The Orioles' 2024 regular season will come to an end this weekend before they begin the Wild Card Series on Tuesday, they hope at home.

The Orioles (88-71) need one more win or a Tigers loss to clinch the top Wild Card spot as the No. 4 seed in the six-team playoff field in the American League.

Kansas City and Detroit (both 85-74) could clinch playoff spots tonight. The Royals would clinch with a win in Atlanta or a Twins loss. The Tigers would clinch with a win versus the White Sox or a Twins loss.

Minnesota's only chance to make it is to sweep Baltimore and then have either Kansas City or Detroit get swept.

Should the Orioles lockdown the fourth seed, they then await to find out which club they would play. Kansas City holds the tiebreaker over Detroit.

The final homestand of the 2024 regular season has arrived. The Orioles host the Giants for three games and then the Tigers for three to wrap up the home schedule.

The Orioles (84-66), with 12 games and four series remaining, begin play tonight three games behind the Yankees (87-63) for the American League East lead. This week the Yankees are on the West Coast with three games at Seattle beginning tonight and then three at Oakland.

This is before the O’s and Yankees play a three-game series in the Bronx beginning a week from tonight. With the Royals loss to the Tigers last night, the Orioles are 2 1/2 games ahead of Kansas City for the top AL Wild Card spot.

While the Orioles scored just six runs in the Tigers series and have scored only 21 runs the past 10 games (going 3-7), their starting pitchers have quietly been on a good roll:

* 1.42 ERA with five quality starts the last five games
* 2.33 ERA with six quality starts the past nine games
* 2.55 ERA with eight quality starts in 13 games this month

Now 1 1/2 games out in the American League East, the Orioles (82-63) play the second game of their three-game series in Boston tonight. It's also the second game of a six-game road trip that later moves on to Detroit.

The Orioles have lost four of five games and are 8-10 their past 18 games. They are 24-25 since the All-Star break and 29-32 since July 1.

The Orioles did not lose any of their first eight AL East series this year, going 6-0-2 in those series and 19-7 in those games. Now they are 2-3-1 their past six series, heading into this one and are 10-11 in their past 21 division games.

The Baltimore offense has scored one, two, one, zero and three runs during the past five games, and their seven runs in this span is last in the major leagues. They have 28 hits in those games for a .178 batting average and .539 OPS. They are 3-for-31 with runners in scoring position in this stretch.

The Orioles are 7-4 against the Red Sox and Baltimore has clinched the season series for a second straight year after going 7-6 in 2023. This marks the first time the O's have won the season series with the Sox in back-to-back years since doing so in four straight from 2012-15. One more win would guarantee a winning percentage of at least .600 against the Red Sox for the 15th time in team history and the first since 2012 (.722, 13-5). The Birds swept a three-game series in Boston from April 9-11, the 14th road series sweep of at least three games against the Red Sox by the Orioles club history and the first since April 2-4, 2021 (three games).

In their search for more runs, which they obviously hope lead to more wins, the Orioles are in Boston tonight. They play a three-game series at Fenway Park to begin their penultimate road trip of the season.

They play there remembering that they swept a series at Boston in mid-April, scoring 23 runs on 31 hits. In that set, they were 15-for-37 (.405) with runners in scoring position.

But over their past four games, the Orioles scored one, two, one and zero runs. They lost 2-0 to the Rays on Sunday to lose that series and suffer their sixth shutout. The Orioles have 22 hits in the past four games, batting .179 with a .502 OPS as they went 1-for-20 with runners in scoring position.

At 82-62 (.569), the Orioles have the second-best record in the American League and fifth-best in the majors. They begin play tonight a half-game out of first place in the AL East with 18 games remaining in the regular season.

The Orioles ended the year going 9-4 versus the Rays and the are 29-17 in division games.

Winners of back-to-back series, collectively going 4-2 versus the Rockies and White Sox, the Orioles' homestand continues tonight as they host the Rays to start a three-game series.

After beating the White Sox 13-3 and 9-0 in the first two games of the series, the O’s were held to seven hits in Wednesday’s 8-1 loss as they failed to complete their sixth sweep of the season.

The Orioles (81-60) had a three-game win streak snapped but have won four of six and seven of 12 games. They are 3-1 in September, 23-22 since the All-Star break and 28-29 since July 1.

With the New York Yankees' 3-0 win today over the Cubs, the clubs have identical records atop the division. The O's need to win to stay a 1/2-game ahead.

