The music didn't play. The reflections from the disco lights didn't bounce off the walls and ceiling. The Orioles sat in silence at their lockers or circled the room and hugged, failing to repeat as division champions and now mimicking last year’s morose elimination setting.

The losing streak in the playoffs has reached 10 games. Any chance to snap it must wait until 2025.

The Royals broke a tie in the sixth inning on Bobby Witt Jr.’s infield single with two outs that scored Kyle Isbel, and the Orioles lost 2-1 in a do-or-die Game 2 of the Wild Card series before an announced crowd of 38,698 at Camden Yards.

That’s it. Being all-in with the winter trade for Corbin Burnes and talking about avenging last year’s ouster in the Division Series in Texas led to another sweep. Too many injuries and too little offense.

And now, a lot of time to think about it.

Facing a win or go home, the season's over scenario, the Orioles host the Kansas City Royals today in Game 2 of the American League Wild Card round series at Oriole Park. 

There were just 10 hits yesterday as Kansas City pushed across a sixth-inning run to beat the Orioles 1-0, who now have a nine-game postseason losing streak.

Bobby Witt Jr. singled in the only run as Kansas City moved to within one win of advancing to the AL Division Series against the New York Yankees.

The Orioles, who scored 22 runs in sweeping Minnesota over the weekend and 56 runs in their last 10 regular-season games, were shut out. It was their fourth shutout over the last 20 games since Sept. 8.

O's right-hander Corbin Burnes went eight-innings plus one batter allowing five hits and one run on 84 pitches. Burnes, who has never thrown a complete game came close yesterday. His career-long outing was 8 1/3 innings on July 18, 2021 for Milwaukee at Cincinnati.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde took a temperature check of his team this morning. He walked in the clubhouse and the weight room. No one seemed to be sweating yesterday’s loss that pushed them to the brink of elimination in the Wild Card round.

“I think it's totally business as usual,” Hyde said.

“I think guys are in great spirits and ready to get after it today.”

They must or there’s no tomorrow.

“I have all the faith in the world in this team,” said Colton Cowser. “I think yesterday it was just one of those days. I think our guys, we're really confident, really comfortable, and we're looking forward to bouncing back.”

If the Orioles reach the Division Series, Game 1 would be played Saturday at 6:38 p.m. at Yankee Stadium. Game 2 would be played Monday at 7:38 p.m.

They need to get there first, and a loss today destroys that goal.

Colton Cowser is the cleanup hitter this afternoon, Adley Rutschman is catching and Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter.

Zach Eflin pitched for the Rays in Kansas City on July 4 and allowed five earned runs and six total in five innings. He owns a 5.09 ERA in four career starts against them totaling 23 innings.

Eflin tossed a complete-game shutout against the Royals on May 11, 2019 with the Phillies.

After Orioles starting pitchers covered just eight innings in the 2023 American League Division Series versus Texas, O’s 2024 ace Corbin Burnes matched that innings total in one night.

He was that good.

But even giving up one run was too many on this night as the Orioles were held to five hits, went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and were shutout 1-0 by Kansas City in Game 1 of the AL Wild Card round.

The Orioles had scored 22 runs in a three-game sweep at Minnesota and 56 runs with a team OPS of .797 in their last 10 regular season games.

But the O’s have now been blanked four times since Sept. 8 and that is a 20-game span.

The long-assumed Orioles starter for today’s Game 2 of the Wild Card series became official last night. Manager Brandon Hyde, without a drum roll in the interview room, announced that Zach Eflin would pitch.

The reasoning behind the delay might remain a secret. The outcome of Game 1 was cited as a reason. Did that imply that a win over the Royals might push back Eflin rather than going for the kill with the team’s other ace?

Dean Kremer could have moved up. Rookie Cade Povich wasn’t dismissed as a possibility after his inclusion on the Wild Card roster.

Whatever was going on, Eflin must be the stopper today or the Orioles’ latest run toward a champion is halted.

At least there’s a run. They couldn’t score one yesterday for Corbin Burnes.

With their 9-2 win over the Minnesota Twins Saturday night, the Orioles improved their record to 90-71 with one game to play.

The Birds have won four of five and six of the last nine games as they are playing better with the playoffs starting Tuesday.

A win today and they would finish 33-33 in the second half.

By securing win No. 90, this O’s team is now tied for the 20^th-most wins in team history with the 1975 and 1978 teams. So 22 O’s teams have won 90 or more.

If they get win No. 91 today, the O’s will tie for the 18^th-most wins in club history with teams from 1968 and 1974.

As the phrase goes the Orioles have been “getting the band back together” getting some of their injured list players back recently as Jacob Webb, Danny Coulombe, Ryan Mountcastle, Ramón Urías, Jordan Westburg and Heston Kjerstad have all made it back to the active roster.

It is a big boost to a team that recently had 12 players on the injured list.

