The Baltimore Orioles faced the Boston Red Sox from Tuesday to Thursday in a three-game set that was supposed to be a piece of cake for the Sox.
Instead, the Orioles, much to the happiness of the New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, and Toronto Blue Jays, took two out of the three matchups against Boston.
The Orioles, who took eight games from the Yankees in their regular season matchup, are once again playing the role of spoiler at the worst possible time, this time for the Red Sox.
The official Twitter account of the O’s (who are now 52-107) had a blast on Thursday night, mocking the Red Sox and making fun of the fact that Mariners, Yankees, and Blue Jays fans were rooting for Baltimore because it would push Boston further down in the standings.
DIEHARD BALTIMORE ORIOLES FAN CLUB RISE UP! pic.twitter.com/kX6nlCFsrH
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) October 1, 2021
Ugly Memories
The series victory against Boston took Red Sox fans all the way back to 2011, and brought back some awful memories for them.
That year, Boston led the Tampa Bay Rays by nine games in the American League Wild Card race on September 3.
At the time, the Red Sox had 99.6 percent postseason odds.
Boston proceeded to lose 18 of their final 24 games in one of the worst collapses in recent memory.
They remained alive on the last day of the regular season, September 28, but they blew a save and the Orioles won it.
That, coupled with a Tampa Bay Rays extra-inning win against the Yankees, left Boston out of the playoffs.
The Orioles official account changing its photo to Robert Andino, who sent the Red Sox home “crying crocodile tears” in 2011 after taking 2 of 3 from Boston is next level trolling.
— Britt Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) October 1, 2021
This time, Baltimore has already gotten in the way of the Yankees and Red Sox in some form.
But guess what?
They may not be done: Baltimore will play against the Blue Jays in the final weekend of the season.
Right now, the AL Wild Card picture has the Yankees at 91-68, in sole possession of the first spot.
Two games behind the Bombers appear the Red Sox and the Mariners, tied at 89-70.
The 88-71 Blue Jays are a game behind the Sox and M’s.
Toronto will need to sweep the Orioles or win at least two to have realistic chances of getting to the postseason or at least force a tiebreaker.
Baltimore Will Play To Win
But Baltimore, as evidenced by their showing against Boston, will not be pushed away.
Cedric Mullins just achieved a 30-30 season and is among the league leaders in Wins Above Replacement (WAR), while Austin Hays is red-hot and Ryan Mountcastle is a Rookie of the Year candidate.
With Trey Mancini in the lineup, as well, there is some thump on offense, even if their pitching is lousy.
The Blue Jays offense may be in for a treat because of that, but ruling out the Orioles would be a mistake.
For now, the Yankees stand the best chance of making it to the playoffs, as their magic number is at two.
That means they can clinch as soon as Friday night with a win against the Rays and the Red Sox or the Mariners losing.
Boston will face the Washington Nationals on the road and the Mariners will host the Los Angeles Angels.
After complicating the Red Sox’s playoff picture, the Orioles could play spoiler again this weekend, this time for the win-needy Blue Jays.
NEXT: Orioles Ending Losing Streak Good News For MLB In General