Baltimore postseason FAQ: O's to face Rangers in ALDS
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BALTIMORE -- When the Orioles ended a 15-year postseason drought in 2012, their first opponent was the Rangers. Baltimore traveled to Arlington and defeated Texas, 5-1, in the inaugural winner-take-all American League Wild Card Game.
This year, the Orioles ended a seven-year postseason drought. And their first opponent? Again the Rangers.
Baltimore and Texas are set to face off in the AL Division Series, which opens with Game 1 at Camden Yards on Saturday at 1 p.m. ET. It¡¯ll be only the second time the two teams have met in the postseason, and the first in a multi-game series.
By going 101-61 in the regular season and capturing their first AL East title since 2014, the Orioles earned the No. 1 seed in the AL, giving them a bye into the best-of-five ALDS. The Rangers swept the Rays, 2-0, in the best-of-three AL Wild Card Series at Tropicana Field, winning both Tuesday and Wednesday.
The O's, who are fully focused on trying to capture their fourth World Series championship, are eager to begin a potentially long postseason run in front of their home fans.
"Being able to have that back in the city, it's going to be really special," rookie infielder Gunnar Henderson said.
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What could the postseason roster look like?
C: James McCann, Adley Rutschman
INF: Adam Frazier, Gunnar Henderson, Jorge Mateo, Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O¡¯Hearn, Ram¨®n Ur¨ªas, Jordan Westburg
OF: Austin Hays, Aaron Hicks, Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander
P: Kyle Bradish, Yennier Cano, Danny Coulombe, Jack Flaherty, Shintaro Fujinami, Kyle Gibson, DL Hall, Dean Kremer, John Means, Cionel P¨¦rez, Grayson Rodriguez, Jacob Webb, Tyler Wells
What will be some of the toughest roster decisions?
The position-player side of the roster should be fairly straightforward, assuming there aren¡¯t any injuries between now and the start of the postseason. Heston Kjerstad (Baltimore's No. 3 prospect and MLB Pipeline's No. 24 overall prospect) has flashed his offensive potential during his first big league stint this September, but there may not be room for him on the postseason roster, as the O's could prioritize speed and defense.
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Baltimore will likely move multiple starters to the bullpen, including Flaherty, who pitched in relief late in the regular season. The 27-year-old right-hander struggled after joining the Orioles in an Aug. 1 trade with the Cardinals, pitching to a 7.11 ERA over seven starts, but he allowed one run over three innings in two appearances out of the ¡®pen.
The O¡¯s will have a lot of strong starting options with Bradish, Gibson, Kremer, Means and Rodriguez. Those five should all be included on the roster, but only Bradish and Rodriguez are assured of getting starts at this point.
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What happened between the Orioles and Rangers in the regular season?
Baltimore went 3-3 against Texas, with the road team winning each of the two series. The O's took two of three at Globe Life Field from April 3-5 (the second series of the regular season). Then, the Rangers won two of three at Camden Yards from May 26-28.
When does Baltimore have home-field advantage?
If the Orioles advance to the AL Championship Series, they'll again have home-field advantage as the top seed. They would host Games 1 and 2 (Oct. 15 and 16) and potential Games 6 and 7 (Oct. 22 and 23).
Baltimore would also have home-field advantage in the World Series, unless it faced Atlanta (104-58), the only MLB team that finished the regular season with a better record than the O's.
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What is the Orioles¡¯ recent postseason history?
Baltimore reached the postseason as a Wild Card team in 2016, then lost at Toronto in the winner-take-all AL Wild Card Game. In ¡®14, the O¡¯s won the AL East, then swept the Tigers in the ALDS (3-0) before getting swept by the Royals in the ALCS (4-0).