And then there were two. Two games left in the 2023 regular season as the American League East champion Orioles (100-60) tonight host last-place Boston (77-83) in the third game of a four-game series at Oriole Park. 

The Orioles won their 100th game and clinched the division title with Thursday's 2-0 win. They lost to Boston 3-0 last night as they were held to three hits and blanked for the ninth time this season.

The Orioles offense has scored two runs or fewer in four of the last six and six of the last nine games. Baltimore batters have scored eight runs over the last four games and 26 in the past nine. They have hit just three homers in those nine games.

In this series the Orioles are 7-for-55 (.127) with two doubles and one homer, scoring two runs and going 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position.

The loss Friday ended Baltimore's five-game win streak by a combined 15-3 score. Over longer stretches, the Orioles have still won nine of 13, 17 of 26 and 29 of the last 44 games.

After a season when he rose to No. 1 in prospects rankings and has already been named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year, today shortstop Jackson Holliday was named winner of the Orioles' Brooks Robinson Award as the organization's Minor League Player of the Year for 2023.

The Orioles named right-hander Chayce McDermott the recipient of the Jim Palmer Award as the club's Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Norfolk manager Buck Britton won the Cal Ripken Sr. Player Development Award. Dave Jennings won the Jim Russo Scout of the Year award.

Holliday has played at four levels in the 2023 season, beginning the year at Single-A Delmarva and later moving to High-A Aberdeen, Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk. He ended the regular season with Norfolk and will play with the International League champion Tides tonight against Oklahoma City, winners of the Pacific Coast League title, in the Triple-A Championship game in Las Vegas.

Over 125 games this year between the Shorebirds, IronBirds, Baysox and Tides, Holliday, 19, has hit .323/.442/.499/.941 with 30 doubles, nine triples, 12 homers, 24 steals, 154 hits, 101 walks, 113 runs and 75 RBIs.

“Yeah, I’ve got no complaints," Holliday said via a Zoom call today with reporters about his remarkable season. "This year has gone about as well as I could possibly imagine. My goal was Double-A, and to make it to Triple-A is quite something. It’s been quite a year."

As the Orioles get ready to play in the MLB postseason for the first time since 2016 and in the American League Division Series for the first time since 2014, experience in the playoffs is one of the few attributes this team is missing.

The only position players who have played past Game 162 are Aaron Hicks, Adam Frazier and James McCann, and Kyle Gibson and Jack Flaherty are the only pitchers with a combined 26 1/3 playoff innings.

The Orioles have played in many close games and many late-season high-pressure games this year. That should help prep them. But the postseason could prove to be something different and even more challenging.

“Just think that there will be a lot more adrenaline than they’ve ever felt before,” Hicks, who has played in five different postseasons, said. “They’re going to be a lot more nervous pregame and what it pretty much comes down to is who can calm down the fastest and just play baseball. That is what it comes down to. Little things win games in the postseason.”

Hicks has played in playoff games with the Yankees in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and last season, when he went 0-for-3 versus Cleveland in the ALDS.

After clinching the American League East with a win Thursday night, the Orioles still have three games to play in the 2023 regular season, beginning with tonight at home versus Boston. At 100-59 coming into tonight, the Birds could finish with 103 wins, which would be third-most in club history.

Last night's 2-0 win gave the Orioles their 10th AL East championship and first since the 2014 season.

Manager Brandon Hyde joins Orioles Hall of Famer Earl Weaver as the only O's skippers to lead a team to 100 wins. The O's are the first team in the AL and second team in major leagues to reach the century mark this season, joining the Braves (103-56), who won their 100th game on Sept. 24.

The Birds are 52-27 (.658) since the start of July, the best record in the AL and the second-best mark in the majors during that time, behind only the Dodgers (.667, 52-26). The team is 162-108 (.600) since the start of June 2022, the best record in the AL and third-best in big leagues during that time, trailing only the Braves (.668, 181-90) and Dodgers (.647, 176-96).

The Orioles have now won five in a row by a combined 15-3 score. Thursday's win was the O's 12th shutout of the year - a combined three-hitter - their second shutout in three games and the third in the past 12 games.

For some of the youngest Orioles, winning an American League East championship last night was something they had talked about when they were together on the farm. Then those players rose through the ranks in the minors and now are part of a 100-win team in Baltimore.

“That is what you dream of when you get drafted,” O’s 22-year-old rookie Gunnar Henderson said this afternoon. “You have good friends you go through the minors with, to come up relatively the same time and be on a winning team your first full year, you dream of it.”

