The Orioles have lost 18 straight games and are just five away from tying the modern record of 23 that was set by the 1961 Philadelphia Phillies. (Before 1900, in the American Association, three teams had major-league losing streaks: In 1890, the Pittsburgh Alleghenys lost 23 in a row; in 1899, the Cleveland Spiders lost 24 games in a row; and in 1889, the Louisville Colonels lost 26 in a row.)
The Orioles haven’t not won a game in three weeks, last claiming victory against the New York Yankees on August 2. Baltimore has been outscored 149-47 over the skid and has seen its run differential balloon to a major-league worst -233.
Baltimore, which last made the playoffs in 2016, is in Year 4 of its own early-2010s Houston Astros–style rebuild. The Orioles have five of the top-100 prospects in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, including two of the top 10 in top prospect catcher Adley Rutschman and right-handed pitcher Grayson Rodriguez.
Rutschmann, Rodriguez and left-hander D.L. Hall are expected to come up in the next year and contribute to Baltimore’s improvement in the hypercompetitive American League East, meaning this should be rock bottom for Orioles fans. Bleacher Report ranked the Orioles farm system the 10th-best in baseball after the 2021 MLB draft.
“There’s been some other things that have been steps back, and that happens and that’s part of the challenge of this,” Mike Elias, the Orioles general manager since 2018, told the Baltimore Sun. “But overall the large picture of us accumulating talent, cleaning up the situation that we inherited and getting things on track with a clear path ahead…is going very well, and it’s on track despite some of the player setbacks that happened this year, [and] despite the horrible stretch that we’re in right now.”
But for now Baltimore has joined some dubious company. Only 15 teams since 1900 have lost at least 18 games in a row, most recently the 2005 Kansas City Royals, which lost 19 straight games. These Orioles are still three straight losses from the franchise record of 21, set in 1988. That team finished 54-107. These Orioles are on pace for just 50 wins.
“I have no problem with our effort,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told MLB.com. “I have no problem with how we prepare or our pregame. We’re just not winning games. We’re not executing and we’re very inexperienced.”
Baltimore’s best chance to avoid history will come Tuesday in the first of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy, the Angels’ projected starter who the Orioles chose with the fourth pick of the 2011 draft, is 2-9 and has the eighth-highest ERA (6.04) of any major-league pitcher with at least 15 starts.
But if Baltimore can’t beat Bundy, it’ll face Angels ace Shohei Ohtani on Wednesday, who has been arguably the best pitcher in baseball. Then when the Angels depart after a day game Thursday, the East-leading Tampa Bay Rays, who have the best record in the American League, will come to town with the chance to make history.
The Rays are 14-1 against the Orioles this season, outscoring them 121-55. Tampa Bay is also 6-0 at Camden Yards this season.
