Ramon Urias fielded a grounder and threw to first for the final out, and the Baltimore Orioles poured onto the field for a celebration at the mound.
They were not in a full sprint. Some players walked, while others jogged or skipped. Perhaps it was a sign of just how grueling — and at times exhausting — the race for the American League (AL) East title had been.
That chase is now over.
Photo: Gregory Fisher-USA Today
Anthony Santander homered and D.L. Hall worked out of a sixth-inning jam on Thursday as the Orioles clinched the division championship with a 2-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
“It was the AL Beast again this year, and we knew it,” Orioles outfielder Austin Hays said. “We had to battle ... but here we are. We did it.”
Dean Kremer (13-5) allowed two hits and a walk in 5-1/3 innings, striking out eight as the Orioles reached 100 wins for the sixth time in team history and the first since 1980. Baltimore prevailed in a brutally tough division that relegated the Red Sox and the New York Yankees to afterthoughts.
Now the Orioles — two years after losing 110 games — enter the post-season as the top seed in the American League.
“There were so many rough nights in ‘19 and ‘21,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “There’s a lot of guys that were in that clubhouse that are celebrating right now.”
Before the team wrapped up the victory, there was already quite a bit of excitement at Camden Yards. The team announced on the scoreboard after the third inning that it had reached an agreement with the state keeping the Orioles in Baltimore for at least the next 30 years. The lease at Camden Yards was set to expire at the end of this year.
During the seventh inning, the scoreboard had another treat for the fans — the sight of Orioles great Cal Ripken in attendance.
Baltimore won the American League East five times in six years after divisional play began in 1969, but this is only the fifth division title for the Orioles since — and the first since 2014. Baltimore’s most recent World Series title was in 1983.
The Orioles had to work for the crown. Tampa Bay began the season with 13 consecutive victories and led Baltimore by 6.5 games after a win at Camden Yards on May 8, but the Orioles took the last two games of that series, stayed close to the Rays and passed them shortly after the All-Star break.
“When they got off to such a hot start, I was just trying to figure out what our club was,” Hyde said. “I thought we were a good team. I wasn’t sure about a lot of things and I was hoping that we would compete for six months, and knowing it’s a long season.”
Baltimore have gone 91 consecutive series of at least two decisions without being swept.
Santander’s homer off Chris Sale (6-5) gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the first inning. After the Red Sox put men on first and third with one out in the sixth, Hall relieved Kremer, then retired pinch-hitter Adam Duvall and Alex Verdugo on a strikeout and a groundout.
Hall worked the seventh as well.
Yennier Cano got two outs in the eighth inning and Cionel Perez retired Rafael Devers on a groundout with a man on second for the third out of that inning.
The Orioles added a run in the eighth on an RBI double by pinch-hitter Heston Kjerstad. Then Tyler Wells pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save of the season — and the party began in earnest.
“I was feeling anxiety,” said catcher Adley Rutschman, the who was Baltimore’s designated hitter. “I was so anxious in the dugout, just so excited watching Wellsie go out there and do his thing.”
Elsewhere, the Mariners sank the Rangers 3-2, the Braves beat the Cubs 5-3, the Dodgers routed the Rockies 14-5, the Tigers tamed the Royals 7-3 and the Athletics edged the Twins 2-1.
The White Sox downed the Diamondbacks 3-1, the Brewers blanked the Cardinals 3-0, the Pirates pipped the Phillies 3-2, the Blue Jays crushed the Yankees 6-0 and the Marlins were leading the Mets 2-1 when the game was suspended in the ninth inning.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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