I asked Henderson if there was a time in the minors when he looked around and thought the group of players he was with then could produce something special.

“Just felt like from all the pieces that were added over the years and the drafts that we’ve had, it’s been cool to see everyone buy in together," he said. "Everyone just wants to win. The work ethic that we have shows we want to play winning baseball. Even at the minor league level it seems all the teams are winning and doing well.

“It’s also about having good people. Never have run into anyone with a cocky attitude or that is hard to be around. It’s all just good people, and that makes for a good clubhouse. That allows everyone to go out there and play their best game. You can really enjoy playing the game and spending time with each other. That allows for great relationships and for us to play our best game.”

We didn’t need to see the Orioles take their magic number from one to zero to know that Brandon Hyde is the right manager for this team. That should have been apparent well before last night.

But after the Orioles won the AL East with a 2-0 victory over Boston and Hyde had been doused in the clubhouse, he made his way to the interview room where he was asked this question – how does it feel to not only be the manager who saw this team through the rebuild, but to still be here when they won the division?

Hyde was not a caretaker during all the losing only to watch someone else take his guys and win. He did that.

“It means a lot,” said Hyde. “(Executive vice president and general manager) Mike (Elias) told me that he was hiring me and said, ‘I’m not hiring you to replace you when we get more talented.’ He held true to that.

“He was way more patient, honestly those first few years, than I was. I took losses hard and knew we weren’t as talented as other teams. I felt bad for the guys in the clubhouse, and it beats you up. Mike showed great patience. And understood the plan was in place. And he drafted extremely well and got more talent in this organization like he said he was going to. And you are seeing it now.

An AL East championship was celebrated in downtown Baltimore tonight. At about the same time as the O's were winning the AL East, their Triple-A Norfolk affiliate was winning the International League title for the first time in 38 years.

The Tides tonight beat the Durham Bulls 7-0 to win the 2023 IL title. The teams were tied 1-1 in the best-of-three series with Norfolk, on their home field at Harbor Park, taking tonight's decisive Game 3.

The Tides have been the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate since 2007, and this is Norfolk's first title representing the Orioles. 

Norfolk had won previous International League championships in 1972, 1975, 1982, 1983 and 1985 - all as a New York Mets affiliate.

Now the Tides have one more. 

The Orioles will take the field tonight at Camden Yards to open a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox. They need one win to clinch their 10th American League East division championship and first since the 2014 season.

The Orioles (99-59) can also become the sixth team in club history and first since 1980 to win 100 games.

Last night the club improved to 40 games over the .500 mark for the first time since the end of the 1997 season when they were 102-57.

Baltimore's 5-1 win over Washington Wednesday night was its fourth win in a row. The O's have gone through a stretch where they lost four straight, then won four straight, lost three in a row and have now won four in a row.

During the four-game win streak, Baltimore pitchers have allowed just 15 hits and three runs with four walks and 23 strikeouts. The team ERA is 0.75 in this span.

When asked today when he saw a light at the end of the tunnel, and when center fielder Cedric Mullins thought the Orioles had turned from a losing team into a winning one, he cited an 11-day period in July during the 2022 season.

From July 3-13, 2022, the Orioles won 10 games in a row. A stretch that included seven wins by two runs or less and three walk-off wins. When it began the Orioles were nine games under .500. When it ended they were 45-44 and on their way to an 83-79 record. A 31-game improvement over the year before.

Now, a season later, that team is one win away from 100 victories and one win away from clinching its 10^th American League East title.

“There was a 10-game win streak that we had last year where we were playing really good ball. It was consistent,” Mullins said this afternoon in the Baltimore clubhouse of a turning point for the organization. “We had the same guys going out there doing their thing. The guys on the bench were coming through. And we have been able to stay consistent with that and progress even further this year.”

For manager Brandon Hyde, that 10-game streak was a big moment.

From 110 losses to 100 wins in two years is pretty remarkable. The Orioles haven't done it yet, but their next win, and they would love for it to come tonight, will put them at 100 wins and also wrap up the American League East championship.

The Orioles have won AL East titles previously in 1969, 1970, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1979, 1983, 1997 and 2014. 

The last time they won the AL East, it ended a 17-year drought and this time it would be happening nine years later.

It has been a remarkable turnaround and no doubt some around Birdland may have even just about conceded the division to Tampa Bay when the Rays played so well and won so many games early in the year.

