It was another rough night for the Orioles on Tuesday as the Birds fell to the Giants 5-0. The offense once again failed to produce and there are major question marks about the Orioles’ ability to compete in the postseason with the way they’ve been playing.
Right hander Albert Suarez had been one of the few bright spots on the roster coming into Tuesday night’s matchup in San Francisco but unfortunately Suarez wasn’t able to stay on the right track against his former squad.
Suarez coughed up 4 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks while getting chased after just 3.1 innings. It took Suarez 82 pitches to get those 10 outs and the righty saw his ERA climb to 3.60 on the year.
Albert Suarez couldn’t get the job done against his former team
Suarez broke into the majors with the Giants way back in 2016, throwing just over 115 innings between 2016-2017. He missed a bunch of time in 2017 thanks to a shoulder injury and failed to make it back to the majors in 2018 after being picked up off waivers by the Diamondbacks.
After spending a couple years in the KBO, Suarez wound up with the Orioles this offseason and finally got a chance to pitch against his former club. Unfortunately, the outing didn’t go as planned but Suarez will get a chance to right the ship.
Suarez is lined up to pitch twice more this season, assuming the rotation stays in its current shape. He’ll likely pitch on Sunday against the Tigers and again next weekend in the O’s final series against the Twins.
At this point, the Orioles are going to start running into must-win territory. The Orioles will most likely clinch a postseason spot later this week but that assumes they’re going to win baseball games. The O’s have two games left with the Giants before facing off against the Tigers, Yankees, and Twins to round out the year.
All three of those teams are fighting for playoff position in some manner. The Yankees are looking to wrap up the AL East, while the Tigers and Twins are looking to capture the AL’s third and final Wild Card spot. But that’s assuming the Orioles claim one of the spots themselves.
There’s still an outside chance that the Orioles lose enough to put their postseason spot in jeopardy, though it’s still unlikely. The biggest thing for Baltimore will be trying to get a win on Wednesday night when Dean Kremer will face off against the Giants’ struggling Hayden Birdsong.
The Orioles’ chances of winning the division are dwindling quickly but they’ll need to win at least another couple games to clinch a playoff spot. Wednesday provides a good opportunity to grab a much needed victory.