BALTIMORE – Camden Yards smelled blood in the water, but Adley Rutschman couldn’t bite.
With two outs in the fifth inning of a tied wild-card Game 2, the Orioles’ franchise catcher stood on the podium.
An Oriole occupied each base. Rutschman’s team had gotten its first run of the series earlier in the frame on a thrilling tying home run from Cedric Mullins. That explosion sent the understandably frustrated home crowd into total delirium. The hysteria only grew as the next three Orioles reached base with no one out.
After thirteen innings of scoreless ineptitude, the impatient sea of black and orange had reason to roar. For the first time in the entire series, the O’s had the Royals – and starting pitcher Seth Lugo – on the ropes. But instead of what could have been the knockout blow in Wednesday’s eventual 2-1 loss, Baltimore put down its gloves, offered water and threw a towel at Kansas City.
Anthony Santander, he of 44 home runs in the regular season, struck out overly eagerly for the first out. That brought in hard-throwing Royals reliever Angel Zerpa. Baltimore’s next hitter, outfielder Colton Cowser, went down hacking…literally. Cowser, apparently deciding to swing for the field, went around on a ball that knocked him in the hand as he fell to the ground.
It was one of the most bizarre strikeouts you will ever see.
Those two zeros threatened to stifle the rally and dampen the excitement. A nervous stadium rolled its eyes, as if to say, “Here we go again.” But when a still-wild Zerpa dismissed Rutschman with a pair of balls, Birdland rediscovered his voice.
Theoretically, this was the kind of scenario the O’s and their fans would have dreamed of. Their own franchise catcher at the plate in a playoff game with a chance to be the hero. A raucous, desperate, passionate crowd that conjures up a wall of noise. A pitcher losing control.
The entire stadium knew that Zerpa, who did not want to lose 3-0 and risk getting into a run, had to strike Rutschman. Rutschman, who has struggled mightily since the All-Star split, his confidence evaporating in a cloud of passivity, must have known this too. He had to be ready for a fastball. He would almost certainly see a hitable pitch.
During ESPN’s broadcast, commentator Ben McDonald, a regular on Baltimore’s home broadcast and therefore quite familiar with the club, noted the moment and Rutschman’s role in it.
“These are the situations where Brandon Hyde wants to see Adley Rutschman more aggressive, right?” McDonald commented in his signature Cajun accent. “Courts full, 2-0 count, go hunt for that fastball. If you get it, take your swing away and be aggressive.
The heating came on.
But Rutschman, as his club had done all series, blinked into the spotlight.
He couldn’t pull the trigger. Zerpa’s fastball rustled into the catcher’s glove, right in the middle of the plate. Hit one.
When Rutschman took the field, he held his position for a remarkably long time, as if he had been turned to stone by regret. McDonald groaned during the broadcast.
When asked after the game if he would have done anything differently with his approach during that at-bat, Rutschman replied, “I would have gotten a hit.”
Two pitches later, Rutschman hit a sharp grounder to Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., the player drafted directly behind the Baltimore catcher in the 2019 MLB Draft. Half an inning later, Kansas City regained the lead on an infield single by Witt . The Orioles didn’t threaten again, failing to even push a runner to second base in the final four frames. Star shortstop Gunnar Henderson struck out to end the game, series and Baltimore’s season.
Through 18 innings in this wild-card series, the Birds’ vaunted offense managed one measly run. Kansas City pitched extremely well, but Baltimore helped them along, going 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Henderson, who hit 37 home runs during the regular season, finished the two games 0-for-7 with three strikeouts. Not a single Orioles hitter, other than Mullins, looked comfortable or calm.
And while Rutschman’s jaw-dropping moment wasn’t the only reason for Baltimore’s departure in early October, his 2-0 win epitomized the team’s demise.
A talented young player on a talented young team, in the make-or-break hour, buried by indecision. The shine of promise – always something dangerous – worn away by the reality of failure, by the sheer difficulty of a very difficult sport. Rutschman, once a player you could dream of dynasties, looked tired, as he did for most of the second half of the season. Public bat speed data shows that Rutschman’s swing speed decreased over the season, implying he was exhausted or injured. His offensive production dropped, as did his defensive stats.
“I’ve answered this question a million times,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde told the media after the game. “I think he is a young player who had to deal with setbacks.
“I think he’ll come back next year and I think he’ll be a different player.”
Hyde’s optimism is well-founded. Rutschman, still only 26 years old, remains a volcano of talent. There remains plenty of room for growth and glory. That’s also the case with most of Baltimore’s roster, even though Santander and top prospect Corbin Burnes are likely to leave in free agency. It’s reasonable for everyone involved, from the players to the leadership to the fanbase, to believe that a better day is coming somewhere.
But on this particular gray afternoon in October, neither the team nor its key player could get a grip on the moment.
A long winter awaits.
