Going 5-6 on a crucial homestand feels much better than it appears on paper.
The Orioles swept the Diamondbacks in a late-September interleague series, winning today 2-1 in their final regular season game at Camden Yards. They're 1 1/2 games behind the Blue Jays for the top wild card and 1 1/2 ahead of the Tigers for the second.
The 50 home wins tie the 2014 team for the most at Camden Yards. The record in Baltimore is 60 set in 1969 at Memorial Stadium.
Being swept by the Red Sox in a four-game series was painful, but it didn't destroy the season. The Orioles forgot about it immediately after the final out and focused on the Diamondbacks.
Just as they're going to forget about this series and focus on the Blue Jays.
Dylan Bundy is a 10-game winner this season. Not bad for a guy projected to spend the summer in the bullpen with his innings limited to 60-75.
"It's a team win. That's all we're asking for right now," Bundy said.
"I was hoping to go deep but my pitch count got up there in the fourth and fifth innings, so I was happy to go five and leave the game with the guys being ahead.
"Definitely didn't expect (10 wins). I was expecting to throw 70 innings out of the 'pen. I'll take it. I'm not going to complain about it or anything, but we're just trying to get team wins right now. That's all that matters right now."
Zach Britton is 46-for-46 in save chances and manager Buck Showalter reminded reporters again that they're watching something historic.
If Showalter had a Cy Young vote, guess who would get it.
"Zach Britton, I'm going to tell you, facing all right-handed hitters, I can't tell you ..." he said. "I'm biased about the type of recognition he should get when this season is over. It's historical.
"Take a good look at it, because it won't pass your way again."
Britton is 46-for-46 in save chances and lowered his ERA to 0.56.
"It's nice, but it doesn't mean a whole lot if we don't get to the postseason," he said. "That's where my focus is right now."
Hyun Soo Kim picked the right moment to hit his fifth home run of the season and his first since Aug. 4. His two-run shot in the second inning provided all the scoring for the Orioles.
"That home run was a great thing and it's amazing that it happened in the last game," Kim said through interpreter Danny Lee. "Overall, the pitching was tremendous and it brought us the win. I'm just happy for the team to win.
"There are a lot of greater things to come in the future. I will make sure that I do well and we accomplish everything we hoped for. I will try to get better and make sure I do whatever the team needs me to do."
The Orioles were officially eliminated from the division race with the Red Sox winning again, but they could qualify as a wild card and roll the dice in October.
"It's a great feeling the week before the season is over that we're still in it, but it's important that we're in it after a week," Kim said. "I will make sure I'm part of it and the team goes to the right place."
Here are more quotes to get you through the rest of your day:
Showalter on late interleague play: "I still am not a fan of it and I don't think it's right, but they didn't ask me. It's always tough. There are so many unfamiliar players there. They've got a nothing-to-lose attitude and they're all trying to make an impact on the offseason and next year.
"We caught them with a lot of their good people injured. Looking at all the first round picks they have on their club, too. We caught them without (A.J.) Pollack, one of the best players in the National League, and we were able to keep the first baseman (Paul Goldschmidt) from doing too much damage. He's a special player. He's something."
Showalter on whether this series takes away the sting from the last one: "No, it doesn't take it away because that's come and gone. It really has. It left. You have to do that and our guys do it. Just like, do the Red Sox fold the tent when we were beating them early in the season, sometime during the season? That's the fortitude you've got to have.
"Our guys are warriors. They grind through a lot of things. Working on short sleep, game 150-whatever. That's a hard game to win today. It really is. And our bullpen and our starting pitcher made Kim's home run stand up. Of course, the defense was unbelievable."
Showalter on being in a better position now than three days ago: "I mean, that's obvious. But it is what it is. You get to go through customs and spend an hour or two there trying to get out of customs and get to the hotel. I think we're leaving around 4 o'clock tomorrow."
Showalter on whether anyone could have guessed Bundy would win 10 games: "Oh, I knew that all along. No. The team allowed him to win 10 games and the doctors allowed him to win 10, and most of all he did. But where we hope to end up this year, five would have not surprised me, but 10 would have been a little bit of a stretch."
Showalter on 50 home wins: "Initially, I thought about this homestand, how much we wanted to play well and win the games in front of that type of crowd. End of the regular season, obviously. You want to repay their support more than anything. Their support has a lot to do with us having a good record. It's always been, what's a good word? Refuge or safe haven for us.
"A lot goes into making that atmosphere such from the clubhouse to the players to the fans to the organization as a whole, and most of all, the city. It played to our advantage."
Bundy on Toronto series: "Hopefully, we picked up some momentum and hopefully we can carry it up there, across the border, and play some good baseball up there."
Britton on sweep: "It's big. We have the off-day, but you've got to turn the page on this, too. It was good, but we've got a tough matchup in Toronto. That's where our focus is going to be the next few days. It's always a battle when we get up there, so it's probably not going to be any different. But it's good to obviously get the sweep here."
Britton on pennant race: "We've been playing meaningful games in September for a while now, so it's not anything new to us. I've been in the postseason a few times now, so I think everyone knows how to treat these next few games. Just go and be prepared, but at the same time you can't press any moreso than you would in the first month of the season.
"You've just got to play good baseball, pitch well there especially. To keep their lineup off balance is going to be big and (allow) our offense to score some runs . We knew we've been up there where games can kind of get carried away a little bit, but just got to do a good job of pitching."
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