Just before Adley Rutschman, the Orioles’ standout catcher, was promoted, a series of three games against the Detroit Tigers resulted in a sweep and they lost the first three games in a four-game series against the New York Yankees. However, they ended the streak with a victory thanks to Anthony Santander’s walk-off three-run homer.
If we look at the previous two years, it is likely that the Orioles (23-12) will win on Wednesday with Kyle Bradish as their right-handed pitcher, facing Mitchell Parker of the Nationals. Since May 2022, Baltimore has not won a series and has lost 12 times, excluding their AL Division Series against the Texas Rangers.
In these particular games, they have a perfect record of 12 wins and 0 losses. They have scored a total of 68 runs while only allowing 27 runs by their opponents. Additionally, they have limited their opponents to only three or less runs in seven of those games. The streak is not inherently important, especially since the Orioles were, in fact, swept in October in the franchise’s first playoff series since 2014. Baltimore was the AL’s top seed last season but fell in three games to the Rangers by scores of 3-2, 11-8 and 7-1.
“We will recover tomorrow. We will be fine.”
One notable aspect of this streak is that it marks the longest for MLB since World War II. In the past, teams typically played longer series consisting of five or more games, which made it more challenging to be completely defeated.
At the start of the season, the Orioles faced a significant threat to their record of never being swept in the regular season with two two-game series against the Washington Nationals.
The 2024 schedule for the Orioles features only two sets of back-to-back games against the Nationals known as the Battle of the Beltways. These games factor into the record for the longest streak in MLB without being swept. Regardless of the opposing team, it is more probable to be swept in these shorter series than in the more standard three to four game series.
“Our team shows great discipline in maintaining consistency throughout the ups and downs of a six-month season,” commented Hyde on last year’s performance. “They don’t get too high or too low, which helps to approach each day with a fresh perspective. Whether we’re on a losing streak or a winning streak, anything can happen and things can turn around quickly.”
“I’m not concerned,” stated starting pitcher Corbin Burnes regarding the team’s offense following their loss on Tuesday. “I believe we have one of the strongest offenses in baseball, if not the best.”
After being defeated on Tuesday, they are now just one loss away from the end. If the Orioles are defeated by the Nationals on Wednesday, it will mark the first occurrence since May 2022. This is a stretch of 102 series, which is the longest in the history of the American League. However, the team did experience a sweep during the postseason in October.
This happened on five occasions in 2022, six times in the previous year, and once in the current season. In the month of April, the Milwaukee Brewers emerged victorious in the first two out of a three-game series at Camden Yards, but the Orioles maintained their streak with a 6-4 victory. In 2022, the Orioles were defeated in the first game against the Nationals but managed to win the final game of the series, 7-0, with a cycle from Austin Hays in a game that was shortened due to rain and ended in six innings.
On Tuesday, the Baltimore Orioles were defeated 3-0 due to strong pitching from Trevor Williams and the Nationals’ bullpen. The Orioles only managed to get three hits, all of which were singles, and struck out 12 times with no walks in 31 plate appearances.
Rutschman was promoted several days later and has since avoided being defeated during the regular season as a major league player. The same can be said for Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser, and Jordan Westburg.
Manager Brandon Hyde and the Baltimore Orioles players have expressed that the lack of sweeps is a reflection of the team’s strong culture.
