O's game blog: Looking for win in the final home game of the 2024 regular season

The Orioles played their first home game of the 2024 season on March 28 and they beat the Los Angeles Angels 11-3 on Opening Day. This afternoon they play their final home game of the regular season, still hoping home playoff games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Along those lines, the O's report for duty with the same magic number as they had on Saturday, which is three, with the same scenario for clinching. They will wrap up a playoff berth today if they beat Detroit and Seattle loses at Texas. That game begins at 2:35 p.m. ET. 

The Orioles (86-69) have seven games remaining and hit the road after today for three games at Yankee Stadium and three at Minnesota to wrap up the regular season.

If the Orioles do clinch a playoff berth, they will be in the postseason in back-to-back years for the first time since 1996 and 1997.

They certainly must feel they let one get away yesterday, losing 6-4 to Detroit in 10 innings. Down 4-2 in the last of the ninth they tied the game 4-4 on Gunnar Henderson's two-run double. They had runners at second and third with no outs but could not push across another run to walk off the Tigers.

The Orioles have now lost four of six, six of nine, nine of 13 and 10 of the last 15 games. They have lost four series in a row since Sept. 2-4, when they took two of three from the Chicago White Sox. Since then they went 1-2 versus Tampa Bay, 1-2 at Boston, 1-2 at Detroit and 1-2 versus San Francisco. 

The Orioles are 44-36 at home this year heading into home game No. 81. They are 15-19 (.441) at home since the beginning of July. The Orioles are 93-68 (.578) at home since 2023.

The Orioles are now 8-10 this month. They are 21-25 since Aug. 1 and 33-38 with a minus-35 run differential since July 1. 

The Baltimore offense recently went through a 12-game stretch when they scored just 24 runs and had a .191 batting average and .575 OPS. Now they have scored 16 runs the last three games, batting .271/.792. Yes, that is a very small sample, three games, but they have to start somewhere in getting some offense back.

Right-hander Albert Suárez (8-6, 3.60 ERA) is on the mound today in the series finale. In 30 games this year he has thrown 122 2/3 innings, allowing 121 hits and 1.321 WHIP.

The Orioles are 12-10 in his 22 starts. Suárez gave up four runs over 3 1/3 innings in his last game versus San Francisco. In August, he pitched to a 1.97 ERA over six games. But in three starts this month he has allowed six, one and four runs for a 1-2 record and 7.24 ERA.

Lefty batters hit .271 with a .799 OPS off Suárez and right-handers hit .247/.678. 

Detroit today is starting lefty Tyler Holton (7-2, 2.30 ERA), the same opener they used here on Friday. The O's are facing an opener for the fourth time in six games versus the Tigers. Friday night Holton threw 18 pitches in the opening inning and allowed a two-run homer to Anthony Santander.

Getting the band back: The Orioles today added Ramon Urias and Jordan Westburg to their active roster. They were injured one month apart as Westburg suffered a fracture right hand on July 31 and Urias a sprained right ankle Aug. 31.

To make roster room, outfielder Daniel Johnson and infielder Livan Soto were optioned to Triple-A.

Urias and Westburg both played three games this week with Norfolk. Westburg went 4-for-10 with a double, homer and two RBIs. Urias was 3-for-9 with a homer and three RBIs.

When they last played for the Orioles, both were hitting well. In his previous 15 MLB games, Urias was batting .341 with an OPS of 1.139 to go with two doubles, a triple, four homers and 15 RBIs. In his last 11 games, Westburg was batting .279 with three doubles, three homers, eight RBIs and an OPS of .899.