Wild Card this, that and the other

The Orioles returned to the visiting clubhouse Sunday at Target Field and still didn’t know their opponent for the Wild Card series that begins this afternoon at Camden Yards. The Royals were winning in the ninth inning. The Tigers were losing in the ninth inning. The drama was high for anyone paying attention to it.

The interest from players was low. Every television was tuned to the NFL. They punted on watching baseball.

“Whoever shows up,” shortstop Gunnar Henderson said yesterday, “just go out there and continue to play our game.”

They got the Royals.

“We weren’t too worried about who it would be in the sense,” Henderson said. “Just got to know that we’ve got to go out there and continue to play. It’s postseason, so anything can happen, and they’re two outstanding teams. So we’re just going out there and trying to play the best ball that we can play.”

They didn’t do it in last fall’s Division Series. The Rangers won 3-2, 11-8 and 7-1, and the second game wasn’t that close. Texas led 9-2 and 11-5.

“Definitely learned (from) some of the bad experiences that we had last year in the postseason,” Henderson said. “Kind of used it to fuel us this year and give us the kick that we need to push through and hopefully make a good run this year.”

A .500 second half made it appear that the Orioles were running in place, but they won five of their last six games and earned the home Wild Card.

“Nobody ever thought that we wouldn’t get through it,” Henderson said. “It was just a matter of when.”

Henderson appeared in 159 games this season. He didn’t play Saturday and came out early Sunday. The young shortstop should be running on fumes, but he insisted yesterday that he’s fine.

“I feel really good for this point in the year,” he said. “My body feels really well. I feel like just the training staff and the weight room coaches have helped me get my body ready and keep it healthy throughout the year. And I feel like that’s the biggest thing is just taking care of it early to help in this point in the year.”

Legacies can be cemented in the postseason, but it’s the farthest thing from Henderson’s mind.

“I know as a team and as for myself, we just try to take it one day at a time, one pitch at a time,” he said. “We just try to get out there and do the best that we can with each and every day. Try not to get too far ahead because you want to ultimately stay in the moment and be where your feet are. That’s what I try to tell myself, as well, and just not let things get too far ahead.”

* Seranthony Domínguez has served as primary closer since his arrival from the Phillies and he’s probably first in line in a save situation. However, teams operate differently in October.

It might be Domínguez. It might be someone else based on matchups.

“It’s kind of however I get there a little bit,” said manager Brandon Hyde. “Try to piece it together and then try to match up seventh, eighth and ninth inning how we see fit. I thought we did a pretty good job of that on the road trip, and a lot of trust in a lot of those guys.

“Seranthony’s pitched in big games in postseasons and has 10 saves for us, (Gregory) Soto’s been a closer. Cionel (Pérez) has got really, really good stuff, and Yenny (Cano) has got that sinker. There’s some options down there. And Keegan Akin’s had a great year. You look at Keegan Akin’s body of work, he’s had a fantastic year.”

Unlike the regular season, Hyde won’t hesitate to use a reliever three times in three days.

“This is more of a sprint,” he said. “I’m not looking long term here. This is trying to win two of these three games.”

Akin appreciates a second chance at the postseason. He didn’t pitch for the Orioles last year after June 28 due to a back injury and went on the 60-day injured list in August.  He was envious of his teammates who led the charge to the American League East title and first playoff berth since 2016.

The only absence for Akin this season came with his placement on the paternity list. He’s healthy and thriving with a 3.32 ERA and 0.941 WHIP in 66 appearances, and the unsteadiness of the bullpen, particularly in September, makes him an important figure.

“Definitely excited for sure,” he said. “Really bugged me honestly being on the sidelines last year down in Florida while everyone’s up in Baltimore and clinched. Seeing all the pictures and videos and everybody sending the champagne showers and stuff to me, it was like a little bit of motivation to kind of get it going and try to stay healthy this year.”

* The long break between the last regular season game in 2023 and start of the Division Series concerned the Orioles before the first pitch was thrown against the Rangers. They held workouts and arranged intrasquad competitions with fans invited to attend, but they couldn’t simulate real action and intensity.

