NEW YORK — There are more reasons to doubt the Orioles than believe in them.

They haven’t played like a good baseball team for a week’s worth of games since mid-June, their last winning month. They’ve dealt with a mountain of injuries too steep to overcome. They lost the mojo that permeated throughout the 2023 club.

Despite Wednesday’s outburst, their offense is nowhere near as clutch as last season, as they squander situations with runners in scoring position. Several players returned recently from injury, but it’s a tall ask for them to be playoff-ready after just a handful of games. A playoff rotation that was strong enough for a World Series run got markedly weaker Wednesday at the news that Grayson Rodriguez would miss the remainder of the season.

OK, that’s enough of all that.

Despite all those valid reasons, these Orioles still believe they can make a run in October. And, honestly, why not?

“When we’re firing on all cylinders, we know how dangerous of a team we can be,” center fielder Cedric Mullins said soaked with champagne during the club’s playoff-clinching celebration Tuesday.

The “Why Not?” motto is reserved for the beloved 1989 Orioles who nearly made the postseason a year after winning only 54 games. That Baltimore team was counted out before it ever took the field and went into the final series of the season with a chance to make the playoffs.

That’s not the case for these Orioles, although the sentiment of the saying still applies. They entered the 2024 campaign as legitimate World Series contenders. With superstars Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, ace Corbin Burnes and reigning American League Manager of the Year Brandon Hyde, the Orioles appeared to have everything they needed to chase a championship.

But in a matter of a few months this summer, the Orioles went from World Series hopefuls to ruled out given their struggles and misfortunes. Losing Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells for the season and then having Ryan Mountcastle, Danny Coulombe, Ramón Urías, Jordan Westburg and Rodriguez all hit the shelf amid a three-month stretch of below .500 baseball can do that.

“The only people that believe in us, is us, right?” Westburg said during the celebration. “Everybody sees the struggles and wants to write the Orioles off. But we don’t think about that. We don’t talk about that. We’re here to play ball every single day.”

Sure, but playoff games aren’t solely won on vibes. It takes a combination of factors, including a little luck, to reach baseball’s mountaintop. Take the Texas Rangers, the team that steamrolled through the 2023 postseason, demolishing everyone (including the Orioles) on their way to a championship.

But their path to October was somewhat similar to that of the Orioles. A hot start quickly turned into mediocre baseball over the final four months. The Rangers went 50-50 over their final 100 games, barely squeaking into the playoffs as a wild-card team, and overcame several injuries to a starting rotation with high expectations.

Underneath all that, though, was one of baseball’s best lineups with a superstar shortstop, a savvy manager and front office, and enough pitching depth to get by. Sound familiar?

“I am hopeful that our luck kind of evens out in the playoffs, because last year we had the reverse,” general manager Mike Elias said during the clinch celebration. “It’s possible we enter into the playoffs with a little different flow than we had last year.”

Starting pitcher Zach Eflin has experienced that firsthand. As a member of the 2022 Philadelphia Phillies, Eflin saw a scrappy team that won only 87 games make it all the way to the World Series.

“We weren’t playing great baseball, we got in by one game,” he said. “All of a sudden, we got hot. We got hot when we needed to. This team is so close, we play so hard. It’s going to be fun to see in October.”

What helps their case is that the AL is without a juggernaut.

While some provide worse matchups for the Orioles than others, they shouldn’t fear any other AL club, especially since they’re 8-4 against the Yankees, the circuit’s best club, entering Thursday’s game after back-to-back wins this week.

Even if the Orioles limp into the postseason, they’ve still got a shot to make a run. But getting a running start during the final week of the regular season could be the momentum the club needs, and the past two wins against the Yankees might be the sign of just that. The Cleveland Guardians might have the worst starting rotation among AL playoff teams. The Houston Astros, while always a contender, aren’t nearly as potent a threat as in years past.

The Orioles, now healthier with Westburg and others back, perhaps have just as credible a World Series case as any other AL team.

“This is an exciting time of the year right now,” Westburg said. “I think we have that feeling of like, ‘All right, we’re getting our dudes back’ … and time to go.”

Henderson believes the Orioles’ experience last season — and the trials of this summer — have prepared them for an October run.

“I feel like we’ve become more battle-tested this year,” he said moments after chugging out of the Homer Hydration Station. “I felt like the experiences we kind of went through last year are fueling us for this year. And even going through all the injuries and stuff, we’re ready to go.”

Baltimore Sun reporter Matt Weyrich contributed to this article.