Gunnar Henderson homered Wednesday night and set an O’s record with his 35^th homer – the most ever by a Baltimore shortstop. He had shared the record with Cal Ripken Jr. (1991) and Miguel Tejada (2004).

LOS ANGELES – With one uplifting win followed by a disappointing loss for the Orioles in this series, the Birds and Dodgers play the rubber match game tonight at Dodger Stadium.

The first two games featured big and loud crowds as the clubs have seen 105,672 fans this series.

The Orioles (77-57) could have tied for first place in the American League East but lost 6-4 last night. They have lost two of three, four of seven and seven of the last 12 games. They are 8-12 all-time versus the Dodgers and 3-5 at Dodger Stadium, where the Orioles won the first two games of the 1966 World Series.

In Game 2 of that World Series, current O’s broadcaster Jim Palmer pitched a four-hitter in a 6-0 victory where he got the win and Sandy Koufax took the loss. Palmer was just 20 and Koufax had posted an ERA of 1.73 during the season. That turned out to be the last game for Koufax, who retired following the World Series.

But back to present day ...

LOS ANGELES – With a 3-2 win secured in the opener, the Orioles could secure a series victory if they can win tonight at Dodger Stadium.

Ryan O'Hearn hit a solo homer and Ramón Urías added a two-run go-ahead shot. Then the O's pitching made it stand up in a victory Tuesday night in front of the 15th sellout of the year of 52,382 at Los Angeles.

After lefty Cole Irvin allowed five hits and two runs over 4 1/3 innings, the Baltimore bullpen took it from there. Matt Bowman, Cionel Pérez, Yennier Cano and Seranthony Domínguez pitched 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Dodgers hitters went 2-for-16 versus the 'pen, going 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

The previously struggling bullpen has now pitched scoreless ball in four of the last five O's games with an ERA of 0.98 (two earned runs in 18 1/3 innings) in that span.

The Orioles (77-56) have won three of four and five of nine games. They are trying to get on a late-season roll and Irvin believes they will. 

LOS ANGELES – It's the Orioles' first trip to Dodger Stadium since 2016 as they begin a six-game road trip tonight versus the Dodgers. 

Los Angeles (78-53) took two of three over the weekend from Tampa Bay and has won six of seven, 12 of 16 and 15 of the last 21 games.

But the Dodgers' lead in the National League West is just three games over the Diamondbacks and four games over the Padres.

The Dodgers have won their division every year since 2013, except in 2021 when 106 wins only got them second place. They won 100 last year but lost three straight to the D-backs in the NL Division Series.

Chasing back-to-back American League East titles for the first time since 1973 and 1974, the Orioles (76-56) are coming off a four-game split with the Astros. They began play today two games behind the Yankees in the division. But with the Nationals 4-2 win over the Yankees, the O's would move to 1 game back with a win tonight. 

While the Orioles wonder about getting some of their eight pitchers on the injured list back later this season, their current biggest worry might be the offense.

That offense has produced just three hits in back-to-back games with three runs in those two games. Batters went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

The Astros pitched their ninth shutout of the year last night in a 6-0 win over the Orioles, handing the O’s their fifth shutout of 2024.

At 74-55, the Orioles have lost two in a row, three of four, five of seven and seven of the last 11. Baltimore, now 1 1/2 games out in the American League East, is 16-17 in the second half. The 1 1/2-game margin is the team's largest deficit in the division since being two games back of New York following a loss on June 25 in Cleveland.

Over the past six games, the Orioles have scored 20 runs, with nine coming in one game. In that span, the team is batting .167/.245/.323/.568 and has gone 2-for-27 with runners in scoring position. They have five hits or less in four of those games and three or less in three of them.

After they suffered a walk-off 4-3 loss to the Mets last night, the Orioles take the field tonight needing to win two straight to take this series at Citi Field before they return home.

The Orioles (73-53) take the field tonight a half-game behind the first-place Yankees (73-52) who begin a home series tonight with the American League Central-leading Guardians (72-52).

Last night's defeat, the Orioles' fourth walk-off loss of 2024, was their third loss in four games and fifth in their last eight. The Orioles are 15-15 since the All-Star break. 

The Birds fell to 23-18 in series openers and to 11-9 when that series opener was a road game.

The Orioles are 12-13 in July and 8-9 in August. They are 58-33 versus AL teams, but just 15-20 against the National League.

Can we call one series away from Baltimore a road trip? If we can, the Orioles' next road trip begins tonight at Citi Field with the first of a three-game series against the Mets. That is followed by one series at home against the Astros before the next two-series trip begins a week from tomorrow at the Dodgers.

The Orioles and Yankees are once again tied for the top spot in the American League East with both at 73-52 (.584). They are tied for the best record in the American League and tied for second-best in the majors, with the Phillies first at 73-51 and the Dodgers also at 73-52. It's tight at the top!

The Orioles' 4-2 win on Sunday allowed them to split a four-game series with the Red Sox and go 3-3 on their homestand. The Orioles went 12-13 in July and are 8-8 in August. They are 15-14 since the All-Star Game.

At 64-60, the Mets are in third place, nine games out in the National League East, and chasing the final NL wild card spot. It is currently held by the Braves (66-58) with the Mets next up, two games behind them.

The Mets are 3-2 the last five games but 3-6 the last nine. They have lost 12 of 21 games. They are 15-14 since the break, same as the Orioles.

The Orioles and Nationals will meet for the fourth and final time this year tonight at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. After losing to the Nats 9-3 last night, the O's are 0-1 in this two-game series and 1-2 in the four-game season series.

A win tonight will split this series and the four-game season set. The Orioles have not lost a season series to the Nationals since 2018.

These teams have been playing since 2006 and the Orioles are 56-41 all-time versus the Nats and 10-2-6 in season series.

The Orioles lost the 2018 season series, going 1-5. Then they went 2-2 in 2019, 4-2 in 2020, 3-3 in 2021, 3-1 in 2022 and 4-0 last season leading up to this year.

Even with last night's loss, the Orioles have won eight of their last 10 versus the Nats and manager Brandon Hyde is 17-10 against them.

The Orioles lost to the Rays on Sunday 2-1 as they failed to complete a three-game sweep, which would have been their sixth series sweep of the year.

Now the Orioles go from playing an American League East team – and they have had a lot of success within their division this year – to playing a National League East team. And they have a losing record this year versus NL squads.

The Orioles took two of three over the weekend from the Rays to be 8-2 against them in 2024. They are now are 26-13 versus AL East teams.

The Orioles are 14-18 versus NL teams and they lost their past three series against the NL, going 0-3 versus the Cubs and 1-2 each against the Marlins and Padres. The Orioles are 4-6-1 this season in series against the NL clubs.

Tonight the Orioles host the Nationals to start a two-game series and six-game homestand. The Red Sox come to town on Thursday night.

The Orioles will go for a series sweep and a season sweep at The Trop today as they try to go 7-0 this year on the road versus the Rays.

With wins by 4-1 and 7-5 the last two days, the O's can complete their sixth sweep of the year today of three or four games. The Orioles have been swept three in a row three times this year in St. Louis and Houston and then at home versus the Cubs.

The O's have three-game sweeps in Boston, against the Twins and in Cincinnati. They have four-game sweeps in Chicago against the White Sox and in Tampa Bay.

They have gone 6-0 this year at The Trop by a combined 36-13 score. They have out-homered the Rays 13-4 at The Trop. Baltimore pitchers have an ERA of 1.67 in the six games, allowing a batting average of .174 with OPS of .493. Baltimore batters have hit .298/.347/.553/.900 at The Trop in those six games.

For the year, the Orioles are 8-1 against the Rays and they have won 16 of the last 21 games between the teams. 

The Orioles and Blue Jays play the third game of their four-game series tonight after splitting a doubleheader Monday. The Orioles won the opener 11-5 and lost the nightcap 8-4.

The Orioles (63-44) lead the American League East, but now just by a half-game over the Yankees, who have won their past three games. The Orioles have not been in second place since June 26. They would be tonight with a loss and another Yankees win.

While the Orioles are 3-3 their past six games, in longer stretches they have lost six of their past nine, 12 of 19 and 13 of the last 21 games.

Since June 21 when they began a series where they would be swept in Houston, the Orioles are 14-19 with a -42 run differential. In those 33 games, they have a team ERA of 5.37 allowing a team batting average to opponents of .270 with an .800 OPS in that span. Opponents are scoring 4.5 runs per game with 48 home runs in this stretch.

After the doubleheader, the O’s have now allowed five or more runs in eight straight games, seven times allowing six or more. In the eight games, they have allowed 91 hits with a 5.45 team ERA.

MIAMI – After a series-opening 6-3 loss in Miami last night, the Orioles take the field tonight looking to turn around their recent poor play and even this series.