The upside of being in the Wild Card is one workout day followed by Game 1. Go right after it.

“Did that long layoff last year affect us? Maybe,” Hyde said. “I think we ran into a team that got scorching hot in Tampa and just continued all through the World Series. But for me that’s not really an excuse. It’s still playing the game.

“I just thought we played really, really well on that two-series trip and I’m hoping that we can continue to carry that momentum into this series.

* Former Orioles first-round draft pick and reliever Hunter Harvey is back in Baltimore with the Royals, but he hasn’t pitched since Aug. 4 because of a back injury and they shut him down last week.

Harvey faced the Orioles with the Nationals in D.C. but he hasn’t gotten into a game at Camden Yards since leaving the organization in November 2021.

“I was here last year. I got hot one time. I didn’t pitch,” he said.

“It was always two-game series, so it never worked out.”

Harvey is enjoying his visit despite his inactivity. This still feels like home to him.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “As soon as I got in (Sunday) night, I talked to (Ryan) Mountcastle. A lot of good memories here. It’s still one of my favorite ballparks to come to. It’s nothing but good things to be back.”

Harvey and Mountcastle met on the field yesterday, standing behind home plate with the tarp covering the infield. Two lone figures, best friends and former minor league roommates.

The trash talking is kept to a minimum with Harvey unable to face him.

“Not too bad,” Harvey said, smiling. “We’ve been pretty good here lately, so not too bad.”

The Royals were good enough to grab the fifth seed in the playoffs after losing 106 games in 2023.

“Every day they come in and win or lose, it’s the same group,” said Harvey, who was traded from the Nationals to the Royals on July 14. “They’re all really close, they play hard, they’ve got good leadership with Sally (Salvador Pérez). Every day is a new day with them, it seems like. We had a couple seven-game losing streaks here lately and you wouldn’t even be able to tell with these guys. They’re pretty good about just washing it off and coming back ready the next day.

“It was kind of like that with the Nats. When everybody counts you out from the beginning, it kind of lights a fire. I think we just ran with it.”

Second baseman Adam Frazier, who played for the Orioles last season before signing with the Royals, gives some credit to shifting the focus.

“It’s a lot of things,” he said. “A lot of veteran leadership. And then just trying to instill playing the game the right way and doing the little things right and taking things day by day instead of looking at the big picture kind of thing. So we simplify that and just started to play a lot of good baseball throughout the year.

“I just think it’s a combination of a lot of things where you bring the guys in with experience. There’s obviously a big turnaround from the last couple years with the 100-plus losses each year. But we were able simplify things and get guys to start paying attention to the little things and the details of the game, and that led to a lot of wins.”

Frazier can see similarities between the 2023 Orioles and 2024 Royals, especially the unselfish nature of the teams.

“Guys are playing for each other,” he said. “It doesn’t matter who gets the job done. Everybody’s pulling for the guy up to come through to win the game. It really doesn’t matter who gets credit. It’s just play hard and try to win the game that night.”

Frazier had an easy transition from Hyde to Royals second-year manager Matt Quatraro.

“Same guy every day,” Frazier said of Quatraro. “Hyde’s also the same guy every day, whether we won or lost. When you’re able to do that as a manager it helps the club stay pretty level-headed, even-keel, whether it’s going good or bad. So a lot of similarities in that regard.

“Q’s done a good job with us and letting the players manage the clubhouse. The best teams, the players kind of run the show and the manager’s manage. They’re both very similar in that regard. You let your guys take over and hopefully you created a good culture, and that’s usually how you end up winning throughout the season and at the end of the season.”

* Parking lots will open to fans today 3 1/2 hours prior to first pitch, at 12:30 p.m. The ballpark gates will open 2 1/2 hours prior to first pitch, at 1:30 p.m. First pitch is scheduled for 4:08 p.m.

ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt, a Brookeville, Md. native and University of Maryland graduate, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch.