At 42-46, the Orioles are mathematically still in the wild-card hunt. However, so is most of the American League. Eight of the 15 AL teams are within four games of the wild card.
With all that's gone wrong with the Orioles during the season's first half, it's amazing they are as close as they are. Now that the All-Star break is upon us, let's look at five things that went wrong for the team during the season's first half.
1. The Starting Pitching Was Abysmal
The Orioles' 5.07 ERA is the worst in the American League, and the starters had an especially rough time. In 88 first-half games, Orioles starters delivered 32 quality starts (allowing three or fewer earned runs in six or more innings).
