Rutschman walkoff saves O’s streak of no sweeps
BALTIMORE — Adley Rutschman has still never been swept in the regular season as a big leaguer.
With that streak on the verge of ending, the Baltimore catcher took matters into his own hands Wednesday, hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2. The Orioles have now gone 105 consecutive regular-season series of at least two decisions (no ties) without being swept. Only two teams have had longer runs.
“Our guys are really resilient, they have been all year,” Rutschman said. “Always the next guy up. We never think we’re out of it.”
Baltimore’s streak lost some of its luster when the Orioles were in fact swept in last year’s AL Division Series by Texas, but the regular-season run is still fascinating. Of the 105 series, 76 have been three games, 19 have been four, nine have been two, and there was one five-gamer. Baltimore’s overall record during the span is 197-132.
Even for a team with a winning percentage of .599, the chances of going through all those series without being swept are around 0.08%.
There are other stats that also reflect the team’s ability to avoid extended slumps. The Orioles haven’t lost any of their last 17 series against the AL East, going 12-0-5. They’re also one of three teams in the majors, along with Philadelphia and the Chicago Cubs, that haven’t had a three-game losing streak this year.
The most recent time Baltimore was swept was May 13-15, 2022, at Detroit. So the streak has now hit two years. Rutschman made his big league debut May 21, 2022, and the Orioles started playing a lot better almost immediately.
The streak is tied for third in major league history, according to information from the Elias Sports Bureau via the team. The 1942-44 St. Louis Cardinals went 124 series without being swept, and the 1906-09 Chicago Cubs went 115. The 1903-05 New York Giants also had a 105-series run.
On 14 occasions, the Orioles have needed a win in a series finale to avoid a sweep. They’ve pulled it off each time, including a 12-inning win at Washington earlier this month that prevented a two-game sweep, and then Wednesday’s game against the Blue Jays, when Baltimore didn’t score at all between Jordan Westburg‘s leadoff homer in the first inning and Rutschman’s walk-off shot.
“You normally don’t win games like that when you leave that many guys on base and have that many scoring opportunities,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “But we did because of our pitching today.”
The Orioles had baserunners in eight of the nine innings. They had men on second and third with nobody out in the seventh and first and third with one out in the eighth. Both times they failed to score.
None of that mattered when Rutschman delivered his second career walk-off homer.
“We don’t make it easy on ourselves sometimes,” Hyde said. “We’d like to start cashing in some of these runs and getting some leads and not play so many of these types of games.”
The San Diego Padres placed right-hander Michael King on the 15-day injured list Thursday because of left knee inflammation.
King (4-2, 2.81 ERA) had just come off the IL on Saturday, allowing two runs in as many innings of a no-decision against the Boston Red Sox.
It was his first start since May 18 as he dealt with shoulder inflammation.
Now, he’s back on the IL with a knee issue in a move retroactive to Monday.
It’s a setback for a red-hot Padres team, who will carry a five-game winning streak into a weekend showdown against the Dodgers in Los Angeles. First-place San Diego is one game ahead of L.A. in the NL West.
King had been scheduled to start the series opener Friday.
In the corresponding roster move, the Padres recalled right-hander Randy Vásquez from Triple-A El Paso.
While the Milwaukee Brewers keep on rolling, another Wisconsin business is stocking up on beef and buns.
For the third time in its history, George Webb Restaurants will make good on its promise of giving away free hamburgers as part of a longstanding promotion to celebrate the Brewers winning 12 consecutive games.
The free burger giveaway will be held Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. CT at all 23 of the restaurant’s locations throughout Wisconsin. Vouchers for a burger at a later date will be available at all locations starting Friday.
“Hungry fans are welcome to stop by any location for a free, juicy burger and some camaraderie with fellow baseball fans,” the restaurant said on its website.
Starting way back in the 1940s, when Milwaukee was home to the minor league Brewers of the old American Association, George Webb promised free burgers if the local baseball team won 17 consecutive games.
The promotion dropped to 13 games by the time the Braves made Milwaukee a big league city in 1953, but that franchise couldn’t make it happen before departing for Atlanta in 1966.
George Webb changed the promotion to 12 games when the Brewers moved from Seattle in 1970. In 1987, the Brewers opened the season with 13 wins in a row, and more than 170,000 burgers were given away to mark the occasion.
The Brewers accomplished the feat a second time in 2018, closing the regular season with eight victories followed by four playoff wins. That streak led to 90,000 free burgers being given away in addition to 100,000 redeemable vouchers.
Prior to reaching the magic mark on Wednesday, the Brewers had come close on a few occasions, including an 11-game winning streak earlier this season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike