a look at some of the reasons for the early exit after Tuesday night’s 7-1 loss to the Texas Rangers in Game 3 of the American League Division Series.
Starting pitching struggles
Kyle Bradish was one of the best pitchers in the American League during his emergent 2023. Grayson Rodriguez looked like the first-round talent he is since being called up in July. Dean Kremer, too, was strong in the second half, posting a 3.25 ERA.
But that didn’t matter during a costly four days in October.
Bradish was solid during his Game 1 start and left Baltimore in a position to win, as he and the bullpen kept it close in a 3-2 loss. But Rodriguez was hit hard in Game 2, allowing five earned runs in 1 2/3 innings, and Kremer, somehow, was hit even harder, giving up six runs in the same short span.
The Orioles battled in Game 1 but fell behind in the series 1-0. From that point on, they led only briefly — for about 10 minutes — in either game as the Rangers jumped on them early. Combined, the three Orioles starters pitched seven innings and allowed 13 runs, each performance worse than the preceding one.
Despite clear success this season, the Orioles’ starting pitching was considered a weakness by some entering the postseason. They did little to disprove that notion.
Costly mistakes
There’s no guarantee Gunnar Henderson would have scored in the ninth inning and tied Game 1 if Aaron Hicks had swung the bat. Maybe Hicks would’ve lined out, causing a double play. Or, perhaps, he would’ve simply fouled the ball off and the Orioles would have quietly gone down in order.
But he definitely couldn’t score after a mistake Saturday, when Hicks missed a hit-and-run signal resulting in Henderson being caught stealing at second and deflating a possible late rally.
It was one error (but not a defensive one — the Orioles had none during the series) that left Baltimore snakebit.
Bryan Baker was the most surprising addition to the Orioles’ ALDS roster. He’d spent the previous two months in Triple-A, having only appeared once for the Orioles since July.
Still, his presence on the roster might have been a fruitful one; after all, he’s been solid in 112 games for the Orioles over the past two seasons. Instead, pitching in his first big league game since Sept. 15, Baker walked three straight batters early in Game 2, setting up the decisive grand slam by Mitch Garver off Jacob Webb that all but sealed the Orioles’ loss.
“I was hoping he’d give us an inning,” manager Brandon Hyde said after the game. “That didn’t work out.”
Baker was far from the only Oriole to hand out free passes, one of the most painful mistakes by a pitching staff. Rodriguez and Jack Flaherty also walked multiple hitters as the team allowed 11 in nine innings in Game 2, tying a team record. Rangers slugger Corey Seager also set single-game (5) and division series (9) records for walks.
Pitching depleted by injuries, lack of impact signings and acquisitions
Baltimore might not have needed to turn to its bullpen so early in each game had it had another available starter, either in the form of a healthy John Means or another roster addition. Had Means — who was left off the ALDS roster after experiencing elbow soreness last week — been healthy, he likely would have started a game, which could have allowed another Orioles starter, perhaps Kyle Gibson, to pitch in relief.
The Rangers took a similar approach: In Game 1, two Texas starters combined for 5 2/3 innings.
Without entertaining too many hypotheticals about which Oriole could have pitched during a disastrous Game 2, for example, let’s say this: The pitching staff needed help. Bullpen usage likely would have been different had the Orioles had Means, who recovered from Tommy John elbow reconstruction this year, or All-Star closer Félix Bautista, who successfully underwent the same procedure Monday, been available.
The pitching corps could have been boosted in other ways, too. In the offseason, fans clamored for a splashy, capable free-agent signing and the team landed Gibson — a serviceable starter, to be sure, but not the postseason savant some had hoped. And at the trade deadline, the Orioles acquired Flaherty, who seemed to be a solid addition but wound up being relegated to the bullpen.
The Orioles were plenty good during the season. Their record speaks for that. But, given their ALDS performance, it’s easy to wonder how the team would have fared with an improved pitching performance.
Rangers’ offense roars past Orioles’ bats
None of this should overshadow one reality: The star-studded Rangers can hit and they did so this series. After limping into the playoffs by losing four of six, the American League’s best offense awoke against the Tampa Bay Rays in the wild-card round and continued its onslaught in Games 2 and 3, hitting three home runs in the finale.
“That’s one of the best lineups you’re going to face,” Kremer said.
The Orioles managed just five hits themselves in Game 1 and couldn’t keep pace, try as they might, in Game 2. They racked up 14 hits and eight runs — a winning combination every other time this year — but could not keep pace and, in Game 3, hardly managed any offense.
Adley Rutschman and Cedric Mullins, often two of the team’s top performers, went 1-for-24 during the series as the team seemed to go down in order most innings while the Rangers scored in bunches. The bulk of the Orioles’ offense in the series came late in Game 2, when they already trailed by several runs.
“Me trying to get in that leadership role, get stuff going and personally not being able to do that, I feel terrible for not being able to find a way,” Mullins said.
All season, the Orioles had managed to find a way. To avoid sweeps. To string together wins. To win 100 games. All summer, it had felt effortless and fun. Suddenly, in October, it lurched to a stop.
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