The Birds kick off their last homestand of 2024 with an interleague matchup against the recently punchless Giants.
It’s not technically possible, I suppose, for a series to finish in three scoreless ties. But if any two teams could find a way, it’s the Orioles and Giants.
The Birds’ recent offensive woes have been well documented. They’ve scored just 21 runs in their last 10 games, including three runs or fewer in eight of them. Pretty much every prominent O’s hitter outside of Gunnar Henderson and Cedric Mullins is in a deep slump, some of which have stretched back for months. The Orioles have consistently had putrid at-bats with runners in scoring position.
It’s hard to have even the least bit of confidence in the Orioles’ ability to hit right now. But hey, I’m sure they can turn it around in this series, as long as they’re not facing, say, both last year’s NL Cy Young winner and runner-up. (checks pitching matchups) Aw, crap.
The Giants’ offense, too, is in rough shape of late. During their current four-game losing streak, they were shut out in three consecutive games, something they hadn’t done in 32 years. It continued a rough September for a disappointing Giants club that has fallen out of contention with a 4-9 month.
San Francisco surely expected better after their active offseason, when they added free agents Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, Jordan Hicks, Jung Hoo Lee, and the since-traded Jorge Soler, not to mention hiring three-time Manager of the Year Bob Melvin. But it just never came together, and now they’re playing out the string.
The Giants aren’t all bad. The veteran Chapman has been a great addition at the hot corner, and he recently agreed to a six-year extension with San Francisco. Their bullpen has been solid, with Ryan Walker (1.79) stepping in as a capable closer after Camilo Doval’s struggles, and the Rogers twins (Taylor and Tyler) handling setup duties. The lineup boasts some promising young hitters, including rookie shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald (.880 OPS) and the powerful All-Star outfielder Heliot Ramos, who last week became the first right-handed hitter ever to crush an opposite-field dinger into McCovey Cove.
Still, for an O’s team that has fast slipped out of AL East contention and is trying to hold on to the first wild card slot, this series is their best chance to bank some wins in the final two weeks. The 72-78 Giants are the only sub-.500 opponent remaining on the Orioles’ schedule, as the Birds’ final three series will come against the Tigers, Yankees, and Twins.
Game 1: Tuesday, 6:35 PM, MASN2
LHP Blake Snell (3-3, 3.52) vs. RHP Albert Suárez (8-5, 3.39)
If there’s been a reigning Cy Young winner with a weirder follow-up season than Snell, I can’t think of one. Snell thought he’d be in for a jackpot after taking home his second Cy in his free agent season for the Padres, but when he didn’t get the long-term offers he was looking for, Snell settled in mid-March for a one-year, prove-it deal with the Giants for $32 million plus a $30 million player option for 2025.
Snell’s lack of spring training torpedoed his early-season numbers — he had a 9.51 ERA after six starts, then landed on the IL for a month — but he’s looked dominant since returning in July, with a sensational 1.45 ERA and .130 opponents’ batting average in 12 outings, including a no-hitter Aug. 2. Good luck, Orioles. Snell, a longtime Tampa Bay Ray, has faced the O’s plenty of times in his career, posting a 4.35 ERA in eight games. He also beat them last season with a quality start in San Diego.
Meanwhile, Suárez, as he winds down his remarkable, out-of-nowhere comeback season, will face the only MLB team he’d ever pitched for prior to this year. The Giants were already Suárez’s third organization when he made his big league debut for them in 2016, ultimately posting a 4.51 ERA in 115.2 IP in parts of two seasons. No players from those 2016-2017 Giants remain with the club, and only a handful are still active in the majors. But here’s Suárez, still plugging along after years of playing in Japan and Korea, now one of the Orioles’ most reliable starting pitchers. Baseball is a funny game.
Suárez isn’t the only ex-Giant who will face his former club in this series. Outfielder Austin Slater, who spent the first eight years of his career with San Francisco before they traded him this July, will almost certainly be in the lineup against the lefty Snell. Slater has a .772 OPS against southpaws since joining the Orioles.
Game 2: Wednesday, 6:35 PM, MASN2
RHP Hayden Birdsong (3-5, 4.74) vs. RHP Dean Kremer (7-9, 4.10)
The Orioles can’t let themselves get shut down by a guy whose name starts with “Birds,” can they? What cruel irony that would be. Birdsong might represent the Orioles’ best hope of bringing the bats to life for a night. The Giants have lost each of Birdsong’s last seven starts, and only once in that stretch has he pitched even five innings. Wildness has plagued the rookie right-hander, who is averaging a brutal 5.7 walks per nine. Memo to the Orioles offense: take some pitches!
Kremer is coming off one of his best starts of the year, working seven innings for the first time since April and holding the Red Sox to just one earned run, but of course he was criminally unsupported by his offense in an eventual O’s loss. Five of Kremer’s last six games have been quality starts, and he has a 2.62 ERA in that span. Kremer faced the Giants for the first time last season, beating them with a strong six-inning, two-run performance, though University of Maryland alum LaMonte Wade Jr. tagged him for a leadoff home run.
Game 3: Thursday, 1:05 PM, MASN, MLB Network (out-of-market)
RHP Logan Webb (12-10, 3.53) vs. RHP Zach Eflin (10-9, 3.55)
Eflin, in his most recent start, was another victim of the Orioles’ offensive blackout, losing a 1-0 game in Detroit in which a first-inning homer was his only blemish in 6.2 strong frames. It’s hard to overstate what an outstanding trade-deadline pickup he’s been, going 5-2 with a 2.22 ERA since the O’s acquired him from Tampa Bay. Eflin is a shoo-in to start in whatever postseason series the Orioles end up playing. The former Phillie has pitched eight games against the Giants but none since 2021. He has an extensive history against outfielder Michael Conforto, a former Met, and it’s not a good one for Eflin; the lefty swinger has three career homers and a 1.094 OPS in 33 PAs against him.
The Giants will unleash their longtime ace in the series finale, as All-Star and Jesse Plemons lookalike Logan Webb faces the O’s for the second time in his career. Last year, the Orioles got the best of him on a Gunnar Henderson go-ahead homer in the seventh, though Webb pitched quite well in that game. The 27-year-old is as durable as they come; he currently leads the majors in starts (31) and innings pitched (193.2). He also leads in hits allowed (194), averaging exactly one hit per inning, and his walk rate and strikeout rate are a bit worse than last year’s excellent pace. Still, Webb is a tough customer, and it seems a good bet that he’ll handle the O’s offense as easily as most other pitchers have.