The Baltimore Orioles were one of the best stories in all of baseball this season. They made their first playoff appearance since the 2016 season when they lost in the wild-card round. Baltimore showed signs of their potential when they won 83 games last season. That was a major step up from the previous four seasons when they won 47, 54, 25, and 52 games, respectively. They were in the cellar but began to slowly creep up from the bottom last season.

This season, the Orioles disregarded slow progress and shot up like a rocket. They won 101 games this season, which was the second-most in the entire MLB. Only the Atlanta Braves won more games than the Orioles. It was enough to earn them a bye into the ALCS, where they were matched up with the Texas Rangers. Texas began the season on fire, but fell down to earth a little back before getting hot again before the regular season ended. Momentum was on their side and they rode it to a wild card series win over the Tampa Bay Rays.

Texas kept the good times rolling and the Rangers were able to upset the Orioles in the ALDS with a sweep. Texas outscored the Orioles 21-11 in three games. Nothing should take away from the season the Orioles had, especially for how young they are, but losing in this fashion surely stings. And, it will cause others to play the blame game.

Who deserves it for this Orioles team?

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Grayson Rodriguez

After the Orioles dropped a coinflip Game 1 by a final score of 3-2, they needed to get off to a good start in Game 2. That did happen, but the good start was fleeting. Baltimore got off to a 2-0 lead after the first inning, but it did not last very long. The Orioles turned to Grayson Rodriguez on the mound for Game 2 and he didn't even last two innings. He got rocked in the second inning. He allowed six hits in that start and saw the Rangers tally up five runs in the second inning to quickly gain control of that game. The floodgates really opened in the third inning when Texas' Mitch Garver belted a grand slam.

But the damage was done when Rodriguez got rocked in the second inning. Rodriguez did not have the best regular season. He entered the postseason with a 4.35 ERA on the year, a 1.34 WHIP, and a +3.1 K/BB ratio. Baltimore needed more in a pivotal Game 2.

Dean Kremer

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If things were bad in Game 2, they were even worse in Game 3 considering the stakes with the Orioles down 2-0 in a best-of-five series. This time, the Orioles turned to Dean Kremer to start Game 3. Unfortunately for Baltimore, things were much the same. It didn't help matters when Corey Seager began the game with a solo home run on Texas' second at-bat.

Things snowballed from there in the second inning. Mitch Garver scored two runs with an RBI double. And then Adolis Garcia came up to bat. And he literally swung the game in the Rangers' favor with a three-run home run.

Baltimore's hitting should not be excused from their Game 3 loss. They were only able to muster six hits all night and scored one run. Texas had six runs after the second inning. Dean Kremer had a solid season for the Orioles. A 4.12 ERA and 1.31 WHIP isn't the best, but he did go 13-5 and pitched the second-most innings for the Orioles in the regular season. But he couldn't do enough to extend Baltimore's season. That being said, it's fair to note that Kremer admitted it was difficult to focus on baseball with a lot of his extended family in Israel amid the war. A very tough situation for Kremer to pitch in when his mind was elsewhere.

Conclusion

The Texas Rangers were hot coming into the playoffs. They carried that into the postseason and now find themselves in the ALCS. Baltimore had a great season, but beginning Game 2 and Game 3 down six or more runs after the second and third inning is a daunting task for anybody. The Orioles will be back in the postseason. But starting pitching didn't do them many favors this time around.