Chris Bassitt Comments on Baltimore Orioles Mindset During AL Wild Card Race

The Baltimore Orioles are right back in the hunt for the final American League wild card spot. After taking Friday's series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays, they enter Saturday three games back of the Cleveland Guardians.

However, winning the next two against Toronto would make their path considerably easier and keep the pressure on Cleveland heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

After dropping six games in a row just a week ago, the path is still steep for the Orioles, but they are at least giving themselves a fighting chance. On Friday it was right-handed veteran Chris Bassitt who stepped up for Baltimore. Although it was not pretty, as he allowed plenty of traffic throughout his outing, Bassitt limited his former team to two runs across five innings of work and Baltimore's offense provided enough run support to secure the victory and extend their winning streak to two games.

After the game, Bassitt commented on the mindset the team must carry moving forward. "Is every game must-win? No. But you kind of have to treat every game right now like a must-win," Bassitt said, via Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner.

Bassitt is right. If the Orioles can stay hot and win most of their remaining games they still control their own destiny. But they have to take it one game at a time and treat every contest like a playoff atmosphere, because the margin for error is essentially gone at this stage of the season with so little time remaining.

It is also nice to have Bassitt back and healthy for moments like this. The Orioles' roster is incredibly young, and Bassitt brings the kind of veteran experience that a young team desperately needs when the stakes are at their highest.

Now in his 12th year in the big leagues and on his fifth team after signing a one-year, $18.5 million deal with Baltimore this past offseason, his season was interrupted by a back injury that cost him several months.

When he has been on the mound he has taken a step backward, suggesting age may finally be catching up to the 37-year-old, but he still has the ability to deliver quality outings as he showed Friday. Across 18 appearances this season he has gone 7-5 with a 4.88 ERA and 66 strikeouts across 90 1/3 innings of work.

For a rotation that needs dependable veterans in the back end, Bassitt has provided exactly that despite the missed time. Baltimore will look for its third straight win Saturday with right-hander Kyle Bradish getting the ball at Rogers Centre.