But tonight, the O's can become the sixth team in club history with 100 wins and the first since the 2014 team to win the division.

With their magic number at two to clinch the American League East championship, the Orioles will host Washington tonight while the Tampa Bay Rays play at Boston with a 6:10 p.m. start time.

If the Orioles win and the Rays lose, the Orioles will be AL East champions later tonight for the first time since 2014, for the 10th time overall. They would also clinch the No. 1 seed throughout the AL playoffs. 

That would mean Baltimore would host the first two games of the American League Division Series on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 7 and 8.

The Orioles beat the Nationals 1-0 last night as Kyle Bradish allowed three singles over a season-best eight innings, throwing 104 pitches. Yennier Cano got a save in the ninth as he struck out the side.

The Orioles have gotten three straight starts of seven innings or more for the first time all year. John Means, Kyle Gibson and Bradish have combined to allow two runs in 22 1/3 innings.

As I started my postgame radio show on WBAL Radio last night, I knew an emotional night was coming up. As less than an hour before game time Tuesday we all got the news - the great Brooks Robinson had died at 86.

Caller after caller fondly remembered the kid from Little Rock, Ark. who long since is now thought of as Baltimore's own. But it wasn't World Series titles or Gold Gloves or great play on the diamond that they wanted to talk about.

They wanted to talk about Brooks the person. It seemed so many fans either met Robinson in person at one time or knew someone close that did. All the stories showed his warmth and kindness. His love of people. His love of O's fans. Nothing was said about a great play from the 1970 World Series against Lee May. Or all his honors or awards.

It was said that you could not find anyone to say a bad word about Brooks and that is absolutely so. Sometimes it is said about a person in kindness. Here it is said because it is so.

I have told this story a lot so bear with me one more time: The first time I truly learned about the man inside the uniform was in the summer of 1983.

Chasing their 98th win and with a magic number of three to clinch the American League East championship, the Orioles host the Nationals tonight to begin a two-game series at Oriole Park.

The O's (97-59) won the last two games of their series at Cleveland and lead the AL East by 2 1/2 games over Tampa Bay with six to play.

Lefty John Means and righty Kyle Gibson provided big outings that led the Orioles to those wins and provided much-needed rest for the bullpen. They pitched a combined 14 1/3 innings allowing six hits and two runs.

It was just the second time this year the Orioles got back-to-back outings of seven innings or more from their starter. That also happened June 24-25 with Dean Kremer and Kyle Bradish.

The Orioles are 51-15 (.773) when they get a quality start and 18-2 (.900) when their starter goes seven innings or more.

It is a storyline that is surfacing often now in the Orioles clubhouse. There are several players in there that were on the team two years ago that lost 110 games. Now they are on a team that might win 100 games.

Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins, Ryan Mountcastle, Anthony Santander, Ryan McKenna, Ramón Urías and Jorge Mateo were position players on both clubs to name several, but not every player that fits this bill.

Hays played in 131 games that 2021 season and, of course, is a key part of the winning this year. Winning that will take the Orioles to the playoffs for the first time since 2016. And they have a magic number of three for their first American League East title since 2014.

“This is everything you dream of,” Hays said this afternoon before the series opener with Washington. “You get to the big leagues and then you try to figure out what you need to do to be on the field and get playing time. Then you kind of learn how to be an everyday player and stick here. Once you have done that, the focus turns to what do I need to do to win? What do we have to do to win?

“So we were able to last through those 100-loss seasons and kind of just find our way into the big leagues and figure out what we needed to do to stay here. Now we’re a big part of this team and it’s special to still be here going through this. Growing as the players that we have.”

And then there were six. Six games remaining in the 2023 regular season. If the Orioles can just go 3-3 in those games, they can clinch the American League East title without any help from a Rays loss.

Three wins would also produce the sixth 100-win season in Orioles history. The 1969 team went 109-53 for the best O’s record ever in the regular season. The 1970 team was 108-54 with the 1979 club going 102-57. In 1971, the Orioles were 101-57. They were 100-62 in 1980.

The 1980 club was the last O’s team to win 100 games. And while the first four to do it all made the World Series, the 1980 Orioles, while they had the second-best record in the majors, did not even make the playoffs.

With their next win, No. 98, the 2023 Orioles would join seven other O’s clubs to win 98 or more games. The 1997 team was the last to win that many, going 98-64.

The O’s magic number is three as the final homestand begins tonight with two games versus the Nationals and four versus the Red Sox.

