Orioles Swept for 1st Time in 106 Regular-Season Series with Loss to Cardinals

The Baltimore Orioles were swept for the first time in 106 regular-season series on Wednesday after they dropped a pair of games to the host St. Louis Cardinals, 3-1 and 5-4.

St. Louis began the series with a 6-3 win on Monday. The Cardinals and Orioles then played five-and-a-half innings on Tuesday before heavy rain forced the game's suspension with the score tied at one. The two squads finished that one Wednesday, and the Cardinals won thanks to Nolan Gorman hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth.

The Cardinals then overcame a 3-0 deficit to win the final game of the three-matchup set. With runners on first and second in the sixth inning, Brendan Donovan hit a double. The Orioles threw home in an attempt to stop the second runner from scoring, but it was too late, and it allowed Donovan to break for third. Catcher James McCann's throw to third got away, allowing Donovan to score in what is often described as a Little League homer. That sequence gave St. Louis a 4-3 lead, and Masyn Winn's seventh-inning solo homer gave the Cardinals a much-needed insurance run to hold on for the win.

It's obviously a disappointing result for the young Orioles, but this team has been on the rise ever since a rough start to the 2022 season (24-35).

That O's team ended up going 15 games over .500 the rest of that campaign. And then in 2023, Baltimore finished 100-62, good enough for the AL East crown. However, the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers swept the O's 3-0 in the AL Division Series.

Despite the sweep, this year's squad is faring quite well, landing at 29-18 thus far, good enough for second place in the American League East. Baltimore will look to get back on the winning track Thursday with a four-game road series at the Chicago White Sox.