It’s a marquee matchup this weekend as the first place Phillies come to town
A headline on Orioles.com reads, “Here comes the hard part.” The headline writer is not wrong. The 46-22 Philadelphia Phillies have the best record in the National League and are just one game better than the Baltimore Orioles (45-23). As you already know by now, following the series with Phillies, the Orioles go on the road to play the first-place Yankees.
Ranger Suárez brings a 1.81 ERA and an fWAR of 2.5 to the game tonight, he could be the best pitcher the Orioles have faced all year. But the task won’t be easy for the Phillies, either. Kyle Bradish has thrown at least six shutout innings in two of his last three starts. He struggled in the third but has looked fantastic overall since his season began seven starts ago. He brings 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings to the table and has yet to give up a home run.
I was looking over the numbers for both teams and found this fact, which I think is wild:
- Phillies: 345 runs scored, 242 runs allowed
- Orioles: 347 runs scored, 240 runs allowed
For my money, this is the most exciting series the Orioles have played so far this season. And Camden Yards is pretty much sold out the entire weekend, so expect it to be rocking. Let’s do this!
Orioles lineup
Jordan Westburg – 3B
Adley Rutschman – DH
Ryan Mountcastle – 1B
Gunnar Henderson – SS
Anthony Santander – RF
Austin Hays – LF
Jorge Mateo – 2B
James McCann – C
Cedric Mullins – CF
SP: RHP Kyle Bradish
Phillies lineup
Kyle Schwarber – DH
Nick Castellanos – RF
Bryce Harper – 1B
Alec Bohm – 3B
Bryson Stott – 2B
Edmundo Sosa – SS
David Dahl – LF
Cristian Pache – CF
Rafael Marchán – C
SP: LHP Ranger Suárez
Let’s go O’s!