Saturday afternoon Orioles game thread: at Red Sox, 4:05

You know what was fun? Last night’s Orioles win against the Red Sox was fun. I wish they could do that every day, but I won’t be holding my breath. The beatdown the O’s put on Boston brings them to two games under .500.

They’ll need to keep playing well if they’re ever going to actually get above .500. One win feels good in the moment, yet it won’t feel nearly so good if the Orioles just end up losing the remaining two games of this series in Boston.

With that in mind, they’re back in action on Saturday afternoon. Kevin Gausman takes the mound for the O’s, looking to keep a solid second half going. If he does that, I will like the O’s chances of winning, although the O’s will have to go up against former O’s prospect Eduardo Rodriguez, who’s been decent up to this point this season. So it’s no easy task.

What the Orioles need to do the rest of the way is clear. Keep winning and trust that enough of the teams ahead of them won’t win as much. The O’s are three games out with five teams to pass. They gained ground on three of those five teams yesterday. Win today and they’ll probably gain ground on at least one team again. Just win, baby! That’s what it comes down to. Just win.

Two of the O’s wild card rivals are playing 1 o’clock games today: The Twins and the Mariners. So before the O’s game starts it may be possible to know whether the O’s have a chance to gain on those teams. The Rangers also play in the 4 o’clock hour, with the Royals and Rays playing around 7 o’clock and the Angels, out west, playing around 9 o’clock.