And while the O’s pitching staff took a big injury hit even before the All-Star break, some MLB stats indicate that the Orioles have not been hurt as badly on the injury front as other clubs. At least when looking at player games missed.

This is total games that players on the injured list have missed this year for each club and each missed game counts the same whether it is an All-Star that is out or the last guy on the roster. So we need to keep that in mind.

But here are the top clubs in most player games missed to this point, according to Stats Perform:

NEW YORK – The Orioles didn’t arrive in the Bronx today with a clinching hangover. They partied hard last night, drenching each other in champagne and beer, and sprayed singles all over Yankee Stadium.

Fill-in starter Marcus Stroman couldn’t record an out on his own in the first inning until facing his seventh batter, resulting in three runs and a wire-to-wire lead in the Orioles’ 9-7 victory before an announced crowd of 41,010.

They were ahead 9-3 in the ninth before Matt Bowman surrendered four runs, the last three on Aaron Judge's 57th homer. Keegan Akin registered his first save since 2022.

Zach Eflin battled unusual control problems, setting a career high with five walks, and he came out after 4 2/3 innings in his shortest start since June 5 in Miami. The bullpen registered 3 1/3 scoreless until Bowman entered, and the Orioles improved to 88-70.

The Tigers also won tonight, leaving the magic number at one for the Orioles to secure the home Wild Card in a series that begins Oct. 1. They moved to within four games of first place.

With a playoff berth now secure, the Orioles play at New York tonight looking to wrap up the top American League Wild Card seed. At five games behind the Yankees with five to play, they also are still mathematically alive for the AL East championship.

An O's win tonight would push them closer to that top Wild Card slot while keeping their faint division hopes alive for another day.

In Tuesday's 5-3 win at Yankee Stadium, they got solo homers from Anthony Santander (No. 44), Ramón Urías (No. 11) and Colton Cowser (No. 23). Santander's homer hit the right-field foul pole, going just 344 feet, while Urías hit one 405 and Cowser's blast went 432 feet.

Santander's homer also produced his 100th RBI, which is five more than his career high from 2023. Santander's 195 RBIs since the start of last year put him tied for 11th in the majors. He is tied with former Oriole Manny Machado.

He homered for the third time in five games and has hit 35 in his last 100 games, since June 1. Santander has four homers in 11 games versus the Yankees.

Manager Brandon Hyde isn’t ready or willing to contribute to the publication of his team’s obit. Not with more games to play, possession of the first wild card and champagne to chill. He’ll keep trying to clear the air of any negativity.

Hyde isn’t blind to the season’s downward turn, but he retains full confidence in the Orioles' ability to get hot again.

Beyond the usual injury and rehab updates, Hyde spent most of his nine-minute pregame media session rehashing what’s gone wrong during a sub-.500 second half and slippage in the division race. Exactly when he began to worry. Why slumps are lasting for long periods.

Hyde finished with a quip about his players occupying the top of Triple-A Norfolk’s lineup, rose from his chair and returned to his office. And the Orioles backed his trust.

A blown save in the top of the ninth inning was followed by Anthony Santander's two-run walk-off homer and a much-needed 5-3 win over the Giants before an announced crowd of 23,181 at Camden Yards. Bedlam ensued. The Orioles were eager to release their frustration and it spilled all over the dugout, track and home plate.

DETROIT – As the losses mount while the runs do not, if feels like the American League East is slipping away from the Orioles.

Their 1-0 loss at Detroit - in which they narrowly missed being no-hit - was their fifth in six games and sixth in the last eight. The Orioles are 25-27 since the All-Star break and 30-34 since July 1.

They are now three games behind the Yankees for first place at 83-65. It’s their largest first-place deficit since they were 3 1/2 games back on June 14. Their biggest deficit of the year is 4 1/2 games on June 6.

The Orioles still have three games left with the Yankees and could win the tiebreaker. But now they just need some runs and wins to make that tiebreaker matter. Or to have a chance when they face the Yankees for three games in the Bronx starting Sept. 24.

The Tigers used four pitchers last night and they had a perfect game going through seven innings. When Adley Rutschman became the Orioles' first baserunner with a walk leading off the eighth, Detroit’s bid for the first combined perfect game in major league history had ended. But they still had a chance for Detroit’s 10^th no-hitter, and it would have been the eighth pitched against the Orioles and the first since Seattle’s Hisashi Iwakuma got them on Aug. 12, 2015.

DETROIT – The storyline for the game tonight at Detroit in the series-opener for the Orioles was not just would their offense finally get going.

It was would they get a hit or even a baserunner?

Their batters who had scored just 15 runs their past seven games, were going down quickly and too many times taking called third strikes. They were getting nothing going.

And they almost never did.

Gunnar Henderson's two-out triple down the right-field line in the ninth ended Detroit's combined no-hit bid. But one strikeout of Anthony Santander later, the O's had lost this game 1-0 in the series opener in front of 25,253 at Comerica Park.

