A win seemed on the doorstep, but O's instead suffer devastating loss

The Kansas City Royals lost again, so the Orioles' four-game lead for the first American League wild card berth is still intact. But they had a chance to build some real momentum and get their mojo back.

It sure looked like they were doing exactly that, until they were not.

Most Valuable Oriole Gunnar Henderson doubled in two runs in the last of the ninth and the Orioles and Tigers were tied at four. More than 39,000 fans were roaring. Another walk-off seemed moments away.

Second and third, no outs. But no more runs. A 6-4 loss to Detroit in 10 innings was a gut punch.

A few random thoughts:

* Jackson Holliday could not make a play on that single up the middle in the eighth. It was a possible double play ball. Holliday, for me, has been playing solid defense, plus defense at second base for the last few weeks. Not this time. It was costly although scored an RBI single.

* I don't have a problem with Anthony Santander swinging at a 2-0 changeup in the ninth. It was at the bottom of the zone yes, but in the middle of the plate. Santander often would smoke that ball. This time he popped up.

* I also have no problem that Holliday did not tag up on that 165-foot pop up. If the ball falls - and it almost did - he has to be ready to run down the line to win it, and he tried to get a head start. Manager Brandon Hyde said he made the right play. The fielder got the ball in quickly, so tagging up, as I saw it, would have done nothing.

The bottom line is you have to do something to win that game in the spot they were in. The chances were there. They should have won that game.

Now they have to try to move on.

The Orioles have scored 16 runs over the last three games, a bit better after scoring 24 in the previous 12. They hit .191 with a .575 OPS in those 12 games and have hit .271/.792 the last three.

Tough loss, brutal, put any word you want on it. The O's have to try to win today. What choice do they have?

More on Henderson's second MVO: It was a bit of a surprising answer. After he had been voted Most Valuable Oriole for the second year in a row, I asked Henderson what area on his stat sheet he is most proud of. Or is it just really about the entire body of work and his total season hitting resume?

He didn’t cite hitting 37 homers or scoring 115 runs or his .902 OPS. He cited a stat that helps him and his team.

“I would say the OBP (of .365, seventh in the American League)," Henderson said. "Just getting on base for the guys behind me, especially as a leadoff hitter. Wasn’t really a leadoff hitter growing up, but doing it at the big league level, that is something that I’d like to take care of to help the guys behind us and try and put runs up on the board.”

Henderson sure is doing that, with 89 driven in and 115 runs scored. He began play Saturday third in the AL and fifth in the major leagues in runs scored. He is on a pace to score 121 runs. Roberto Alomar, with 132 runs scored in 1996, holds the O’s single-season record. Frank Robinson had 122 in 1966 and Cal Ripken Jr. 121 in 1983. So Henderson is keeping company with two Hall of Famers there, one who scored that many runs during a Triple Crown season and one who did it during an MVP year.

With 37 homers, Henderson is three shy of becoming the fourth shortstop (11th occurrence) in major league history to hit 40 home runs, joining Alex Rodriguez (who did it six times from 1998-2003), Rico Petrocelli (1969), and Ernie Banks (four times, 1957-60).

Just think about the names he is keeping company with here. Pretty special stuff.

On my ballot he was the easy choice for MVO. I listed Santander second and Corbin Burnes third. Yes, deserving candidates didn’t make even the top three. It’s been a year of some solid performances.

As for the team, a storyline last October was that the Orioles had little playoff experience. Well, that is different now after they played those three games against Texas in the 2023 American League Division Series. 

“We are a little bit more battle-tested this year,” Henderson said. “It hasn’t been one smooth line like it kind of was last year. And feel like that will benefit us down the road."

Henderson is known to be very hard on himself. He said yesterday that helps him be an All-Star talent.

"It is just something I have always done," he said. "I’m hard on myself and I think that keeps me going. Keeps me playing as hard as I do each and every day. Might look different to some people, but that is just how I operate. Try to go out there and be the best player I can be."

Said Hyde of Henderson's MVO: “He’s just had a lot of great moments and it’s a special, special person that is unbelievably driven. I said last night to somebody during the game – I can’t remember who it was – I said the guy never feels like he should get out. When he makes an out, he never feels like the pitcher got him out. He should never get out. And that’s just how he’s wired. He’s got an incredible amount of talent for someone that young.”

And Henderson still could get better. 

“He’s still so young, and this is his first year playing every day at shortstop,” Hyde said. “There’s room to grow in every single area right now. It’s hard to believe, but he’s going to continue to get better.”