Against any expectation or hope that just about anyone would have confessed to four months ago, the 2022 Orioles find themselves within striking distance of a playoff spot with about a third of the season left to be played. They have gone from 35-44 after the two Jorge López losses to begin July to 58-52 now. After yesterday, the Orioles are tied for the third wild card spot, though they lose the tiebreaker. They’re only two games removed from the first of the three wild cards.
What happens next? That’s going to be up to the Orioles. If they can keep playing as well as they’ve been playing since this season really seemed to take off with the arrival of Adley Rutschman, maybe they can do it.