Orioles Show Resiliency in Clinching First AL East Title Since 1997

The way in which the Baltimore Orioles secured their first American League East title since 1997 was almost as fittingly surprising as the fact that they did so at all. In beating the second-place Toronto Blue Jays 8-2 to clinch the division, the O's saw all of their runs driven in by players who either weren't a part of the Opening Day roster or were released by the club at one point this season.

Veteran journeyman Steve Pearce, who falls into the latter category after being released back in April, smacked a three-run home run—his 18th, now more than double his career total prior to 2014—to put Baltimore up 3-1 in the bottom of the first.

That was followed by a second-inning solo blast from Jimmy Paredes, another never-was acquired in a July trade with the Kansas City Royals for cash, to make it 4-2.

The score stayed that way until the bottom of the seventh, when Alejandro De Aza—who has been an Oriole only since the Aug. 31 waiver-trade deadline—cleared the bases with a triple to push the lead to 7-2.

The final tally was achieved on a sac fly by catcher Nick Hundley, the former San Diego Padres catcher brought in via trade in May.

And before you knew it, this was happening:

Oh, and almost as if for kicks, the clinching win went to none other than Ubaldo Jimenez, who failed so miserably after inking a franchise-record $50 million contract for a free-agent pitcher last offseason that he was removed from the rotation and banished to the bullpen in August. The right-hander hurled five innings of two-hit, two-run ball in a spot start.

"It's been a long time coming for the city of Baltimore," center fielder Adam Jones said, via Brittany Ghiroli of MLB.com. "This team grinds out everything. Everybody has each others back, there's never an 'I' with anybody here. And that's why we're celebrating right now."

Yes, it's been that kind of year in Baltimore, where the O's (91-60) sport the second-best record in Major League Baseball despite having lost three young, cornerstone players for the season at three separate points of the year.

Back in May, catcher Matt Wieters, 28, was cut down by Tommy John surgery just as he had embarked on what looked to be a career season (.308/.339/.500). Hundley has teamed with fellow no-name backstop Caleb Joseph to help cover that loss.

Then, during an August in which 22-year-old phenom Manny Machado was getting back on track and hitting .378, the third baseman suffered his second straight season-ending knee injury. Paredes, Ryan Flaherty and others have been a part of holding down the hot corner in Machado's stead.

And only last week, the Orioles found out they would be without 28-year-old Chris Davis, who was suspended 25 games—through the rest of the regular season and into the start of the playoffs—for testing positive for the banned drug Adderall. That's where Pearce and his power, heretofore unseen in the majors, has come up big as the fill-in for the reigning home run champ down the stretch.

As Jerry Crasnick wrote for ESPN.com:

"

This is how they roll. A team with a more fragile constitution might have had difficulty recovering from catcher Matt Wieters’ Tommy John surgery in June, Manny Machado’s season-ending knee surgery and the 25-game amphetamine suspension that will keep Chris Davis out of action for the rest of the regular season and a sizable chunk of the playoffs. The Orioles, taking their cue from manager Buck Showalter, simply aren’t built to take “no” for an answer. 

"

There are other random and/or unexpected producers as well, including failed starter-turner-closer Zach Britton, cast-off designated hitter Delmon Young and rookie Jonathan Schoop, a 22-year-old former top prospect who only became the club's second baseman because there wasn't a better option.

Of course, the Orioles have had some of their stars stay healthy and shine, too. Free-agent bargain Nelson Cruz is leading the majors with 39 home runs, while Adam Jones has 25 of his own and, as of Tuesday's win, now has played 150 games for a fourth straight season.

The pitching staff lacks big names but makes up for it with depth both in the rotation and bullpen.

Starters Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris, Miguel Gonzalez and rookie Kevin Gausman all have ERAs between 3.28 and 3.74. If you knew at least three of them, give yourself a pat on the back.

Gail Burton/Associated Press

The relief corps has been solidified by Britton's emergence, as well as the July deadline trade for lights-out lefty Andrew Miller, who has allowed only two runs and 10 baserunners while striking out 30 in 17.1 innings with Baltimore. And don't forget fellow left-handers T.J. McFarland (2.93 ERA) and Brian Matusz (3.54).

Those southpaws are balanced by righties Darren O'Day (1.53 ERA), Tommy Hunter (3.10) and Brad Brach (3.12), giving manager Buck Showalter all sorts of options to exploit the opposition in the late innings—even if you haven't heard of half of 'em.

"Every player on this team has been through some [stuff] at some point this season, and to come together like all these guys have, all these guys stepped up when they had to step up," Hunter said, per Ghiroli. "Guys coming over via trades, guys coming up from the minor leagues—everybody's contributed throughout the year."

And now, the Orioles' year will continue on into October, where they'll hope for a better outcome than the Division Series loss in 2012, which was their first postseason appearance since that 1997 campaign.

Heading into the playoffs without three of the biggest names and best players on the team isn't exactly any club's plan, let alone a recipe for success. Then again, given what the Orioles have achieved under those very circumstances so far this season, maybe that's exactly what it is.

Statistics are accurate as of Sept. 16 and are courtesy of MLB.com, Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs, unless otherwise noted.

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