Virtual Baltimore Orioles Advance to Playoffs under Smith Jr.

It took a few lucky losses for in the MLB: The Show Players’ Tournament for the Virtual Baltimore Orioles to advance to the playoffs.

Throughout the MLB: The Show Players’ Tournament, Dwight Smith Jr. showed the baseball world that the Baltimore Orioles – at least the virtual version – could hang with the best. But, his spot in the playoffs was not guaranteed, as he had to wait for several players to finish their seasons on Monday night.

With his ability to handle a PlayStation controller and his understanding of baseball, he took the unlikely Orioles to a fifth-place finish in the 29-game regular season. He and seven other teams move into a best-of-three series against some of the best gamers on the planet (if your planet is all about baseball).

Smith Jr. needed a few key players to lose on Monday night, and they did. He also needed a few teams to keep their scores low, and they did. Because Smith Jr.’s Orioles powered through a few teams – like a 17-1 win over the Tigers and a 9-1 win over the Angels – his runs-scored number gave him the top spot in the group of players who finished 19-10 for the season.

The best-of-three quarterfinals schedule has not yet be released, but it is safe to expect it will be based on record. So, most likely first-place Blake Snell will play eighth-place Lucas Giolito. Second place Joey Gallo will face seventh-place Gavin Lux. Bo Bichette in third will face Ian Happ in sixth. This leaves Jeff McNeil in fourth to face Smith Jr. in fifth.

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McNeil and Smith Jr. spent most of the tournament going back and forth in their positioning on the board. McNeil finished the regular season with a record of 21-8 with his Mets and their pitchers. In regular-season play, the managers had to use their teams’ players.

Most likely, this will continue in the post-season, so Smith Jr.’s big bats like Anthony Santander, Trey Mancini, and himself will have to figure out how to get through Mets pitchers like Noah Syndergaard and Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom. O’s pitching will also have to slow the big bats on the Mets squad, as Pete Alonso and Robinson Cano both can easily go yard.

You can watch the virtual games live this weekend, beginning on May 1 on ESPN, ESPN2, and FS1.