A chilly late September Wednesday midafternoon, and the first game of a cynical split doubleheader with maybe a few thousand people at Camden Yards for the final home games of a miserable 2026 Orioles campaign, felt like the very end.
The Orioles would have to extend their season by sweeping both games and then hoping to get help from the White Sox
(by losing to the Royals) much later in the evening and, against all odds, persevere they did. On a day where struggling rookie catcher Samuel Basallo was taken off the roster
on the concussion list and second-baseman Jackson Holliday
is headed for wrist surgery
and rookie Trey Gibson, who couldn't throw a strike in his first MLB stint, was tapped to start the nightcap, this motley collection of failed prospects and AAAA guys, plus slugger Pete Alonso
, kept their fading dream of the postseason alive, with KC beating Chicago
.
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"We've got three games left," Alonso told the MASN broadcast after coming to the field to salute the fans, "and we're going to make the best of it that we can."
The Orioles (78-81; 39-42 at home) got five innings from Chris Bassitt
in the first game, surviving a barrage of doubles but giving up nothing, to win 4-2, with Alonso's two-run homer proving pivotal. Then Gibson delivered perhaps the best outing of his professional career - not just MLB but every appearance in the minors - in shutting down the Blue Jays
for basically seven innings in another 4-2 victory. Former dominant closer Felix Bautista, following an arduous struggle through Tommy John surgery and then major shoulder surgery, came in to pitch the ninth. He gave up a two-run homer but completed an inning for the first time since July 20, 2025 in his second appearance since activation from the Injured List.
"To win two games in the same day is tough to do," manager Craig Albernaz said. "So I'm proud of our effort."
Of course, things got weird before Gibson was done - because not much is normal for this perpetually rebuilding team
- and the seventh-inning stretch was interrupted because the Blue Jays determined that second baseman Jeremiah Jackson
was on the grass for the final ground out in the seventh. So the batter reached on an error - upon video review - and Yennier Cano
issued some walks in relief and it ended up in a bases loaded situation before Cano struck out Nathan Lukes
to end the threat.
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Of everything that happened on this day of baseball, Gibson getting a shot to end his season on a high note, and actually taking advantage of it, ranked high. He was the top pitching prospect in the system last winter - that's not even close to being the case anymore after Mike Elias sold at the deadline again- but could be an interesting swing man or pen arm or spot starter next season.
He got a lot of swing-and-miss in the minors but mostly just missed the strike zone in his earlier tour with Baltimore
, wildly erratic, hitting batters in ridiculous spots and seeming out of his depth. Wednesday, in the final start by anyone at Camden Yards this season (barring a near miracle), Gibson allowed just three hits in 6 2/3 and struck out seven and, most impressively, walked just two and thew 65 strikes on 92 pitchers - major improvement for him.
"He was nasty," Alonso said of Gibson. "He was moving the ball anywhere he wanted to."
"I love the currer usage he was getting," Albernaz said, "and it allowed him to open up and get some swings and misses ... Big opportunity for him to show what he can do."
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Christian Encarnacion-Strand
was the offensive star, driving in three runs, including a rocket homer in the fourth inning. He has 39 RBIs in just 190 at bats and has certainly played his way into contention for a long look again in 2027 after spending most of the season in Norfolk. Coby Mayo
, with a very similar profile but younger, picked up his 18th double and has a chance for a season with 25 homers and 20 doubles
Game One
The Orioles were overpowered by Blue Jays aging starter Max Scherzer
early, but Jeremiah Jackson drove in a run with a single and stayed in a rundown long enough for another run to score to close out the second. Alonso drove in Dylan Beavers
with his two-run shot to left, a no doubter that traveled 412 feet. His 41st homer keeps him in the running to lead the American League in homers in his first season in Baltimore.
The bullpen, the strength of this team all season, was excellent in both ends of the double header. It ended up being enough to have them open Thursday still not eliminated, with the Royals and White Sox set to play an afternoon game.
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But wasting the bulk of this season playing horribly flawed baseball for a manager who had no business running an MLB dugout hired by a baseball failure
who wants to look smart much more than he wants to win tends to result in a succession of lost seasons. And casts a major shadow over anything getting better anytime soon. as they head to New York to finish out the regular season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/orioles/onsi as Orioles Sweep Blue Jays To Keep Faint Playoff Hopes Alive
.
