BALTIMORE – A gray, hazy haze blanketed Charm City Tuesday morning. The steady rain, at first, seemed to bode well for the Orioles. That a team so obsessed with water and its various states of flow would wake up to a downpour on the day of its first postseason game this year seemed appropriate.
Over the past 18 months, water-related tactics and tricks have become a ubiquitous part of the Orioles experience. Players mime taps when hitting a single and spew water from their mouths whenever a teammate hits a double. A repurposed beer funnel nicknamed “the hydration station” sits at the end of the shelter. After an O’s home run, players fill the contraption with water and sip on it in celebration. In left-center field, a section of seating deemed “The Birdbath” is sprayed with a water hose by a float-and-goggle-wearing character named Mr. Splash every time the team scores an extra-base hit.
Perhaps it was an omen that the drizzle let up about an hour before the first pitch.
Subscribe to Baseball-B-Cast Rod in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube either wherever you listen.
On a day in which ace Corbin Burnes put together the playoff performance of his life, allowing just one run in eight masterful innings, Baltimore’s offense completely dried up. Kansas City starter Cole Ragans baffled the Birds for six innings with a series of well-placed heaters before exiting prematurely with a calf issue. Their bullpen finished the job, throwing a trio of scoreless innings and making sure the Orioles didn’t touch the plate.
The Royals scored only once, on a two-out RBI single by their supernova shortstop, Bobby Witt Jr. Third baseman Maikel Garcia, whose stolen base earlier in the inning proved crucial, ran home to give Kansas City the lead. That was enough.
“As (Royals veteran outfielder) Tommy Pham says, as long as you allow the other team zero runs, you have a 99.999999 percent chance of winning the game,” Witt joked after his team’s 1-1 win. -0.
His adaptation to the moment should not be surprising. The 24-year-old shortstop spent the entire regular season establishing himself as one of the best players in the game. Time and time again he led the Royals to victory. In many other seasons, his 32 home runs, 31 steals and a .332 batting average with excellent shortstop defense would earn him the Most Valuable Player award. And his immense talent is matched only by his boundless joy for the game, his rare childlike energy.
Last week, during the Royals’ champagne celebration after earning a wild card, Witt told MLB.com that he was very excited to receive the October-themed jerseys he saw so often on television as a kid. On Tuesday, in the first postseason game of his young career, the dynamo of power and speed rose to the moment.
The Orioles’ bats certainly didn’t, wasting one of the brightest playoff starts in recent memory.
Burnes, who was removed after allowing a single leading off the ninth inning, became the first starter since Stephen Strasburg in Game 6 of the 2019 World Series to throw a pitch in the ninth inning of a playoff game. In the last decade of postseason baseball, only seven other starting pitchers have worked so deep. Only one, Matt Harvey against the same Kansas City Royals in Game 5 of the 2015 World Series, ended up losing the game.
The same fate befell Burnes, whom the Orioles acquired from Milwaukee over the winter for a pair of highly touted prospects. The deal represented the first truly aggressive move by Orioles general manager Mike Elias and his front office since the team’s competitive window opened in 2023. Parting with young, controllable talent to add a pending free agent in Burnes indicated to the baseball world that the Orioles were going for it. They were seizing the opportunity, taking advantage of their young and dynamic offensive core.
That core was nowhere to be found Tuesday. Baltimore’s top five hitters (Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Anthony Santander, Ryan Mountcastle and Adley Rutschman) were 1-for-18 against Royals pitchers. Ragans was outstanding, but the Orioles helped him, wasting two golden opportunities in the first innings. Twice, catcher and nine-hole hitter James McCann struck out in a huge spot: first in the third, with a runner on second and no one out, and then in the fifth, with runners on the corners and one down. That was as close as Baltimore could get.
As the zeros rose, a dark cloud of déjà vu inched over Camden Yards. Last year, the Orioles, American League East Division champions with 101 wins, entered the postseason with enormous expectations. In two ALDS home games against the Texas Rangers, the Birds faltered. They were swept away by the eventual champions, blinded by the spotlight, swallowed up by the moment.
Before this fall’s tournament, the Birds reframed their late-season slump as a positive, arguing that their brush with adversity would boost them when the October pressure cooker began. They had seen the bottom and had defended themselves. Now they could handle the intensity.
That’s the opposite of what happened on Tuesday. Once again, Baltimore’s offense faltered on the big stage.
It was even more frustrating considering how well Burnes pitched.
After speaking postgame with members of the media, the Baltimore ace sat quietly in a chair in front of his locker. Still dressed in his black short-sleeved T-shirt and game pants, Burnes scrolled aimlessly through the phone resting in his right hand, the same dominant hand he had dominated just hours before.
Other Orioles, passing by their ace, took a second to recognize his masterpiece. They patted Burnes on the back, punched him, or stammered some version of “good job today.” Burnes, disappointment hovering over him, nodded in acknowledgment or murmured a response. The gesture from Burnes’ teammates was part congratulations and part apology. A “thank you” and a “sorry.”
And, if the Orioles lose on Wednesday, goodbye.
Burnes is a free agent whenever Baltimore’s season comes to an end. He will have a contract of over $200 million. The analytically driven and historically thrifty Orioles don’t seem likely to keep their ace. Next season, Burnes is expected to pitch in different colors. Unless the Birds can pull off a turnaround, their stay in Charm City will be remembered as a huge missed opportunity.
For six months and one rainy October day, Burnes has held up his end of the bargain.
The same can’t be said for Baltimore’s lineup.