Baltimore Orioles Clinch AL East Title, 100-Win Mark By Beating Boston Red Sox
For only the second time in the last 25 years, the Baltimore Orioles have won the AL East.
The Orioles clinched the division title with a 2-0 win over the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. Right fielder Anthony Santander put Baltimore on top with a solo home run in the first inning – his 28th of the year – while rookie Heston Kjerstad delivered an insurance run via an RBI double in the eighth.
Right-hander Dean Kremer allowed just two hits and one walk in 5.1 innings of work, while four Orioles relievers combined to give up just one hit for the remainder of the contest. Tyler Wells got credit for the save after tossing a 1-2-3 ninth inning, and the team's postgame celebration at Camden Yards began with a group hug surrounding the right-hander just off of the mound.
The last time the Orioles won the AL East was in 2014. Before that, the club hadn't won a division since 1997, and before that, 1983.
Division title or not, Baltimore hadn't even made the playoffs since 2016. That marked the third time the Orioles made the postseason in a five-year span, but the run was preceded by a 14-year playoff drought.
Since winning the World Series in 1983, the Orioles had earned just five postseason bids entering 2023. Things reached a new low when the club averaged 111 losses in the three full seasons between 2018 and 2021.
Baltimore clinched – at worst – a Wild Card spot with a win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sept. 17, and they took things one step further with their victory on Thursday.
The Orioles improved to 100-59 with the win over the Red Sox. This marks their first 100-win campaign since 1980, when the club actually missed out on the postseason due to the two-division format and the lack of a Wild Card.
Baltimore's only other 100-win seasons prior to 2023 came in 1979, 1971, 1970 and 1969. The franchise record for single-season wins came in 1969, when the Orioles went 109-53.
Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson, who was Baltimore's starting third baseman that year, died at the age of 86 on Tuesday. The Orioles will wear a patch on their jerseys honoring Robinson throughout their upcoming postseason run.
Given their latest victory and the history that has been on their side all season long, the Orioles may just get the chance to show off those No. 5 Robinson patches on the biggest stage in baseball later this fall.
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