It’s a matchup of southpaws as the O’s welcome in the cellar-dwelling Rockies and look to make it three wins in a row on the home stand.
You never expect to sweep a major league team. All of these players—even those on a crummy team—are just too good. But the Orioles do need to make the most out of a weak spot in their schedule. These Rockies just got swept by the Rays and now have a 6-15 record this month, securing their place as the worst team in the National League and third-worst overall.
The O’s will be hoping Cole Irvin can give them another solid start, perhaps with a bit more length this time. He has thrown 10 total innings in his two most recent outings and allowed one total run. But even if he cannot pitch beyond five innings, Brandon Hyde will feel pretty good about his bullpen. Kyle Gibson went eight strong on Thursday, so there are plenty of relief options.
What is unclear is what the Orioles will do on the mound beyond tonight. The other two games in this series are yet to be assigned a starting pitcher. This confusion comes from Jack Flaherty being scratched from his start on Wednesday due to what was called “general soreness.” It didn’t cause any immediate roster issues as the Orioles have been using a six-man rotation, but if he can’t go sometime this weekend then a move probably needs to happen. Flaherty hasn’t pitched since the 15th, so an IL stint for him could be backdated and therefore quite brief.
But that is a problem for Saturday. Tonight, it’s up to Irvin and the Orioles offense to keep pushing forward. The other scoreboard to watch is—of course—down in Tampa, where the Rays host the reeling New York Yankees.
Orioles Starting Lineup
- Adley Rutschman, DH
- Ryan Mountcastle, 1B
- Anthony Santander, RF
- Austin Hays, LF
- Gunnar Henderson, 3B
- James McCann, C
- Jordan Westburg, 2B
- Ryan McKenna, CF
- Jorge Mateo, SS
Cole Irvin, LHP (1-3, 4.66 ERA)
Henderson is the lone lefty-swinger in the starting lineup against Rockies southpaw Kyle Freeland. McCann returns to the lineup after a few days off with a bruised left hand. Mateo sees game action for the first time since the series-opener against Toronto.
Rockies Starting Lineup
- Charlie Blackmon, RF
- Ezequiel Tovar, SS
- Elias Díaz, C
- Ryan McMahon, DH
- Brendan Rodgers, 2B
- Nolan Jones, LF
- Elehuris Montero, 1B
- Alan Trejo, 3B
- Brenton Doyle, CF
Kyle Freeland, LHP (5-13, 5.02 ERA)