At around this time last year, the Orioles Gunnar Henderson was named Baseball America's 2022 Minor League Player of the Year. Now the Orioles have two players in a row so honored.

As his remarkable first full season on the farm is winding down, today shortstop Jackson Holliday of the Orioles was named the 2023 winner by Baseball America.

This is the third time since the award started in 1981, that one organization had a winner two years in a row, but the first time it was two different players. The New York Mets' Gregg Jefferies won in 1986-87 and Andruw Jones of Atlanta in 1995-96. Now Henderson and Holliday go back-to-back for the Orioles.

Holliday's season has seen him progress four levels, starting the year with Low Single-A Delmarva, moving to High-A Aberdeen and then on to Double-A Bowie and now he is with Triple-A Norfolk.

His regular season ended yesterday with Norfolk, but the Tides will host Durham beginning Tuesday night in the International League's best-of-three championship series. The IL winner will meet the Pacific Coast League champs this Saturday in the Triple-A championship game.

Last weekend, the Orioles lost the first two games of a home four-game series with the Tampa Bay Rays. They were now tied for first in the American League East.

What followed was an outing of eight scoreless by Grayson Rodriguez leading to an 8-0 Saturday win. And when the Birds won a crazy game the next day their lead was back to two games atop the division.

Fast forward to the series at Cleveland. They lost the first two games, and their starters went a combined 8 1/3 innings. But then John Means on Saturday and Kyle Gibson Sunday combined to allow two runs over 14 1/3 innings and the O's pulled out another improbable four-game split.

Had they not won the 2-1 game Saturday, their division lead would have been 1/2 game. But they kept it at 1.5 with the victory that night and it's 2.5 games now with six games to play.

The magic number for the AL East title is down to three heading into today's much needed off day.

After picking up a huge 2-1 win on Saturday, the Orioles today play the final game of this series and this road trip, and the final away game of their 2023 regular season

Cleveland won the first two games of the series by 5-2 and 9-8, before the Orioles picked up a win on Saturday that kept them 1 1/2 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for first place in the American League East. The win reduced the O's magic number to win the division to five.

Anthony Santander had three hits and drove in both Baltimore runs while lefty John Means and two relievers teamed on a one-hitter. Means lost a no-hitter allowing a solo homer in the seventh and pitched 7 1/3 innings to improve to 1-1 with a 2.60 ERA. Yennier Cano and Cionel Pérez combined for the last five outs as Pérez picked up his third save.

The Orioles are 51-29 on the road and need a win today to tie the 1997 club for most wins and best win percentage in club history. That team went 52-29 on the road, playing .642 ball away from Baltimore. The 1980 O's won 50 road games, the 2023 club has 51 wins pending today's result and that 1997 club won 52.

The Orioles, who are 3-3 on this road trip, are 17-6-2 in road series this year.

The Orioles had a strong showing recently when Baseball America presented its top 20 prospects for this season from the Rookie-level Florida Complex League.

The Birds had four players represented in the back half of the list. And they are all international signings, another sign that the club’s international program is really starting to get going right now.

Three of the four players were signed for significant bonuses in January 2022 and those investments seem to be paying off.

The New York Yankees had the strongest showing in this ranking, with five players among the top 20 and four in the top 10. But no other team besides the O’s had as many as four players ranked.

Dominican outfielder Braylin Tavera, 18, was rated No. 12 on the FCL list. The club signed Tavera in January 2022 for $1.7 million, the second-highest bonus the Orioles have handed out under the Mike Elias regime.

Beginning today leading the AL East by 1.5 games over Tampa Bay with a record of 95-59, the Orioles have eight games remaining in the 2023 regular season and two in the series at Cleveland.

They started their road trip with a series win at Houston but have lost 5-2 and 9-8 in Cleveland. After Aaron Hicks' two-out, two-run double gave Baltimore an 8-7 lead in the top of the ninth Friday night, the Guardians produced a walkoff win in the last of the inning on David Fry's two-run double. He hit a first-pitch two-seamer off Yennier Cano with an exit velocity of 100.2 mph to win the game.

The Orioles have followed a four-game win streak with a three-game losing streak and have lost seven of their last 11 games. So, since Sept. 12, they are 4-7 while Tampa Bay is 5-5. The Rays have gone from three games back to 1 1/2 out.

The O's magic number to clinch the AL East is six as Saturday begins.

The Orioles have lost just three times this year in 36 games when scoring eight or more runs and Cleveland has beaten them twice in such instances.