Kyle Bradish struck out five batters in a row today, walked off the mound and went straight into workouts this week and a likely Game 1 start in the Division Series.

A planned short outing kept Bradish in his routine and on his roll. A last regular season reminder that he’s matured into an ace.

Bradish tossed two scoreless innings, the only baserunner on Rafael Devers’ walk. Four of the five strikeouts were produced with his sinker, the other his curveball. A nice side session in front of everyone at Camden Yards.

The rest of the game played out as a parade of relievers, seven of them in the Orioles’ sloppy 6-1 loss to the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 36,640. The total attendance for the season is 1,936,798, their highest since 2017.

The win total locks in at 101, tied for fourth-highest in franchise history. The Orioles went 49-32 at home, the third-best record in the ballpark's history.

The Orioles end the 2023 regular season today against the same team they started with back on March 30 - the Boston Red Sox. They won that game 10-9, their first win on their way to 101 and an AL East championship.

This year this will not be the last game. The Orioles, the No. 1 seed with home-field advantage throughout the American League playoffs, will host Game 1 of the AL Division Series at Oriole Park on Saturday, Oct. 7.

At 101-60, Baltimore will head into the final game with a three-game lead over Tampa Bay (98-63). Even though those clubs have the two best records in the league, they could meet in the ALDS next week.

The Rays will be the fourth seed for the AL playoffs and the Orioles, as the top seed, will play the winner of the No. 4 versus No. 5 wild-card round. The Blue Jays could very well be that No. 5 team, but going into the final day today, it could still also be the Astros or Rangers.

The Orioles' 5-2 win last night ensured they will finish this season with a winning record over every other AL East team for the first time since 2014.

Cole Irvin watched his Triple-A Norfolk teammates celebrate their Triple-A national championship from afar last night, as he’s done with two other clinching games.

Irvin wasn’t with the Orioles after they officially made the playoffs and won their division. His only chance to pop some corks happened after the Tides won the International League crown.

“It’s part of the game,” he said. “The game moves on without you, whether you’re there or not, and I’m rooting for this team to do good things. And I was a part of it for a lot of the season. So, it sucks in the moment but at the same time, you want that team to celebrate and you want to win the division.

“The job’s not done, so there’s plenty of opportunity to maybe share in those festivities down the road, but at the same time, however, we can get those days off, give ourselves a little bit of a break and stay ready and be ready to go for the divisional series, that’s part of it.”

The Orioles recalled Irvin today, after instructing him to stay off the flight to Las Vegas, and optioned Bruce Zimmermann. He could pitch today in the regular season finale and stick around for the Division Series, whether on the active roster or taxi squad.