The Baltimore Orioles were the most pleasant surprise in baseball this year, as the long-suffering franchise won 101 games and rekindled memories of the team’s glory days.
The only surprise the Orioles brought in the ALDS was unpleasant, as the team fell to the Texas Rangers in a three-game sweep.
Texas finished off the demolition Tuesday night with a 7-1 win. Rangers slugger Adolis García provided the back-breaking blow in the second inning with a three-run homer that gave Texas a 6-0 lead and chased O’s starter Dean Kremer.
So what happened to the Orioles, who entered the AL playoffs as the No. 1 seed? Not to take anything away from the Rangers, who scored the third-most runs in MLB this season, but no one expected the Orioles to get swept, and rather easily at that.
The Orioles will be contenders next year and likely for years to come given their nucleus of dynamic young players. That will have to be enough to comfort O’s fans after the disappointing ALDS.
Social media had plenty of thoughts on Baltimore’s ALDS collapse.