Postseason FAQ: What's next for the Orioles?

It isn’t easy to make it to the postseason. It’s even more challenging to do it multiple years in a row. Ask the Orioles, who hadn’t made consecutive appearances since the 1996 and ‘97 seasons.

Until now.

The O’s (91-71 in the regular season) have punched a ticket to October for the second straight year, having secured their spot in the postseason last Tuesday night. They're the No. 4 seed in the American League as the top Wild Card team, and they'll be facing the Royals in a best-of-three Wild Card Series at Camden Yards that begins on Tuesday.

Consecutive playoff appearances have been rare for Baltimore, which had only previously accomplished the feat from 1996-97, ‘73-74 and ‘69-71.

“It’s awesome, man. This is what you play for -- a chance to be in the postseason, where anything can happen,” first baseman Ryan O'Hearn said.

Here’s everything you need to know heading into the Orioles’ 2024 postseason run.

When does the postseason start?
All four best-of-three Wild Card Series will occur from Tuesday-Thursday.

Who are the Orioles going to face?
In the AL Wild Card Series, the O’s will play the Royals, who finished 86-76 and are the No. 5 seed. Kansas City finished with the same record as Detroit, but it owned the tiebreaker over its AL Central rival by going 7-6 against the Tigers during the regular season.

This will be only the second time the Orioles and the Royals have met in the postseason. Kansas City swept Baltimore, 4-0, in the 2014 AL Championship Series.

The winner of the Royals-O's AL Wild Card Series will advance to face the AL East champion Yankees (the No. 1 seed) in the AL Division Series, which will begin Saturday at Yankee Stadium.

What does the postseason roster look like?
Rosters revert to 26 players for the postseason, with a maximum of 13 pitchers. The O’s opted to go with 14 position players and 12 pitchers for the shorter Wild Card Series.

Corbin Burnes (15-9, 2.92 ERA in 32 starts) will be Baltimore's Game 1 starter for the AL Wild Card Series. Manager Brandon Hyde has not announced the rotation plans beyond that.

C: Adley Rutschman, James McCann
1B: Ryan Mountcastle, Ryan O'Hearn
2B: Jordan Westburg, Jackson Holliday
SS: Gunnar Henderson
3B: Ramón Urías, Emmanuel Rivera
LF: Colton Cowser, Austin Slater
CF: Cedric Mullins
RF: Anthony Santander, Heston Kjerstad
SP: Corbin Burnes, Zach Eflin, Dean Kremer, Cade Povich
RP: Seranthony Domínguez, Yennier Cano, Danny Coulombe, Jacob Webb, Cionel Pérez, Keegan Akin, Gregory Soto, Colin Selby

Which injured players will return in time for the postseason?
Since Sept. 15, the Orioles have gotten back Webb and Coulombe in their bullpen, Kjerstad in the outfield and Westburg, Urías and Mountcastle in the infield. However, the news was not as positive regarding right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (right lat/teres strain), who was shut down during the final week of September and will not pitch again until 2025.

Rodriguez was throwing routine bullpen sessions, but the 24-year-old never advanced to the point of facing hitters. Hyde said there wasn’t enough time for Rodriguez to return for the postseason.

It is unclear whether right-handed reliever Burch Smith (right adductor groin strain) is a candidate to return in October.

What were some of the toughest roster decisions?
Right-hander Albert Suárez was not included on the AL Wild Card Series roster, as the 34-year-old right-hander threw 71 pitches over six innings in Sunday's regular-season finale at Minnesota. He wouldn't have been a candidate to start during the series -- with Burnes starting Game 1 and Eflin likely to follow in Game 2 and Kremer in a potential Game 3 -- and he wouldn't have been fresh enough to use in relief early in the series.

Povich was included on the AL Wild Card Series roster, likely to provide length out of the bullpen. The final ‘pen spot went to right-hander Colin Selby, who tossed four scoreless innings over three appearances for the Orioles during the regular season.

Corner infielder Emmanuel Rivera and rookie outfielder Heston Kjerstad both earned spots on the bench.

What is the Orioles’ recent postseason history?
In 2023, Baltimore won the AL East championship -- capturing its first division title since ‘14 and making its first postseason appearance since ‘16 -- then got swept in three games by eventual World Series champion Texas in the AL Division Series. It was a disappointing showing for the O’s, who had gone 101-61 in the regular season.

The Orioles have lost eight consecutive postseason games, with their most recent win coming when they swept the Tigers, 3-0, in the 2014 ALDS.