On Sunday May 15th 2022 the Detroit Tigers completed a 3 game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles. At the time this seemed like an unremarkable result, the Orioles were 14-21 and were coming off a season where they lost 110 games where they had been swept 19 times. What people did not know on May 15th 2022 was that the Orioles’ fortune was about to change and that this was the last time they would be swept for the next season and a half.
Today the Orioles streak of series without being swept sits at 91. The only longer streaks in history are the 1903-1905 Giants at 106 consecutive series and the 1942-1944 Cardinals with 125 consecutive series without being swept. So what the Orioles are doing is historic.
The funny part about this record is that it is not one that people have ever really cared about. It’s not something you hear brought up with along with Dimaggio’s 56 game hitting streak or Cal Ripken’s iron man streak but it is fun and now that the Orioles are at 91 I hope they break the record next season.
The other funny part about a streak of not being swept is that it doesn’t get noticed for quite some time I’m sure some people noticed early on but I don’t think it got on my radar until near the end of the 2022 season when the streak was already in the 30s and the streak was presented as a fun “Adley Rutschman has never been swept” stat.
Anyway I wanted to look back at the 91 series and zoom in on the moments where the streak was most in jeopardy and the Orioles were backs against the wall fighting off a sweep. I know that technically a series where you win the first game and then lose the next 2 is almost a sweep but the games I want to highlight will all be the last game of a series where the Orioles had lost the first games.
May 19th 2022 Orioles vs Yankees (Streak: 0)
The very first series! I debated about including this because technically the streak didn’t exist yet so nothing would have been lost had the Orioles fallen to the Yankees but I decided to include it because series number 1 is still a part of the streak.
The Orioles had lost 6 in a row and had lost the first 3 games of the series. It looked as though they were well on their way to another 100 loss season. Going into the bottom of the ninth the game was tied 6-6. It had been a back and forth battle all game with the Yankees tying the game in the top of the ninth. The Orioles got a break to start the inning when a Josh Donaldson error put Austin Hays on first. The Yankees pitcher Lucas Leutge fed Ramon Urias 4 straight cutters and struck him out swinging then Trey Mancini stepped into the box. Mancini worked a ten pitch at bat before slapping a single into center bringing up Anthony Santander with runners on first and second. Santander, a switch hitter, dug in on the right side where he would have the advantage vs the left hander pitcher but would also have to contend with the newly pushed back left field wall. He wasted no time and on the first pitch smashed a homerun over the left field wall. Tony Taters joyfully jogged around the bases and made his way home for a gatorade bath.
Santander didn’t know it yet but this win marked the beginning of the Orioles historic streak.
June 22nd 2022 Orioles vs Nationals (Streak: 10)
Just a month into the streak the Orioles faced the Nationals in a 2 game series and dropped the first game 0-3. Now in the second game of the series the Orioles’ streak (A streak they weren’t even aware of) was on the ropes.
Fortunately for the Orioles Austin Hays and Tyler Wells came to play. Wells pitched 5 shutout innings and Hays went 4-4 and hit for the cycle in just 6 innings before the game was rained out and the Orioles cruised to a 7-0 victory.
July 3rd 2022 Orioles @ Twins (Streak: 13)
The Twins won both of the first 2 games of this series in walk off fashion against the orioles All Star closer Jorge Lopez which makes it even funnier that they eventually traded a haul of prospects for Jorge Lopez at the that trade deadline I know that making moves based off how a player plays vs your team is bad process but having a front row seat to a closer blowing back to back saves would give me pause before having him be my big trade deadline acquisition.
Anyway once again with the fledgling streak on the line it was Tyler Wells who took the mound and pitched a gem. 6 innings 7 Ks and 1 ER. On the offensive side Rougned Odor, Trey Mancini and Ryan Mountcastle all hit solo home runs to power the Orioles to a 3-1 win. This time around Dillon Tate took care of the 9th.
