With a 101-61 record in the regular season, the Baltimore Orioles were the best team in the American League with some difference.
The playoffs, however, can be a cruel mistress.
After losing an 11-8 slugfest on Sunday against the Texas Rangers, the Orioles season is now hanging by a thread.
The Rangers are up 2-0 in the American League Division Series, and another victory will give them their ticket to the AL Championship Series against the winner of the Houston Astros – Minnesota Twins matchup.
The Orioles’ backs are against the wall: they can’t afford to lose again in the best-of-five affair.
Baltimore trusted their star rookie right-hander Grayson Rodriguez to help them tie the series on Sunday.
Instead, he couldn’t solve the Rangers’ potent lineup and ended up pitching a dud.
A rough playoff debut for the rookie pic.twitter.com/kQj5ufJq5V
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 8, 2023
Talkin’ Baseball posted a graph with Rodriguez’s numbers from Sunday.
They weren’t good at all: he couldn’t complete two frames and was lifted after just 1.2 innings.
He conceded six hits and four walks: that’s a whole lot of traffic on the basepaths and it resulted in five earned runs allowed.
He also struck out two hitters, but he left his team in a huge hole early in the game.
Rodriguez had a 4.35 ERA in 122 frames in the regular season, but he had a 2.58 ERA since he returned from a stint in the minors on July 17.
He had shown maturity and poise since that date.
Unfortunately for the O’s, he was far from that pitcher on Sunday.
The teams will return to the field on Tuesday: will Baltimore be able to extend the series? Or will the Rangers finish the deal?
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