Shohei Ohtani, the favorite for American League MVP, is the first player who also pitches ever nominated as a finalist for the Hank Aaron Award, which is given to the best offensive player in each league.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde admits the organization has "a lot of work to do in a lot of areas" after a 110-loss season in 2021, but GM Mike Elias hopes Baltimore can emulate the Rays' recent success.
October isn't in the cards, but there's still plenty of work to do. Here's what each non-playoff team needs to ask itself first.
— George Springer and the Blue Jays put on one final power display, but even a 91st victory in Game 162 couldn’t keep Toronto's vagabond season going.
— Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit his 47th home run and the Toronto Blue Jays pressed their AL wild-card chase to the final day of the regular season by thumping the Baltimore Orioles 10-1 Saturday.
Who is rising and falling with the end of the season mere days away?
— Steven Matz pitched seven solid innings to win his fifth straight decision, Danny Jansen homered and drove in three runs, and the Toronto Blue Jays kept their playoff hopes alive by beating the Baltimore Orioles 6-4 Friday night.
The Baltimore Orioles are dead last in the AL East. They aren't sniffing the expanded air of the 2021 MLB playoffs. But, beware, they're trying to wreck playoff hopes and let you know about it.
— The Baltimore Orioles are making friends in Seattle, Toronto and New York.
— The Boston Red Sox finally put it all together, and it didn't matter one bit that this very important victory came at the expense of the last-place Baltimore Orioles.
Yes, there's still a month of playoff baseball before the offseason begins. But we couldn't wait to look ahead at one of the deepest classes in years.
— There is no sure thing these days for the Boston Red Sox, who are faltering at the worst possible time in their bid to earn a playoff berth.
— Andy Ibáñez hit a two-run homer and the Texas Rangers avoided their 100th loss for at least a day by beating the Baltimore Orioles 7-4 Sunday for a four-game split.
— Kelvin Gutierrez homered to cap a three-run seventh inning and the Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers 3-2 on Saturday night.
— Adolis GarcÃa hit a go-ahead two-run double in a five-run ninth inning and the Texas Rangers snapped a five-game losing streak with 8-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.
— A seemingly inconsequential game between two last-place teams provided rookie pitcher Zac Lowther an indelible memory and a morale-booster to carry with him into the offseason.
Who is rising and falling as the end of the season rapidly approaches?
— Bryce Harper won games for the Phillies this year with one swing, one slide, one daring dash around the bases.
Which up-and-comers have jumped onto Kiley McDaniel's radar in 2021?
— Bryce Harper put his head down and sprinted from first base as soon as J.T. Realmuto lined an opposite-field shot to right.
— Bryce Harper gave the 96 mph fastball a deep ride that had a few thousand straggling fans that paid for $1 hot dogs and a pennant race standing in euphoria.
— Kiké Hernández’s game-tying RBI single caromed off the second-base bag and into shallow center field, sparking a three-run, seventh-inning rally that carried the AL wild-card leading Boston Red Sox to an 8-6 victory over the Baltimore Orioles Sunday...
— Xander Bogaerts homered and drove in four runs, carrying the AL wild card-leading Boston Red Sox past the Baltimore Orioles 9-3 Saturday for their fourth straight win.
— Quarantine wasn’t quite a complete shutdown for Chris Sale.
— Yankees reliever Clay Holmes threw a wild pitch with two outs in the ninth inning that let the tying run score, then Austin Hays chopped an RBI single in the 10th that lifted the Baltimore Orioles to a 3-2 win Thursday night, dropping New York back...
