Baltimore Orioles Not Concerned Despite Lackluster Second Half

Should the Baltimore Orioles be concerned with how they have played in the second half of the season?

Sep 8, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles pitcher Matt Bowman (51) throws a pitch during the seventh inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images

The Baltimore Orioles suffered a bad loss on Sunday to the Tampa Bay Rays, as they were defeated by a score of 2-0. With the loss, the Orioles dropped the series to the Rays, which isn’t a good thing considering how tight the race to win the American League East is. 

After winning a couple of series in a row, Baltimore had an excellent opportunity to put some space between them and the New York Yankees in the AL East over the weekend. However, the Orioles dropped two out of three games to Tampa Bay. 

Now, the Orioles once again find themselves trailing the Yankees, as the see-saw battle between the two continues. While Baltimore has had a great season overall, they haven’t been playing great in the second half of the season, as they have been hovering around the .500 mark. 

Orioles’ ace, Corbin Burnes, recently spoke about the performance of the team as of late and what the mindset currently is in the clubhouse.

“We kind of go in stretches where it kind of looks like we’re coming out of it. Two steps forward, one step back,” Burnes said to Jake Rill of MLB.com. “So it kind of feels like we start to get there, and then, a couple bad days and it kind of feels like we reset and start over.

“We’re still right there in the hunt. Whether it’s for first, whether it’s the Wild Card, whatever it may be, we know we’re going to be a postseason team. We’ve got 18 games left now to get it all figured out and get on a hot streak and to take it through the postseason. It just feels like we’re right there and just haven’t quite turned the corner yet.”

While Baltimore might not be playing their best baseball of late, they are still 20 games over .500 and can still certainly win the AL East. 

One of the encouraging things for the Orioles in the last couple of weeks has been Corbin Burnes bouncing back to form. In the loss on Sunday, Burnes pitched very well, allowing just two runs. Unfortunately, the offense for Baltimore was nowhere to be found. 

As the Orioles continue to battle New York, they will now be facing another division rival in the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox are still very much in the American League Wild Card chase, and a winning series against Baltimore would help them a lot.