Behind a masterful Kyle Bradish, who pitched seven scoreless innings, the Baltimore Orioles defeated the Cleveland Guardians 3-0 and continued their surprising quest towards the postseason in MLB.
Who would have thought that a franchise that went 52-110 last season would have a positive record entering September just one year later?
Not only that, but the Orioles got out of the AL East basement and are 69-61, just 1.5 games out of a playoff spot.
The Toronto Blue Jays are holding the sixth and last postseason berth if the season ended right now, but the Orioles are knocking at their door.
What are the chances?
Well, let’s go to three of the most widely recognized baseball sites to see what they think.
“Orioles postseason chances? @baseball_ref —> 48.1%; @FiveThirtyEight —> 28%; @fangraphs—> 9.6% What do YOU think?” Codify Baseball tweeted.
Orioles postseason chances?@baseball_ref —> 48.1%@FiveThirtyEight —> 28%@fangraphs —> 9.6%
What do YOU think? 🤔 https://t.co/m72RpLIHzy— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 2, 2022
Baseball Reference is the one that has the most faith in Baltimore and their current project.
FiveThirtyEight gives them a 28 percent chance of making the playoffs, but FanGraphs, at just under 10 percent, is far more pessimistic.
It means the O’s have a wide range of outcomes.
The O’s Are Going All-In
The good thing is that the O’s are going all in on a playoff berth.
They called up catching prospect Adley Rutschman this season, in May, and he has been their best player ever since.
They called up exciting left-handed pitching prospect DL Hall, and also shortstop extraordinaire Gunnar Henderson.
They are all up at the moment, helping the team return to the playoffs.
Even if they don’t make it, their commitment is worthy of applause, after several seasons of tanking.
The O’s saw an opening, and acted in consequence.
Despite trading All-Star closer Jorge Lopez and fan favorite Trey Mancini, they are good enough to fight for a place in the postseason.
Who would have thought?
NEXT: The Orioles Are Far Ahead Of Schedule