HOUSTON—The Orioles start their game Saturday against the Houston Astros 2 games from the third and final wildcard spot. That third spot is taken by the Seattle Mariners, whose game against Cleveland doesn’t start until 10:10 p.m. Eastern Time.
On Friday night, the Mariners defeated Cleveland 3-2 in 11 innings – a game that didn’t end until around 1:40 AM in the East.
“I see what happens in the league,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “I fell asleep last night, but the first thing I looked at this morning was the Guardians/Mariners score. We’ll be in this thing at the end of August, I’m interested in what’s happening in the league.”
The Orioles played six games against Seattle and lost two of the three at home and at T-Mobile Park, so if the teams end the regular season tied, the Mariners have the advantage. The last of those six games was played on June 29e before the season is half way through.
“There are also other teams. A lot can happen with 30 games to go,” said Hyde. “We need to focus on ourselves and focus on this series with the Guardians approaching. I’ll see what’s going on everywhere. We have to take care of what we have to do, or it doesn’t really matter.”
Including Saturday night’s game, the Orioles have 37 games left.
Most of it is against the Astros (6), Boston (7) and Toronto (10). They have three game runs against Cleveland, Oakland, Detroit and New York and two with the Washington Nationals.
As Hyde watches, some of his players say no.
“I’m not worried about the other teams. I’m worried about my team,” said second baseman Rougned Odor. “I watch highlights. I’m not worried about the other teams. I believe in my team.
“At the end of September I will look at the other teams. I don’t have to look at it. There are too many games left. I don’t like watching other teams. I’d rather worry about us, and whatever happens, happens.”
First baseman Ryan Mountcastle said he’s not looking either.
“After every few games I look up to see where we are,” said Mountcastle. “We are now 2 back. We’re trying to bridge that gap a little bit.”
He said he’s not looking at Seattle or Tampa Bay and Toronto, the other current wildcard teams.
“I don’t watch much baseball when I’m not on the field,” Mountcastle said. “I check the scores every now and then.”
Starting pitcher Jordan Lyles, who has played 12 seasons, hopes to make his first postseason appearance, even though he played for the 2018 and 2019 Milwaukee Brewers, which qualified for the playoffs.
“I’ll usually take a look when they have all the scores somewhere in the stadium, if they’re visible,” Lyles said. “If they flash on an electronic scoreboard, I’m not going to wait for teams to appear.”
Lyles doesn’t watch other games.
“Not right now. There’s too much baseball left,” he said. “Maybe the last week or so. I usually get a message from someone in the clubhouse. I’ll have an idea before I leave the ballpark.”
go deeper: Kyle Bradish’s eight-inning start on Friday night was the longest of the season. The Orioles’ bullpen worked a scoreless ninth. It was the first time since August 16 that the bullpen hadn’t given up on a rune.
“That was one of our rare deep starts last night,” Hyde said. “That’s something we need to improve next year and in the years after, like a team like [Houston] and what their starters can do.
“The guys in your rotation who can go six, seven, eight and, on a good day, nine innings can give the bullpen a breather. That you will benefit from it in the long term.
“Our guys have done a great job coming out of the bullpen with the situations we’ve put them in this year. You’re looking at our rotation. Jordan Lyles has pretty much done that this year. Everyone else is young and inexperienced. Hats off to everyone, our entire staff. The starting rotation has done its best.
“It will only get better going forward with our young boys, and our bullpen boys have taken a lot of tough innings out of the bullpen and have done it well. In the future, we will be looking for some more length from our starters in the coming years.”
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