Baltimore Orioles Magic Number, Playoff Odds during current three game losing streak

The Baltimore Orioles' current three game losing streak could not have come at a worse time. Not only has it made it exponentially more difficult for Baltimore to chase down the Braves for home field advantage throughout the playoffs, but the AL East has tightened up with the Rays just one game back.

As a result, there hasn't been much progress when it comes to clinching a playoff spot. Here is a look at what the Orioles magic number and playoff odds look like as they try to turn things around.

As of 9/15, the Orioles magic number to win the AL East over the Rays is 15. Notably, if Baltimore gets swept by the Rays in this current series, Tampa will be in first place in the AL East and Baltimore would be in a position to have to fight things out in the wild card round.

Fortunately, the Orioles are still in a great spot to secure a playoff spot overall. Things are a little murkier when it comes to wild card spots given the number of teams in play, but the short version here is that four more wins the rest of the season by the Orioles should be enough to secure at least the third wild card spot.

Despite their recent losing streak, the prediction engines still like the Orioles quite a bit. For example, Fangraphs gives the Orioles a 100% chance of making the playoffs and a 60.1% chance of winning the division. Baseball-Reference likes the Orioles a bit more as they have them with a 73.5% chance of winning the AL East and similarly have Baltimore as a mortal lock to make the playoffs in 2023.

In short, the Orioles' recent funk has made the division race far more interesting than they would prefer, but Baltimore is still in a good position overall. It sure would be nice if they could with this series against the Rays, though.