Orioles keep proving they're no pretenders

TORONTO -- Minutes ahead of Monday night’s series opener between the Orioles and Blue Jays, the Rogers Centre DJ blasted “The Pretender” by Foo Fighters -- a classic, but one that doesn’t make the usual rotation at the ballpark.

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It could have been just a coincidence. Or it might have been a creative way to join the trend of labeling the Orioles a fluke during their surprising surge into the American League Wild Card race.

But after two straight road wins against its AL East opponent -- including Tuesday night’s 4-2 victory -- Baltimore has continued to show that there’s nothing ethereal about its recent success.

“We’re having fun right now,” said Orioles starter Dean Kremer. “Standings or not, we’re having a blast. Every win is another win, then we look up and, ‘Hey, we’re in the standings.’”

The Orioles followed Monday’s dominant 7-3 win with a gritty victory, coming back from a two-run first-inning deficit thanks to a variety of contributions from all over their roster. Now, the team finds itself just a half-game back of the Blue Jays for the third and final Wild Card spot, with another game in Toronto on tap for Wednesday.

But that hasn’t changed its approach or mentality.

“We’re just kind of letting it be in the background, and our forefront [is] just going out there and playing hard every day, having team wins, that’s what our focus is,” said outfielder Cedric Mullins. “And it’s really been paying off.”

The payoff wasn’t immediate on Tuesday.

Baltimore’s lineup remained hitless through 3 2/3 innings against Toronto starter Alek Manoah, while Kremer yielded a two-run homer to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. in the bottom of the first that put the Orioles at an instant disadvantage. But the visitors stayed patient, making good decisions on the bases and working out of jams on the defensive end until back-to-back solo shots by Mullins and Adley Rutschman tied things up in the fifth.

The game-winning RBIs came from their No. 7 and 9 hitters, as Ramón Urías and Ryan McKenna each singled in a run in the sixth.

“It’s just winning baseball,” said Mullins, who sat out the previous two games due to his struggles against left-handed pitching. “When you have a lineup, one through nine, that can pick each other up whether some guys are struggling or not, that’s huge. For our starters to be able to keep us in games, allow us to put runs on the board, then the bullpen coming in to seal the deal. It’s really creating an atmosphere of confidence and a winning attitude.”

There was a level of maturity to Tuesday’s win -- especially for Kremer, who remained poised even after allowing the early homer and made good matchup choices after that.

The biggest one came in the third, when Kremer and Rutschman chose not to challenge Alejandro Kirk with one out and men on second and third. Instead, Kremer walked Kirk and brought up Matt Chapman, who grounded into a double play to end the threat and keep the game within reach.

“Those are things that we haven’t done really well this year, because we’re young and inexperienced,” said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. “But that’s what winning teams [do], and that’s what these guys are learning right now.”

With every acquired ability or sound decision they make, the Orioles further solidify themselves as a team to be taken seriously.

Baltimore has sported a 10-4 record with a plus-18 run differential in August. On Tuesday, the Orioles challenged one of the best pitchers in the league in Manoah while improving to 6-2 against the Blue Jays this year.

There’s no ignoring that type of statement.

“They're playing good baseball,” Blue Jays interim manager John Schneider said. “They're taking care of it on defense, they're running the bases well and they're putting the ball in play. When you do that, good things happen, and they're playing with a lot of confidence right now, as they should be.”

No one in Baltimore’s clubhouse is paying much mind to what the discourse around this team might be, but wins like Tuesday’s make a statement around the league. This team is ready to compete now, even if its youngsters are still learning as they go.

​​“We really don’t know what people are saying about us,” said Rutschman. “I think the guys in this locker room make up for the experience and the time that we’ve had, because we have a lot of high-character guys on our team.”