Baltimore Orioles' rookie pitcher Kyle Bradish had the finest moment of his career Friday night, and it came at the right time.
Bradish mowed through the Houston Astros' lineup at Minute Maid Park, allowing just two hits and two walks through eight scoreless innings.
Bradish passed the baton to reliever Cionel Pérez and Dillon Tate, who finished the shutout in the ninth for the Orioles.
Bradish, a 2018 fourth round pick out of New Mexico State, made his big league debut April 29, and through his first 11 starts, had an ERA of 7.01.
He has shown signs of improvement over the last month, with it coming to full-fruition in a critical road game in Houston Friday night. Time will tell if Friday night's gem was a fluke, or if Bradish has truly turned a corner.
With the win, the Baltimore Orioles improve to 66-59 and pick up a game on at least two American League wild card teams, and possibly a third.
Earlier Friday night, the top American League wild card team — the Tampa Bay Rays — fell to the Boston Red Sox 9-8 at Fenway Park. The second AL wild card team — the Toronto Blue Jays — suffered an embarrassing blowout loss to the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim, 12-0.
The third wild card team — the Seattle Mariners — battle with a surging Cleveland Guardians team late Friday night. The Guardians have won 12 of their last 17.
With the Rays and Blue Jays falling, the Rays have a 0.5-game-lead for the top wild card spot. The Blue Jays are up 0.5 game on the third wild card spot, where the Mariners stand. The Orioles are two games back of the final wild card spot that the Mariners currently occupy.
A Mariners loss would mean a full, one-game-lead over the Mariners for the Blue Jays. The Orioles would also move to within 1.5 games of the final wild card spot.
Especially with the MLB postseason format, every regular season game counts.
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