DETROIT - The Orioles tonight play game No. 148 and for the first time in 2024, they will play the Tigers. The clubs open a three-game series at Comerica Park.

The teams will meet six times in the next nine games, playing back-to-back weekends in Detroit and Baltimore.

While the O's have not played well for most of the last couple of months really, the Tigers are a pretty hot team right now despite their 4-2 loss Thursday to the Rockies.

Detroit has won its last two series versus Oakland and Colorado and is 5-1 in its past six series.

At 75-72, the Tigers begin play tonight 3.5 games back of the Twins for the last American League wild-card berth and the No. 6 AL seed.

Zach Eflin has provided a huge lift to the Orioles since his arrival in a trade with Tampa Bay. It was their turn to pick him up.

They owed him. They had numerous chances.

They didn’t do it.

Eflin served up leadoff home runs to Yandy Díaz in the first inning and Taylor Walls in the third, and the Orioles couldn’t deliver in the clutch in a 7-1 loss to the Rays before an announced crowd of 34,256 at Camden Yards, where rain held up the start for 27 minutes.

The Yankees won today and lead the division by a half-game.

The standings say that with their 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Rays last night, the Orioles moved 1/2 game ahead of the Yankees for the division lead. The Orioles (82-60) have 20 games left to play and New York (81-60) has 21.

But a real separator is each club's American League East record, the games within the division. The Orioles have a 7 1/2 game lead in that record within a record.

After their ninth win in 11 games this year against Tampa Bay, the Orioles are 29-15 in AL East games. New York is 22-23. Big difference. 

Here are the records of the teams in division games in 2024 and the Orioles are the only club over .500.

.659 - Orioles (29-15)
.500 - Boston (18-18)
.489 - New York (22-23)
.435 - Toronto (20-26)
.415 - Tampa Bay (17-24)

DENVER – The Orioles recorded a hit with a runner in scoring position to take a quick lead, and Zach Eflin retired the side in order on 10 pitches in his return from the injured list. Maybe, just maybe, the Orioles would make it through the afternoon in good health and with a series win. Leaving the drama at the entrance to Coors Field. Starting a new month with a new attitude and better vibes.

They couldn’t possibly know what else Eflin would deliver.

Eflin retired the first 15 batters on only 49 pitches to flirt with the first perfect game in franchise history. He’d settle for seven innings of one-run ball in a 6-1 victory over the Rockies before an announced crowd of 32,961 on another gorgeous Denver day.

Eflin was barreling toward the first Orioles complete game since Dean Kremer on Sept. 23, 2022 against the Astros at Camden Yards. Kremer left last night’s start in the fourth after taking a line drive off his right forearm area. An odd connection was brewing.

Chad Kuhl tossed the last complete game at Coors Field on June 27, 2022.

After winning the first game of their series at Dodger Stadium, the Orioles lost the next two games, losing the series to the Dodgers. They need a win today to avoid the same fate at Coors Field.

The Orioles beat the Rockies 5-3 in the series-opener on Friday night, but they lost 7-5 last night. So the O’s and Rockies play the rubber match game to end this series and road trip. The Orioles are 8-5 in rubber match games.

At 78-59, the Orioles begin play today 1.5 games behind the New York Yankees. They are 39-29 on the road and 2-3 on this trip.

The Orioles have lost three of four, six of 10 and 11 of their past 19 games. The O’s are 20-21 since the All-Star game after going 58-38 in the second half.

The Orioles have now played 137 games:

DENVER – Zach Eflin is reinstated from the injured list and starting this afternoon against the Rockies. Coby Mayo is recalled from Triple-A Norfolk as the 14^th position player on an expanded roster.

And that’s just the beginning.

Infielder Ramón Urías is on the 10-day injured list with a sprained right ankle. He’s on crutches again today after rolling the ankle last night on a tag play at third base.

The Orioles selected catcher David Bañuelos’ contract from Norfolk. He was on the taxi squad and likely will return to it by Monday afternoon.

Outfielder Forrest Wall was designated for assignment to make room for Bañuelos. He was 4-for-11 with a home run for Norfolk after the Orioles claimed him on waivers last week from the Marlins.

DENVER – The Orioles can feel a lot better about their rotation.

Zach Eflin had a bullpen session this afternoon at Coors Field and is ready to hop back onto the active roster. He’s eligible to be reinstated Sunday and the Orioles kept that spot TBA.

Manager Brandon Hyde said Eflin is “probable” to close out the series against the Rockies which also concludes the latest road trip.

“Probably see how he recovers tomorrow and then we’ll see how it goes,” Hyde said.

Eflin has registered four quality starts in his four appearances with the Orioles. He went on the injured list retroactive to Aug. 17 with inflammation in his right shoulder, another harsh blow to a club that’s already missing Grayson Rodriguez until mid-to-late September and Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells for the rest of 2024.