Orioles maintaining confidence and routines in do-or-die Game 2

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde took a temperature check of his team this morning. He walked in the clubhouse and the weight room. No one seemed to be sweating yesterday’s loss that pushed them to the brink of elimination in the Wild Card round.

“I think it's totally business as usual,” Hyde said.

“I think guys are in great spirits and ready to get after it today.”

They must or there’s no tomorrow.

“I have all the faith in the world in this team,” said Colton Cowser. “I think yesterday it was just one of those days. I think our guys, we're really confident, really comfortable, and we're looking forward to bouncing back.”

The Orioles refuse to stress and obsess over a do-or-die scenario. The postseason is different but they don’t want to act like it.

“I think you have to do your best to not think about it,” Cowser said. “I think having a short memory. it's a pretty cliche answer, but having a short memory in this game is extremely important. I think just going out there and just competing one pitch at a time, not really trying to win a game with one swing but just going out there trying to string together quality at-bats as a team and as an individual is something that'll help the team win.

“I think that mindset throughout the whole year doesn't have to change going into a certain game just because if we lose we're done. I think that you've just got to go out there and compete to the best of your ability.

“Going into today's game, we were just missing one big hit yesterday. That's all it was. I think that we know that, and the team knows that. I think today we're just going to go out there and try to have as much fun as we can, and those things will take care of themselves.”

Contributions must be made up and down the lineup, from starter Zach Eflin and the bullpen, but times like this call for veteran leadership. Hyde appreciates having Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander and James McCann to help steer the ship.

“I think we have a really good collective group of guys, guys that have been here for a while, the five or six years that I've been here, as well as Mac has been in the big leagues for 10-plus years,” Hyde said.

“Guys like Santander and Ced, those are guys that have been through a lot of things. They've seen tough days but also been a big part of a couple winning teams. You've got Eflin going today who's got postseason experience and pitched in big games before, and he brings a calming … he doesn't get too excited, doesn't get too low. He's just really, really relaxed in the clubhouse and on the field, so we're looking forward to watching him pitch.”

Mullins shared a little of what’s being said among teammates.

“I'd say for the most part it's continuing to stick with the plan that we come up with for whatever pitcher we're facing,” he said. “Yesterday didn't go our way, but we knew that we were in the game the entire time, thanks to Burnesy (Corbin Burnes) doing his thing out there. Continuing to try to not put pressure on ourselves and kind of keep that confidence that we had at the beginning of the season rolling into today.”

Eflin was announced as the Game 2 starter last night, the logical choice who was a lock after the Orioles lost Game 1. This is a best-of-three series. He’s got to pitch in it.

“Zach is awesome,” Cowser said. “He's one of those guys that you put full faith in. He goes out there and gives you his best stuff and he competes every single pitch. I think the thing with him is he's around the zone and he's able to get swings and misses and soft contact, and I think that's something that's really important in these types of games, and being able to keep offenses unbalanced.”

"My confidence in him is really high," Mullins said. "He came over and did amazing, got off to a great start. I think he might have had one somewhat bad outing since he's been here, so my confidence in him is really high. I guess to describe him, consistent, goes out there, gives you exactly what you need, keeps you in games. It's up to the offense to take over."

Hyde is taking the all-hands-on-deck approach to managing. He can’t hold back and treat today like it’s April.

“We've got to win today,” he said. “Everybody’s available except for (Corbin) Burnes, and we're going to do everything we can to try to win.”

And to maintain a sense of humor. Playing or managing tight can only worsen the situation.

Coaches in other sports have certain levers to push that aren’t available to Hyde. What does he have left to pull out of his bag after yesterday’s shutout?

“I'm picking a spot to onside (kick), try to get the ball back as quick as I possibly can in field position, or I'm going to try to be like UNLV back in the early '90s with Stacey Augmon and Larry Johnson and try to get up and down the court as fast as possible,” he said.

Laughter is the best medicine. Prescribe it for a team that played yesterday as if under the weather.

“Besides that I'm going to use my relievers as best I possibly can,” he said, “try to put some zeroes up and try to score some runs.”

And be themselves, which has usually worked.

Cowser was all smiles and quips in the interview room, joking that people operating the cameras were “waving me off” after he finished. Then he doubled back to retrieve his drink and noticed the “sweaty” chair seat that he left behind.

“I'd still say it's pretty loose for the guys in there,” Mullins said. “Relaxing, preparing for the day, a couple guys playing pool. If Cowser wasn't joking I'd find that concerning, honestly, so it's good to see him continuing to be himself.”

Business as usual. We’ll find out whether that changes the result.