BALTIMORE — The excitement is at a high for the American League East Champions. The Baltimore Orioles will host a home playoff game for the first time in nine years.
The O’s will lead off with home-field advantage against the Texas Rangers.
Before this Saturday's playoff game, on Wednesday afternoon, Bird Land opened the gates for hundreds of fans to flock to Camden Yards and show their support for the O's.
Fans have felt this season was going to be magical since Opening Day.
"I think it's the beginning of a long time coming," said Owen Surratt of Chesapeake Beach, Maryland.
For Owen's sister, Oakleigh, she made a sign for Opening Day. She kept it all season and brought it back to the stadium on Wednesday. "It's for all the years that the Orioles won the World Series and the MVP's," she said.
Birds fans were so amped, they made practice feel like game day.
“That was super cool. What a great idea. We're really appreciative of all the fans that came out," said Brandon Hyde, the Orioles manager. "I wasn't expecting this, Orioles fans are energetic and our players appreciated it,"
“All these fans are here to support us and support the guys that wear the jersey, so means a lot to all of us," said Austin Hayes the Orioles outfielder.
The O's haven't played since their final game of the regular season, last Saturday. It will be a full week off and a week of rest from game time, but this downtime and watching other teams battle it out, has this team itching to play.
“I think there's a lot of intensity right now, everybody's froggy. We want to play. We're ready to get going. We had a couple of days of rest and we're gonna go out there and work hard today, but we're ready to play.“
The Orioles will host the Rangers in the first game of the ALDS on Saturday. The first pitch is set for 1 p.m.