Jackson Holliday's usage with Orioles offense stumbling to wild card loss is brutal

The Baltimore Orioles once seemed to be on a promising trajectory to make a deep postseason run. The Orioles ultimately faltered late in the season and lost the American League East as the New York Yankees surged past them to the top seed.

The Orioles’ 91-71 record earned them the top AL Wild Card spot and kept their World Series hopes alive, but they quickly squandered the opportunity.

After all of the trials and tribulations of the past 162 games, Baltimore’s 2024 season ended with a whimper. The Kansas City Royals swept the Orioles in a low-scoring Wild Card Series at Camden Yards. After a 1-0 victory on Tuesday, the Royals continued their magical turnaround from a 106-loss season with a 2-0 win to clinch the best-of-three series on Wednesday.

Jackson Holliday was nowhere to be found in Wild Card series sweep

Despite Baltimore struggling to generate any offense, Orioles rookie infielder Jackson Holliday didn’t make a single plate appearance in the series.

Roughly a week after Holliday celebrated clinching a postseason spot with non-alcoholic drinks, the 20-year-old was nowhere to be found.

The decision to not throw Holliday into the lineup drew the ire of Orioles fans, particularly after his promising end to the regular season. Although Holliday had an inconsistent season, his ability to provide a spark may have been exactly what the lifeless Orioles offense needed. Five Kansas City relievers pitched 4.2 scoreless innings on Wednesday, including closer Lucas Erceg. 

The former No. 1 overall pick was among the favorites to win AL Rookie of the Year, but he had an abysmal start to the season, slashing .059/.111/.059 with 18 strikeouts and just two walks over 34 at-bats. He was sent to the minors, but regained his confidence and came back to the majors on fire. Holliday reminded fans of his potential while posting a line of .283/.328/.583 over 16 games.

Although Holliday has a promising future ahead, it does nothing to ease the club’s pain right now. The Royals needed just three runs across two games to the Orioles, who now have a 0-5 record over the past two postseasons. Hope is becoming hard to find in Baltimore.

Holliday finished the 2024 season hitting just .189/.255/.311 with a .565 OPS, five home runs, 23 RBI, four steals and 69 strikeouts in 208 plate appearances over 60 games.