They do it with right-hander Chayce McDermott making his big league debut on the mound. The 2023 Jim Palmer Award winner as the O’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year was 3-5 with a 3.96 ERA at Triple-A Norfolk. Over 91 innings in 20 games, he had a 5.34 walks-per-nine-innings rate and 12.76 strikeouts-per-nine-innings rate.

He leads the International League in strikeouts and is tied for the overall minor league lead.

Ranked as the O’s No. 6 prospect by Baseball America, he is No. 7 via MLBPipeline.com, which provides 60 grades on his fastball and slider and 45 for his control.

In 10 Triple-A games to end the 2023 season, McDermott pitched to an ERA of 2.49 and 1.01 WHIP and felt then he was on the way to making command gains.

MIAMI – After opening their post-All-Star break schedule with a series win in Texas, the Orioles road trip has moved back to the East Coast. They open a three-game series tonight in Miami at loadDepot park. 

The Orioles (60-39) lead the American League East by 1 1/2 games over the Yankees (60-42) while the Red Sox (53-46) are seven games back in third place. 

The Orioles scored 17 runs and hit seven homers in winning the first two games of their series in Texas. On Sunday, their offense was held to five hits and two runs in a 3-2 loss.

In the eighth inning, Anthony Santander hit a first-pitch two-run homer. It was No. 27 for Santander and his fourth in four games.

Santander hit 13 homers and produced a .960 OPS in June. That number is now .976 in July. In 43 games since June 1, he is batting .278/.326/.639/.965 with 18 homers and 37 RBIs. As of Monday night, Santander’s 18 homers led the majors since June 1, with Shohei Ohtani next with 16 and Aaron Judge third hitting 15 homers in that span.

Even though the Orioles' first half ended with that crazy win over the Yankees last Sunday in Baltimore, they did go 1-5 on that homestand and were 9-13 in their past 22 games heading into the break.

But today, after wins by 9-1 and 8-4 at Globe Life Field, they have a chance to begin the second half with a three-game sweep of the Rangers.

For the second time in a less than a month, they have a chance to sweep the team that swept them out of the 2023 American League playoffs. They took the first three games of a four-game series in Baltimore late last month, but they lost the fourth game. Now they have a shot for a three-game road sweep.

The Orioles have swept five series of three or four games this year: They've had three-game sweeps at Boston (April 9-11), versus Minnesota (April 15-17) and at Cincinnati (May 3-5). They have four-game sweeps in Chicago against the White Sox (May 23-26) and in St. Petersburg, Fla., versus the Rays (June 7-10).

The Orioles are 5-1 against the Rangers this season, scoring 6.33 runs per game in the season series. They have hit 14 homers versus Texas, batting .273 with an .879 OPS. They have a team ERA of 3.83 in the six games.

The All-Star break for the Orioles arrives after today's series and homestand finale against the Yankees. They are not exactly charging into the break. The Birds are 0-5 this homestand and have have been outscored 31-4.

They have scored two, zero, zero, one and one run in the five games and have scored just two runs their past 42 innings. The O's have gone a season-high four straight games without a home run.

The Orioles (57-38) and Yankees (58-39) are tied for the American League East lead, which will be held at the break by the winner of today's game. Technically the O's enter this game leading the division by percentage points, playing .600 ball to the Yankees' .598.

Until the Orioles were swept by the Cardinals on May 20-22 on the road, they had gone 106 straight regular season series of at least two games without being swept. Their most recent sweep in the regular season before that St. Louis series was May 13-15, 2022 at Detroit. That was easily an O's club record and the third-longest sweepless streak in major league history. The previous O's record was 46 straight series in 1971-1972.

But after losing to the Yankees 4-1 Friday and 6-1 yesterday, a loss today would mean the Orioles have been swept in two straight series and in three of their past seven series.

After a much-needed off-day, the Orioles (53-31) begin a six-game West Coast road trip tonight at Seattle in a match up of first-place clubs. The trip heads to Oakland starting Friday night. 

When we last saw them, the Orioles were getting blown out 11-2 at home Sunday night by the Rangers. But the Orioles had won the first three games of that four-game series. They finished June going 17-12 and ended a run of 30 games in a 31-day span by going 18-12 (.600).

The Orioles, who lead the majors with 139 homers, were held without one in that game for just the second time in the last 29 games.

Ryan O'Hearn and Heston Kjerstad drove in the O's runs on Sunday as the Rangers outhit the Orioles 13-7.

The Orioles had their best scoring and hitting month of the year in June, averaging 5.62 runs per game and hitting 60 homers. As a team, they batted .273/.333/.513/.847 during the month.