The Orioles stood in the visitors’ dugout at Globe Life Field last year with knots in their stomachs and hearts on their sleeves as the Rangers celebrated sweeping the Orioles in the American League Division Series.

They never forgot that moment, and they never stopped talking about it. In the bullpen, during blowouts. In the clubhouse, in hushed tones as they prepped for games. And now in meetings, as they prepare for the playoffs once again.

“I hate to lose,” outfielder Heston Kjerstad said. “I hate to lose any game, but losing in the playoffs is even worse.”

It was a feeling that most had never experienced. “Losing” wasn’t a word that was muttered during much in 2023. Everything had gone right during the regular season, with the team winning 101 games and suffering just one major injury in the final month to closer Félix Bautista.

Then, just like that, it was all over. Everything they had worked for was gone in the blink of an eye.

“We were kind of hit by a truck in the postseason,” Ryan O’Hearn said.

On Tuesday, they get a chance to put those bad memories to bed as they host the Kansas City Royals in the Wild Card Series. Win and they advance to the American League Division Series. Lose, and like last year, their quest to bring Baltimore its first World Series title since 1983 will be done after just one series.

This year, unlike last, the Orioles have playoff experience. Only six players on the 2023 roster had that before the start of the postseason. This time, only four on their expected roster — Matt Bowman, Cade Povich, Albert Suárez and Jackson Holliday — have never experienced October baseball.

“My father always tells me, experience, right, it’s a big thing if you have experience,” bench coach Fredi González said. “And going through that, it’s gotta be helpful. And experience, he always says, experience is the accumulation of your mistakes or the accumulation of your failures. And if we learn from that, I think it’s going to help us.”

That includes the huge crowds, something players were not expecting. On average, Oriole Park at Camden Yards had 28,162 fans in attendance this season, up from 23,911 a year ago. For the postseason, even on a weekday afternoon, the stadium could be close to a sellout, with fans keyed in to every pitch the entire game.

“Never in my life have I experienced being in a stadium like that, you know, with the entire public there and being completely full and pitching in an environment like that,” reliever Yennier Cano said. “There’s a lot of pressure.”

Postseason baseball is also managed differently. Every game matters and just about every player can be called upon, regardless of their prior usage. During the regular season, the Orioles avoid using a reliever three days in the row. In a best-of-three series, that strategy goes out the window. They no longer need to think about the future: each game is a must-win.

“You can’t look at the long haul, you’re looking one day at a time,” starting pitcher Corbin Burnes said. “You hear that all season, one day at a time, but in the back of your mind you’re always looking at, ‘Hey, it’s May. We have to make sure we’re ready for August, September, October.’ We’re here. It’s October. It’s time to go.”

And the biggest difference between last year and now? This year, things weren’t easy. The Orioles had to work to get into the postseason. They watched player after player go down, losing four members of their rotation — Kyle Bradish, John Means, Tyler Wells and Grayson Rodriguez — and infielder Jorge Mateo to season-ending injuries. Relievers Danny Coulombe and Jacob Webb, and infielders Jordan Westburg, Ramon Urías and Ryan Mountcastle also spent significant time on the injured list.

The Orioles also endured a spell where they struggled with runners in scoring position. They went from the best team in baseball in 2023 with a .287 average in those situations to 17th in 2024 with a .251 average.

No one could put their finger on what contributed to that decline, or why some nights the lineup could only muster a handful of hits, but it was clearly affecting the team’s second-half performance.

Hitting coach Tony Mansolino speculated that it may be because players were putting too much pressure on themselves. Veteran Cedric Mullins noted that the younger players had never experienced prolonged slumps and they were all collectively going through it at the same time. Others, like manager Brandon Hyde, just changed the subject to the injuries every time he was asked.

If the Orioles figured out the root of the problem, they never shared it. But they all agree they may be better off having gone through that rough patch. It taught them how to overcome adversity, Gunnar Henderson said, and to learn to trust themselves and the work they were putting in.

“I feel like it’s good to be battle-tested, because last year we didn’t really get that, not being swept the whole year,” Henderson said. “This year we have to play a little more gritty and just a little more together.”

They went 28-32 from July 19, the start of the second half, to Sept. 22, the day Westburg and Urías returned. They won five out of their last six to end the season, including two over the Yankees, the best team in the American League, and all three against the Twins.

On Tuesday, they’ll get to see if the lessons they learned from the early playoff exit last year and the challenging second half this year have prepared them for success.

They know what it feels like to lose now. And they don’t want to experience that again.

“I’m hoping these guys still have that taste in their mouth,” Hyde said. “I think they do.”

Orioles reporter Andy Kostka contributed reporting to this story.