DENVER, COLORADO — For Talbot readers who follow the Orioles across the Bay, Monday night in Denver was the kind of September baseball that keeps the radio on: Baltimore is back to .500 and within a half-game of the final American League wild-card berth.

Center fielder Colton Cowser robbed Colorado's Jake McCarthy of a would-be walk-off two-run homer with two outs in the ninth, preserving a 2-1 Orioles win at Coors Field, MLB.com reported. The club sits at 69-69 — even for the first time since it was 15-15 on April 30 — and has won eight of its past 10 games, a half-game behind the Guardians (69-68) for the third AL wild-card spot.

McCarthy hit a 1-0, 95 mph sinker from Andrew Kittredge at 102.9 mph exit velocity. Statcast put Cowser's starting depth at 329 feet from home; he timed a leap at the wall, secured the catch while crashing into the padding, and ended the game. Manager Craig Albernaz, speaking to MLB.com, called it "the best play I've ever seen."

The Orioles finish the Rockies series before returning home for Boston and Cleveland — the stretch Shore fans will watch most closely.