September 18th Orioles @ Toronto (Streak: 34)
This was a dramatic game. The Orioles were clinging to their playoff hopes and getting swept by the Jays would have essentially laid those playoff hopes to rest.
With the streak once again in jeopardy and the added pressure of a potential playoff spot hanging in the balance, the Orioles sent Dean Kremerto the bump. Kremer (who was in the middle of the best stretch of his career) had a good outing going 5.2 innings and giving up just 2 runs but he left in line for the loss as the Orioles offense struggled against the Blue Jays ace Alek Manoah who went 6 innings 1 ER.
In the top of the ninth the Blue Jays called on their All Star closer Jordan Romano to protect a 3-2 lead. The Orioles offense had other ideas. After singles from Kyle Stowers and Ramon Urias and a walk to Cedric Mullins the Orioles star rookie Adley Rutschman came to the plate.
Adley fouled off the first pitch before slapping a single into center field driving in Stowers and Urias. In the blink of an eye the game was flipped and the Orioles led 4-3. The O’s weren’t done and a few batters later Jesus Aguilar singled in Cedric Mullins to give the Orioles a much needed insurance run. (This was definitely Aguilar’s best game in his short tenure as an Oriole)
The game was not over and the Orioles sent their new closer Felix Bautista to take care of the bottom of the ninth. After 2 quick outs, a walk and a George Springer double drove in a run making the score 5-4 (Thank you Aguilar!) Felix settled in and got Bo Bichette to ground out to third to end the game and preserve the streak.
September 21st Orioles vs Tigers (Streak: 35)
Back to back series with the streak being taken to the brink! Not to mention it was against the Tigers, the last team to sweep them earlier in the season. (You can probably point the Orioles going 1-5 against the lowly Tiger as a big reason they missed the playoffs)
The star of this game was the Chad innings eater Jordan Lyles who pitched a complete game giving up only 1 run as the Orioles won handily 8-1. This was the last time the streak would be tested in the 2022 season.
May 28th 2023 Orioles vs Rangers (Streak: 56)
In this series the Rangers, who were in the middle of an impressive season themselves, hammered Grayson Rodriguez in the first game and in the second game the Orioles fell behind early and their comeback effort fell short. Now for the first time in the 2023 season the Orioles streak was on the line.
It was Kyle Bradish who rose to the occasion for the Orioles as he pitched a gem going 6.2 innings and giving up just one run. Bradish left the game in the 7th in line for the win with a 2-1 score but an 8th inning double from Corey Seager tied the game in the top of the 8th.
In the bottom of the 8th the top of the Orioles lineup was due up and they immediately came through. Cedric Mullins drew a 7 pitch walk and Adley Rutschman singled to put runners on first and third. The Rangers responded with a pitching change and bringing the infield in vs Austin Hays. Hays responded by hitting a sharp ground ball the ricocheted off the pitchers mound and into center field scoring Cedric Mullins and giving the Orioles a 3-2 lead.
Felix Bautista struck out the side in the 9th and Orioles streak lived to fight another day.
June 8th 2023 Orioles @ Brewers (Streak: 59)
This game weirdly felt like a big game. In the weeks before this series the Orioles almost got swept by the Rangers, lost a series to a struggling Guardians team and now were fighting to avoid a sweep vs the Brewers. Every projection website had the Orioles as at best a .500 team and the haters and losers were ready to call the Orioles excellent start to the season a linsanity run.
It looked like a sweep might be imminent when the Brewers had scored 3 runs before recording their second out but Kyle Bradish bore down and struck got through 5 innings without giving up another run and striking out 10.
Bradish might have bounced back but the Orioles offense was in a deep slumber and going into the 7th inning the score was still 3-0 in favor of the Brewers. With 2 out and the bases empty Ramon Urias hit a solo shot to bring the Orioles within 2. That was it for the O’s in the 7th but in the 8th rest of the Orioles offense woke up. After an Adley Rutschman single Santander powered a double into right field to cut the lead to one. Then Gunnar Henderson followed that up with an opposite field home run over to give the Orioles the lead which they never gave back and eventually won 6-3.
