When it was over and the Baltimore Orioles were swept out of the playoffs for the second year in a row, their unofficial captain was not interested in litigating how it had happened.
In the fifth inning of Wednesday’s Game 2 of the American League wild-card series, with the bases loaded, two outs and the score tied, the Orioles sent their franchise catcher to the plate. Adley Rutschman took two sinkers for balls. He watched a third down the middle. The next pitch was almost identical, and he swung, but late. Finally he bounced a meatball of a slider to shortstop to end the inning.
