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So the Orioles are .500 again. Whoopdee-doo, right? They need to win tonight and keep winning for that to matter. There's nothing good about ending the season at 81-81, not after the Orioles chose not to be sellers at the trade deadline. Every game they lose is a lost opportunity - and one more game that they need to win later on.
With the right outcomes in their game and elsewhere in the league, the Orioles could actually end the night just a half game back of the second wild card spot in the AL. First, the Orioles must win. They would also need a Rays loss to the Red Sox and a Royals loss to the Cardinals. Those other things will be either somewhat or totally resolved before the O's start playing.
That leaves the O's having to do their part. It's going to be Jeremy Hellickson's second Orioles start tonight. Let's hope that his brand of fly ball pitching works well in Anaheim or wherever that Angels stadium actually is.
O's hitters will be squaring off against a former Oriole, Parker Bridwell. If he dominates them tonight, tomorrow will probably be insufferable because all of the people who think the Orioles make bad choices with personnel and development will feel that they have been proven right by a one game sample. A win would, therefore, be nice for several reasons.