TORONTO — The sharply hit ground ball from Gunnar Henderson seemed almost an inevitable outcome in the third inning, plating two runners with the bases loaded. But in the same vein, the flurry of outs with runners in scoring position from other Orioles hitters felt inescapable Saturday.
For so much of September, that has been a common trend for Baltimore. Henderson is hitting .500 with runners in scoring position since he was called up Aug. 31, driving in a team-high nine RBIs in that span. His teammates, however, have batted 17 for 99 with 23 RBIs in those situations.
The lack of clutch hitting this month has pushed Baltimore against the wall, and with a 6-3 loss Saturday afternoon — the second in as many games to the Toronto Blue Jays — the situation has become more bleak. The Orioles (75-69) now trail the Blue Jays by seven games in the wild-card race before the Seattle Mariners or Tampa Bay Rays played later Saturday night.
