The Orioles had three former No. 1 overall prospects, the player with the third-most home runs in MLB and an All-Star catcher.

Yet, when it mattered most in the postseason, the offense couldn’t pull through. The Orioles scored just one run in two wild-card games, extending their streak without a playoff win to 10 years.

Now they are home as the Guardians, Yankees, Mets and Dodgers play for the chance to advance to the World Series. What did those teams do that the Orioles didn’t?

Three key differences:

1. Surrounded young talent with veterans

The Mets’ Mark Vientos was never a No. 1 prospect. He hasn’t even played a full major league season.

But, in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series on Monday, with the Mets in need of momentum after the Dodgers shut them out in Game 1, Vientos gave the team one of the biggest swings of his career. He hit a grand slam, sending New York on its way to a win to even the series.

Here’s a 24-year-old, with limited playoff experience, in a big moment, doing what the Orioles’ highly touted prospects could not.

The Orioles had three position players on their playoff roster who were 24 or younger — Gunnar Henderson, Colton Cowser and Jackson Holliday. Henderson and Cowser combined to go 1-for-14 in the two wild-card games. Holliday didn’t have an at-bat.

Cowser had a similar opportunity to Vientos’. Coming up with the bases loaded and a chance to be a hero, Cowser, a candidate for American League Rookie of the Year, struck out on a pitch that hit him. Instead of bringing in a run, Cowser eventually left the game with a broken hand.

A possible contributing factor: Vientos is surrounded by veterans, including eight position players over 30 on New York’s NLCS roster, he can turn to. The Yankees have experienced players in Anthony Rizzo, Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton, and in Los Angeles there are Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts and Max Muncy, to say nothing of two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani. And 32-year-old José Ramírez is the clear-cut leader of the Guardians.

Orioles manager Brandon Hyde knows the impact veterans can have on young players in the postseason. He was the bench coach during the Cubs’ World Series run in 2016 and watched as Ben Zobrist, a veteran who had already played in 35 playoff games, including two World Series, led the team.

The Cubs had three players 24 or younger on that roster, and with Zobrist setting the tone, all performed when needed. Kris Bryant hit .308 with three home runs, Addison Russell had 13 RBIs, and Jorge Soler had two big hits.

“You see how a Ben Zobrist in Chicago changed our entire lineup — 36 years old, switch hit, hit the ball all over the place, walked,” Hyde said. “[Manager] Joe [Maddon] hit him fourth, around these young guys, because there was going to be an at-bat or two in the game where you knew Zo was going to take a great at-bat with runners in scoring position, and it changed our entire lineup. Those type of things, that’s just experience and confidence of being in there in that moment.”

The Orioles didn’t have a Zobrist type in their lineup, or a herd of veterans, and perhaps they needed one. While Cedric Mullins went 3-for-7 with a double and a home run, Anthony Santander had only one hit.

2. Spent money

The Mets, Yankees and Dodgers have one thing in common. They aren’t afraid to spend. And clearly, by their success this season, it was money well spent.

Those teams’ payrolls ranked first, second and third on opening day, with the Mets leading the way at just over $305 million. The Dodgers were third, even with most of Ohtani’s contract deferred — he is making only $2 million this year even though he signed a 10-year, $700 million deal.

The Orioles were 27th at just over $94 million. The Guardians were right behind them at 28th.

Sure, drafting and developing got the Orioles to the playoffs two years in a row. But taking the next step by winning a playoff game may take shelling out more money.

To aid their offense, the Mets brought in Harrison Bader on a one-year, $10.5 million contract and J.D. Martinez on a one-year, $12 million deal. They supplemented their core of Francisco Lindor, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte, who are all on long-term deals.

The Dodgers brought in Ohtani along with Teoscar Hernández for one year at $23.5 million to join Freeman, Betts, Chris Taylor and Will Smith, whom they inked to a 10-year, $140 million extension.

The Yankees didn’t make any major offensive signings last offseason, but they acquired Juan Soto from the Padres.

The Orioles brought in an ace pitcher in Corbin Burnes and filled in for the injured Félix Bautista by signing Craig Kimbrel. But they did not do anything to aid their lineup, instead relying on their prospects, who, as the playoffs showed, could have used veteran help.

3. Acquired bats at the deadline

Although the Guardians had a lower payroll than the Orioles on opening day, they acquired Lane Thomas from the Nationals ahead of the July 30 trade deadline, bringing in a bat to aid their lineup. Although his stats after the deal weren’t great — he hit .209 with seven home runs — he has been an asset in the postseason, going 8-for-28 with a grand slam to clinch the American League Division Series.

The Yankees and Mets also added at the deadline. The Yankees brought in Jazz Chisholm Jr. from the Marlins, and the Mets acquired Jesse Winker from the Nationals.

As part of a three-team swap, the Dodgers landed utilityman Tommy Edman, who up to that point had missed most of the regular season with a sprained ankle. Edman was OK in the 37 games he played to close out the season, and he’s been a spark plug in October, hitting .314 and stealing three bases.

Although the Orioles made a flurry of deals for hitters, acquiring Christian Pache, Liván Soto, Austin Slater and Eloy Jiménez, only Slater was on the postseason roster and he had just two at-bats.

General manager Mike Elias admitted at the end of the season that they probably should have done more. Now he’s open to bringing in a veteran this offseason.

“We have developed a young core that is and remains very talented, and many, many, many of those guys had great seasons, and that is going to continue to be the backbone of this team,” Elias said. “We’ll take a look at that, this month, this week, this winter. We’ll see what we end up doing, but certainly not immune to that thought and we’ll be putting it into our processes as we talk the next couple of weeks.”