10 Losses in 10 Years: The Orioles' playoff struggles

The Baltimore Orioles lost their 10th straight playoff game last week, going down in the best-of-three Wild Card Series against the Kansas City Royals. The Royals are the same team that started this streak, 10 years ago, in 2014. They are now tied for fourth in MLB history for longest playoff losing streaks (Fun Fact: The Royals had a 10-game losing streak of their own from 1980-85).

The misery for a franchise that in the past ten years has had promise in their youth and fan favorites is heartbreaking. Games were blown in the ninth inning, extra innings, and a walk-off home run. Here is a history for what O’s fans hope to be a streak they put in the past.

2014:

The Baltimore Orioles were steaming in 2014. They had the second best record in the AL and had two home games to start the series against the Tigers. They dominated the first game and thanks to Delmon Young’s bases-clearing double to take the lead in Game 2, the Orioles were a game away from the ALCS.

The Orioles got by in Game 3 and got to play the Kansas City Royals in the ALCS, who upset the AL’s best team by record, the Los Angeles Angels. The first two games would be in an antsy and energetic Camden Yards where the team’s slogan was “We Won’t Stop”. The hope for a World Series was real.

This was the start of the streak for the city. After going down 4-0 in the third, Baltimore roared back and the game was tied, 5-5, headed to the tenth. Darren O’Day came in to hold the Royals and the first batter, Alex Gordon, homered to right to put the Royals ahead. Two more insurance runs were added with a Mike Moustakas homer and the final was 8-6.

Game 2 saw a similar story. Baltimore went down 2-0, and while the teams traded runs the game was tied, 4-4, in the ninth inning. It was Darren O’Day’s time to avenge himself from the previous night. He didn’t. Alcides Escobar drove in the go ahead run while Zach Britton came in after O’Day let up an infield single. Lorenzo Cain then added to it and the Royals wound up winning 6-4.

The O’s had 23 hits at Camden Yards in the first two games of the series. Headed to Kansas City they were looking to stop the bleeding while hopefully keeping the bats going. That didn’t happen. Baltimore lost the next two games with the score, 2-1, with a total of seven hits. What hurt even more for the Orioles faithful was the error in the first inning from Caleb Joseph that brought in the second run. This run was the one that sent the Royals to the World Series.

2016:

The Orioles were back in the playoffs, but this time on the road in the Wild Card against their division foe, the Toronto Blue Jays. Baltimore led 2-1 off a Mark Trumbo homer in the fourth inning which was then tied up quickly in the fifth with an Ezequiel Carrera RBI single.

Baltimore was back into extra innings after no more runs were allowed and deep into the bullpen as Ubaldo Jiménez came in with one out in the 11th. Disclaimer that Jiménez was an 8-12 starter, but had a good September with a 3-1 record.

His October was about to be not so good. He threw five pitches, allowed three hits, and the final hit was a three-run bomb from Edwin Encarnación to put the Blue Jays through to the ALDS, winning 5-2.

2023:

The Orioles had a little hiatus from the playoffs after they went down to Toronto. They became the worst team in baseball and were in full rebuild mode. The rebuild’s effects were seen in 2023 when Baltimore was back in the playoffs as the best team in the AL. They were playing the Texas Rangers at home in the ALDS as the city was ready for this to be the year.

Game 1 didn’t help that sentiment with a 3-2 loss. The Orioles only had five hits and never led in the game. Game 2 was another home game to even up the series before it went to Texas, and that failed. This time, the pitching was waxed.

With a good 2-0 start in the first for Baltimore, the O’s quickly fell behind 5-2 and their starting pitcher, Grayson Rodriguez, was out of the game an inning and two thirds in. It was then 9-2 after a Mitch Garver grand slam in the third and the game was out of hand. The final was 11-8 and the hope was gone in Baltimore going to Texas.

Game 3 wasn’t close the whole way as the Rangers led 6-0 through two. Baltimore would only score one run and it was an embarrassing 7-1 loss to end the year.

2024:

Baltimore’s return to the playoffs this year was pathetic. They scored one run in two games as they lost 1-0 in Game 1 and 2-1 in Game 2. There were a total of 11 hits in two games and 16 runners left on base. While the team wasn’t as good as last year, to have a home series and only put up one run was an embarrassment to a city that has been hungry for a playoff win in the past 10 years.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out this playoff problem. While there were blown games in extra innings in the bullpen and bad starts, the Orioles failed to score more than two runs in seven of these games.

The hitters are given an energetic crowd and mostly solid pitching performances, at least through nine innings, and they have failed. Especially in these last two games which were symbolism of how the other eight losses have gone. The hitting has failed the city and while it may have led the team there, it needs to show up in October.

Brooks Markle is a first-year majoring in communications. To contact him, email bfm5562@psu.edu.