The Baltimore Orioles won 101 games in 2023 and didn’t get swept in a series the entire regular season. Then came the MLB postseason, and the Texas Rangers won three in a row to sweep the Orioles out of the American League wild-card round.
Major League Baseball’s 2024 postseason starts on Tuesday after a Monday doubleheader set the final pairings in the National League. Baltimore faces the Kansas City Royals in the wild-card round this year.
“Definitely leaned on some of the bad experiences we had last year in the postseason,” Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson said. “Kind of used it to fuel us this year and give us the kick that we need to push through and, hopefully, make a good run this year.”
The Orioles made it back to the postseason even though Baltimore won 10 fewer games in 2024 than it did in 2023.
“Last year, we, obviously, through the regular season, didn’t get swept, so it wasn’t much going against us at that point,” Henderson said. “And then this year, obviously, we had a little bit of struggle the second half, so I feel like we learned how to go through it earlier and became a little bit more battle-tested in that sense, so I feel like it’s going to help us in this aspect of the game and really looking forward to it.”
After winning the American League Rookie of the Year Award unanimously last season, Henderson hit 37 home runs and had 118 runs and 92 RBIs in 2024. A former Morgan Academy star and the state’s Mr. Baseball in 2019, Henderson will be among the few players with Alabama baseball roots moving from the regular season to the playoffs in 2024.
Thirty alumni of Alabama high schools and colleges played in the big leagues in 2024, but only Henderson, San Diego Padres outfielder Brandon Lockridge (Troy), Detroit Tigers pitcher Casey Mize (Springville, Auburn) and New York Yankees reliever Clay Holmes (Slocomb) were on the rosters of postseason qualifiers at the end of the season. There’s also a possibility that pitcher Spencer Turnbull (Alabama) will return to the Philadelphia Phillies staff after rehabbing an injury.
The best-of-three wild-card round will be played on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The schedule includes (with all times CDT):
Tuesday
American League
· Detroit Tigers at Houston Astros, 1:32 p.m. (ABC)
· Kansas City Royals at Baltimore Orioles, 3:08 p.m. (ESPN2)
National League
· New York Mets at Milwaukee Brewers, 4:32 p.m. (ESPN)
· Atlanta Braves at San Diego Padres, 7:38 p.m. (ESPN)
Wednesday
American League
· Detroit Tigers at Houston Astros, 1:32 p.m. (ABC)
· Kansas City Royals at Baltimore Orioles, 3:38 p.m. (ESPN)
National League
· New York Mets at Milwaukee Brewers, 6:38 p.m. (ESPN)
· Atlanta Braves at San Diego Padres, 7:38 p.m. (ESPN2)
Thursday
American League
· Detroit Tigers at Houston Astros (if necessary), 1:32 p.m. (ABC)
· Kansas City Royals at Baltimore Orioles (if necessary), 3:08 p.m. (ESPN)
National League
· Atlanta Braves at San Diego Padres (if necessary), 6:08 p.m. (ESPN)
· New York Mets at Milwaukee Brewers (if necessary), 7:38 p.m. (ESPN2)
The four best-of-five Division Series begin on Saturday, with the Tigers-Astros winner playing the Cleveland Guardians and the Royals-Orioles winner playing the Yankees in the American League and the Mets-Brewers winner playing the Phillies and the Braves-Padres winner playing the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League.
The two best-of-seven League Championship Series begin on Oct. 13.
The best-of-seven World Series will start on Oct. 22 or Oct. 25, depending on what happens in the LCS.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.
