O’s aren't content after 83rd win matches last season's total

BALTIMORE -- Brandon Hyde didn’t have a targeted number of wins in mind for the Orioles heading into the 2023 season. The manager kept the team’s objective simpler than that.

“I just honestly wanted them to improve from last year and see where we were,” Hyde said.

It’s not even September yet, and Baltimore has already ensured it will at least match its 2022 record -- and likely outperform it by a great margin.

With a 9-3 victory over the White Sox on Tuesday night at Camden Yards, the Orioles secured their 83rd win of the season, matching their total from last year (83-79). A winning season was a huge achievement at that time, considering the club finished well below .500 from 2017-21.

Baltimore (83-49), which now has loftier expectations, is 34 games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 1997 season, when it finished 98-64. The Orioles maintained a 2 1/2-game lead in the American League East over the second-place Rays (81-52), who beat the Marlins on Tuesday.

“We still have a whole month left, and we've already been able to get to where we were last year, which was a really big turnaround for us,” left fielder Austin Hays said. “It's a great accomplishment for us, but we know we're not done and there’s a lot of baseball left, so we’ve just got to keep going.”

The O’s latest triumph featured a similar recipe as other recent wins -- a strong performance by a starter (six-plus innings of one-run ball from Dean Kremer) and a key hit by Anthony Santander, who knocked a go-ahead three-run double in the seventh and finished with a team-high four RBIs.

Since Aug. 12, Baltimore’s starting pitchers own a 3.30 ERA and 1.05 WHIP over 16 games. That date is significant because it was when the O’s opted to expand to a six-man rotation in order to keep several of their young arms fresh.

“As a whole, getting that extra day, extra two days -- depending on off-days and whatnot -- it’s definitely big at this point in the season,” Kremer said. “August is usually the dog days, so getting that extra 24 hours or 48 hours is huge for all of us.”

The 27-year-old Kremer has been vital to the success. The right-hander’s latest gem against the White Sox marked his fourth consecutive quality start, as the lone blemish was a third-inning solo home run by Lenyn Sosa.

Kremer posted a 2.90 ERA over 10 starts across July and August, lowering his season mark from 5.04 to 4.20 in the process.

Baltimore’s three youngest starters -- Kremer and fellow righties Kyle Bradish (26) and Grayson Rodriguez (23) -- have been the best of late. The trio has posted a 1.96 ERA in their past nine combined outings.

“That’s what we need,” Hyde said. “These guys have made such growth in the last couple of years, and the command is way better, and the confidence is a lot better.”

The Orioles rewarded Kremer’s latest effort by orchestrating a three-run rally in the seventh, when the game remained tied. Ryan McKenna’s pinch-hit single and consecutive walks by Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson set the stage for Santander, who cleared the bases with a two-bagger hit the opposite way down the right-field line.

Santander also had an RBI single to cap Baltimore’s five-run eighth, which blew the game open.

After missing three games due to low back soreness earlier this month, Santander is 12-for-29 (.414) with four homers and 12 RBIs over his past seven contests. He leads the Orioles with 18 go-ahead RBIs this season.

“He just finds a way to come in clutch when we battle to get guys on base,” Hays said. “Give him that opportunity, and more times than not, he comes through for us.”

With 30 games to go, Baltimore will need to finish at least 17-13 to notch its first 100-win season since going 100-62 in 1980. However, the exact number of victories isn’t most important to the O’s, who are aiming to reach the postseason for the first time since 2016, as well as winning their first AL East title since ‘14.

It’s important for the Orioles to stay fresh, because they seem likely to be heading for an even greater challenge -- postseason baseball. They didn’t reach October in any of their previous four years under Hyde, who frequently experienced it during his time on the Cubs’ staff from 2014-18.

“It’s totally different, but you’ve got serious adrenaline going,” Hyde explained.

Then, Hyde stopped himself. It’s one step at a time for the Orioles.

“We’re not talking about that yet. We’re talking about finishing the season strong,” Hyde said. “Hopefully, we continue to play well.”