Orioles tied for wild card after rainout with Blue Jays
BALTIMORE (AP) — Even when they don't play, the Baltimore Orioles are having success these days.
Baltimore's game against the Toronto Blue Jays was rained out Wednesday night, but the Orioles pulled into a tie for the final wild card in the American League when Tampa Bay lost to Milwaukee. Baltimore has become a bit of a phenomenon after losing 110 games in 2021.
"Right now we have what's in front of us, and we can't control what other teams are doing," manager Brandon Hyde said Wednesday. "Paying attention a little bit more, but we have no control over it. So we've got to control what we can control."
Neither team could control the weather, which was a factor throughout this series. There was a 78-minute rain delay Tuesday night in a game the Orioles won 6-5. Then the finale of the three-game set was washed out and never started. It was called over an hour after it was supposed to begin.
The good news for these teams was they had plenty of options for makeup dates. There are still four more scheduled series between them, including two in Baltimore. The Orioles and Blue Jays will now play a single-admission doubleheader in Baltimore on Sept. 5.
The Orioles now visit Boston for one game Thursday night. After that, Baltimore has a big three-game series at Tampa Bay before three games at Toronto.
The Blue Jays are off Thursday before hosting a three-game series against Cleveland. They're now done with a road trip in which they went 3-5 against Tampa Bay, Minnesota and Baltimore.
"Three cities is tough," Toronto interim manager John Schneider said. "It's three good teams, and it's three teams that are all fighting for a playoff spot. Road trips are tough."
Toronto got an up-close look at the improved Orioles this week, losing twice against them.
"I think they've done a good job with their pitching as a whole, and they have a handful of really good hitters," Schneider said. "They've had that in the past, and I think they've surrounded those guys with some contact-oriented guys. ... But the thing that jumps out is the pitching for sure — both starters I think being a little bit more efficient, and their bullpen's been really good all year."
The Blue Jays remained in the top wild card spot in the AL, but Seattle pulled to within a half-game of Toronto. The Orioles and Rays are two behind the Blue Jays.
NOTES: Blue Jays RHP Ross Stripling (right hip strain) is set to go on a rehab assignment Friday with Triple-A Buffalo.