Craig Albernaz Eyeing Consistency As Baltimore Orioles Open Crucial Series

This past Sunday, the Baltimore Orioles secured a third straight victory against the Tampa Bay Rays, clinching a series win in a crucial four-game set against their division rival and the American League’s best.

With a chance to earn a sweep the next day, the Orioles would end up falling just short, but in recording a series win against the Rays, the outcome of the series felt satisfactory. However, that loss would end up starting a chain of multiple losses.

Baltimore then returned home to take on the New York Yankees, who ended up sweeping them in three games, extending their losing streak to four games heading into Friday. 

Before the losing streak began, the Orioles owned a record of 61-63 and held sole possession of the third AL Wild Card spot. After the sweep, they are back to trailing a postseason spot, sitting two games back in the standings.

The Orioles have consistently found themselves in a pickle of inconsistencies throughout the season. One of its biggest struggles as a squad has been the ability to maintain winning stretches, and although their most recent one was super promising, the Orioles are right back to square one.

Orioles manager Craig Albernaz voiced some of his frustrations after Thursday’s loss, but took accountability towards the disappointing stretch. 

“It's something that, myself, I've been actively trying to problem-solve and put a finger on,” Albernaz said, according to Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun. “Understand, I'm the manager of the team and the guy in charge, and it's my job to figure that out and I haven't yet. And that's on me.”

Baltimore’s season has been riddled with that back-and-forth result. There have been instances where they look like an undoubtable contender, while other stretches hold many struggles to put wins together. 

Confidence evidently was at a high for the Orioles following their third straight win last weekend, which marked a sixth consecutive win against Tampa Bay. As the Orioles head into a new set on Friday, they will take on their division foe once again.

The Orioles open up a three-game set against the Rays, playing each other once again for the second consecutive weekend. Except, this time, the Orioles will host the series.

The success has been there against Tampa Bay, especially in their recent meetings. But as it has been most of the season, the Orioles will have to get over the hump and find themselves playing consistent baseball once again. 

"We have to figure out how to keep our guys playing that consistent brand of baseball, and actively trying to figure that out,” Albernaz said. “Right now, it's not. That's just on me."