O's game blog: Orioles play Game No. 162 at Minnesota

The Orioles put a wrap on their 2024 regular season today as they play at Minnesota looking to complete a three-game sweep over the Twins.

The Orioles (90-71) have won by 7-2 and 9-2 in the first two games of their series at Minnesota that they can sweep today. Each game the O’s were scored on in the ninth inning as they failed to complete what would have been their 10^th shutout.

Today the Orioles are looking for their sixth series sweep of three or more games this season and they already have one against Minnesota.

The O’s swept three at Boston from April 9-11 and three at home versus Minnesota from April 15-17. They took three at Cincinnati from May 3-5. Their past two series sweeps are four-game sweeps at the Chicago White Sox May 23-26 and at Tampa Bay from June 7-10.

The O’s just had a chance to sweep the Yankees in New York on Thursday, but they lost 10-1. So today they could get their sweep and conclude a 5-1 road trip.

The Orioles will begin the American League playoffs on Tuesday at Oriole Park, hosting a best two-of-three AL Wild Card series against either Detroit or Kansas City.

Detroit (86-75) can wrap up the No. 5 seed with a win today. Should the Tigers lose and if Kansas City 85-76) wins at Atlanta, the Royals are the No. 5 seed and will play Tuesday in Baltimore. If both teams lose, Detroit is No. 5.

The Orioles have won four of five and six of their last nine games. They are 32-33 since the All-Star break and are 37-40 since July 1.

The Orioles hold the third-best record in the AL and the seventh-best in MLB.

Over the past nine games the Orioles have scored 50 runs while hitting 15 homers and averaging 5.6 runs per game. In this nine-game stretch, the O’s are hitting .288/.340/.467/.806.

Right-hander Albert Suárez (8-7, 3.74 ERA) will make his 24^th start today. For the season he has thrown 127 2/3 innings with a 1.316 WHIP while allowing 3.0 walks per every nine innings and 7.3 strikeouts.

In six games in August, Suárez pitched to a 1.97 ERA. But in four games this month, he is 1-3 with a 7.23 ERA, allowing 15 runs over 18 2/3 innings with a .299 average against and 1.015 OPS.

Right-hander Bailey Ober (12-8, 3.94 ERA) gets the start for the home team. The Twins are 15-15 in his starts in 2024. His ERA is 5.30 his past three starts, but he has walked just four with 25 strikeouts over 18 2/3 innings in that span. Ober has not faced the Orioles this year. He has 18 quality starts to rank tied for 10th in the AL.

The Orioles swept that series in April over Minnesota by a combined 22-9 score. They are 5-0 this year against Minnesota by a 38-13 score. They have won nine in a row over the Twins by a 64-19 score.

On Saturday, Jackson Holliday went 3-for-4 with two walks, a double and a run scored. He became the youngest player (at 20 years, 299 days) in Orioles history to reach base five times in a game. He is the youngest MLB player to do so since Juan Soto in 2019.