The O’s are in Denver to kick off a weekend set against the lowly Rockies. These are games that they need to be winning at this time of year.
Watching the Orioles hasn’t been much fun these last two months. They are winning and losing at just about the same rate, which seems to be a product of injuries finally catching up with them and some of their superstars failing to meet their lofty potential. With just one month of the regular season remaining, the Birds need to go on a solid run if they want a shot at winning the AL East. A trip to Colorado could be just the thing to kick start that sort of thing.
Albert Suárez is one of the few Orioles that has enjoyed August. Over four starts this month he has a 0.77 ERA. Things were going even better before his most recent outing, when he allowed two runs (on two solo homers) to the Astros over 5.2 innings. But even something similar tonight would be pretty impressive in the thin Denver air.
Something that certainly needs to improve is the output of the Orioles’ offense. When things were going well early in the season, the Birds were scoring more than five runs per game. More recently, they are averaging closer to four runs a game. That difference may sound minor, but with the O’s pitchers sporting an ERA of 4.92 since mid-June, that is the difference between at least a handful of wins in that time. By extension, that is the difference between first and second place in the division.
Nothing is guaranteed in baseball, particularly these last few months for the Orioles. But this is a game they should win. They need to win it. Fingers crossed.
Orioles lineup
- Austin Slater, LF
- Anthony Santander, RF
- Gunnar Henderson, SS
- Eloy Jiménez, DH
- Ramón Urías, 3B
- Colton Cowser, CF
- Emmanuel Rivera, 1B
- James McCann, C
- Jackson Holliday, 2B
RHP Albert Suárez (6-4, 3.18 ERA)
Rockies lineup
- Charlie Blackmon, DH
- Ezequiel Tovar, SS
- Ryan McMahon, 3B
- Brenton Doyle, CF
- Brendan Rodgers, 2B
- Jake Cave, RF
- Michael Toglia, 1B
- Jacob Stallings, C
- Jordan Beck, LF
LHP Austin Gomber (4-9, 4.70 ERA)