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The dark September for the Orioles is not over yet. It could get darker before it's over. They find themselves in a tie for last place headed into Wednesday's contest against the Pirates, so if they lose and the Blue Jays win, the O's will have last place all to themselves.
It's not pretty. It hasn't been pretty for a while. The Orioles are 5-15 in their last 20 games, for crying out loud. It takes real talent, or rather, real lack of talent, to be that bad. It's not like it was injuries exposing a lack of depth that led the O's to that pathetic performance. The team that's been on the field for most of those games has been the team that the Orioles wanted to have. They just aren't good enough.
The young guys get to take the field again on Wednesday in Pittsburgh. All of Austin Hays, Chance Sisco, and Anthony Santander are once again in the lineup. They weren't exactly the magic cure to offense on Tuesday, since the O's scored only one run, but hey, they gave up ten runs anyway, so it's not like the lack of offense is what did them in.
Also, Pedro Alvarez is the cleanup hitter because what the heck, why not?