The loud cheers, the champagne popping, the celebration with your teammates in the locker room- that is what the Baltimore Orioles’ locker room was like after they clinched the American League East divisional title
After an 8-2 win over division rival Toronto Blue Jays, the Baltimore Orioles clinched the AL East division, their first crown since 1997.
With a strong pitching rotation, led by Chris Tillman, Wei-Yin Chen and Bud Norris, and a big year from designated hitter Nelson Cruz, center fielder Adam Jones and right fielder Nick Markakis, the Orioles, according to oddsshark.com, have 13:2 odds of winning the World Series.
Meanwhile, a short trip across the capital beltway, the Washington Nationals have the top seed in the National League playoff bracket and have 11:2 odds of winning the elusive World Series.
The only chance these two teams have of meeting each other in the playoffs is by them both making it to the World Series, but that is very likely.
To end the season, the Orioles went without arguably one of their best hitters, first baseman Chris Davis, who was suspended 25 games on Sep. 12 for illegal substance abuse. Davis should be back in time for the ALCS round of the playoffs (supposing the Orioles get that far) to give the Orioles more firepower and an even better chance of winning the World Series.
The Orioles hit the most home runs in the MLB and scored the most runs too. If designated hitter Nelson Cruz, who lead the MLB in homeruns, and center fielder Adam Jones, who was 9th in the same stat, play like they did in the regular season, then the Orioles’ chances of winning the World Series increases by a wide margin.
I predict that the Orioles will triumph through a very tough playoff bracket, and will meet the Washington Nationals in the World Series. However, the Orioles will prevail, raising the World Series trophy for the first time since 1983.
