Thanks to Adley Rutschman, the Baltimore Orioles avoided their first regular-season sweep in exactly two years Wednesday afternoon. Rutschman clubbed a walk-off two-run home run against Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano (BAL 3, TOR 2) to split the three-game turned two-game series. Tuesday's game was rained out and rescheduled for July 29.
Here is Rutschman's walk-off home run. The play was reviewed and the homer was confirmed:
It's fitting Rutschman hit the walk-off homer that prevented the sweep -- the O's have not been swept in the regular season since he was called up on May 21, 2022. Baltimore was last swept in a regular season series by the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park from May 13-15, 2022. Rutschman was called up a few days later and the Orioles haven't been swept since.
Here are the longest regular season streaks without being swept in baseball history (minimum two-game series):
- St. Louis Cardinals: 125 series (1942-44)
- New York Giants: 106 series (1903-05)
- Baltimore Orioles: 105 series (2022 to present)
- New York Yankees: 83 series (1922-24)
- Philadelphia Athletics: 74 series (1904-06)
Of course, the regular season distinction is important here, because the Orioles got swept by the eventual World Series champion Texas Rangers in last year's ALDS. Texas outscored the O's 21-11 in the three games and the Orioles led for all of three batters in the series. Baltimore's streak of not getting swept is impressive as long as you ignore the postseason.
Wednesday's win improved the O's to 27-14 on the season. The home run was Rutschman's ninth of the season and his third in the last two games. He's hitting .314/.350/.509 with strong defense through 41 team games.