Gunnar Henderson had struggled up until that point in the season with his batting average hovering around .200 and his slugging at a mediocre .400 but after he mashed that homerun it was like he became a different player and he went on to win the Most Valuable Oriole award.
July 2nd Orioles vs Twins (Streak: 66)
The Twins pitching absolutely punked the Orioles offense in this series. Through the first 25 innings of the series the Orioles had scored just 1 run and when Jhoan Duran took the mound in the bottom of the 8th inning the odds did not seem good for that to change.
Adley Rutschman got the rally started by running out an infield single. This is something Adley does quite often and I think it is awesome that our star catcher sprints out of the box any time he hits a soft dribbler down the line. Anyway Santander followed Adley’s single with a single of his own and Adley flew around the bases going first to third (again awesome base running).
Now with runners on the corners the Orioles turned to waiver wire acquisition and Yankees legend Aaron Hicks. Hicks continued his great run in an Orioles uniform by hitting a bloop single into center scoring Rutschman and tying the game.
After a Cedric Mullins ground out moved both runners into scoring position the Twins chose to intentionally walk Ryan O’Hearn (smart) and face freshly called up prospect Jordan Westburg. Westburg had a chance to have his first big moment as a big leaguer and he kind of got that when Duran hit him in the hand and brought in the game winning run.
Felix Bautista struck out the side to secure the win, preserve the streak and prove who the best reliever in the league was.
July 19th Orioles vs Dodger (Streak: 70)
The Dodgers looked like an absolute wagon when they came to town to play the Orioles. Freddie Freeman in particular was an absolute terror; it felt like we didn’t get him out once in all 3 games.
This game was characterized by Dean Kremer and Julio Urias competing to see who could pitch worse. Dean got out to an early lead by allowing 2 runs in the top of the first but Urias would not be outdone and promptly gave up 4 runs in the bottom of the first. It looked like the Orioles were going to finally get a comfortable win after they went up 7-3 in the 4th but a Max Muncy 2 run homer in the 5th brought the Dodgers back within 2. Gunnar responded in the bottom of the 5th with a massive 431 foot blast to extend the lead.
The real hero of this game was Danny Coulombe who came in after the Muncy homer in the 5th and proceeded to pitch the rest of the 5th, 6th and 7th which was huge because the bullpen was exhausted and that wasn’t something Coulombe had done all year but with the all important streak on the line Danny Coulombe put the team on his back.
August 10th Orioles vs Astros (Streak: 76)
The series against the Astros was supposed to be a measuring stick series for the Orioles and it got off to a terrible start when Felix Bautista had probably the worst outing of his career and gave up a grand slam to lose the game. Then the Astros pummeled the Orioles in game 2 and suddenly the Orioles streak was on the ropes against the defending world champs.
Adley Rutschman started off the Orioles offense with leadoff homer un in the first inning then later in the 6th had a big RBI single. Yet another reminder that it is not a coincidence that this streak started when he was called up.
Dean Kremer answered the call by going 7 innings 2 ER and getting the win. It felt like a huge moment when after the Jose Altuve home run in the 7th Hyde left Dean in the game in a 3-2 game and trusted him to finish the inning vs the heart of the Astros lineup and Dean responded by striking out Alex Bregman to finish the 7th.
In the bottom of the 7th Mountcastle gave the O’s some insurance with a 2 run shot to center and that was enough to hold off the Astros and keep the unsweepable streak going.
And that’s it since mid August the streak hasn’t even been tested. Looking back the Orioles got key contributions from all over the roster and relied on their stars like Adley and Kyle Bradish to pick them up when the streak was on the brink. I hope the streak goes on forever or at least long enough the break the Cardinals record not to mention that if it ends in the playoffs I’m not sure how I’ll cope with that.
Go O’s beat the Rangers!
The Dishwasher 
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