The Birds are back in Baltimore, where they get a homestand underway against the nearby Nationals.
For the first time this month, the Orioles are back at Camden Yards, where they will kick off a six-game homestand. The O’s get things underway tonight with a quick series against their nearest opposition, the Washington Nationals. These two teams last saw one another in early May. They split that two-game series in the nation’s capital, meaning this series in Baltimore is for all the marbles in the race for the coveted MASN Cup.
Credit to the Nationals, they have been far more competitive this season than they were expected to be. They enter this series positioned firmly in fourth place in the NL East. While that won’t get them anywhere near a playoff spot, it should also keep them well short of 100 losses, and it might provide their young roster with a nice base on which to build.
CJ Abrams is the face of the franchise. The shortstop leads the team in home runs, doubles, triples, and RBI while hitting atop the order most nights. He enters this series battling some back spasms, which has left him out of the lineup for each of the last two games and could be the reason he is OPS’ing .537 in August. Nationals manager Dave Martinez expects him to play in these games, though.
The Washington offense is no one-man show. James Wood is the one to watch. He came into the season as one of the top prospects in baseball and through 36 games as a big leaguer, he has shown exactly why. The 6-for-7 outfielder has a .263/.355/.429 batting line with four doubles, three triples, and four home runs. He hits the ball extremely hard and almost exclusively goes the opposite way, peppering left field with line drives.
But these Nats have some intriguing depth too. Luis Garcia is OPS’ing 1.237 in August and may be the best hitter on the team with his 124 OPS+ on the season. Jacob Young is leading the team with 27 stolen bases. Alex Call is a 29-year-old that has been organizational filler until just recently; now he’s got a 1.043 OPS this month. This is not the Big Red Machine, and the trades of Jesse Winker and Lane Thomas have sapped some production, but there are things to like here.
Some notable names that will probably miss this series include slugger Joey Gallo (hamstring) and righty Trevor Williams (flexor strain).
Game 1: Tuesday, August 13th, 6:35 p.m., MASN
LHP Trevor Rogers (2-10, 4.71 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Irvin (8-10, 3.76 ERA)
Rogers was better in his second start as an Oriole than he was the first time around. Over five innings he allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits, two walks, and two strikeouts against the Blue Jays. Most importantly, he didn’t allow a home run. It was the sort of outing that the O’s would probably be happy to get from Rogers for the remainder of the season, even if it may be somewhat underwhelming.
The second-year pitcher Irvin has taken a significant step forward this season. Just about every number on this stat sheet has improved in 2024. But he is coming off of a rough outing against the Giants in which he allowed five runs on eight hits, including three home runs, over five innings. Irvin has a curveball-heavy approach that has worked better this year because he has cut down on walks dramatically (10.2% walk rate in 2023, down to 5.9% in 2024).
Game 2: Wednesday, August 14th, 6:35 p.m., MASN
RHP Dean Kremer (4-9, 4.70 ERA) vs. LHP DJ Herz (2-4, 4.41 ERA)
It has been a tough season for Kremer, and things have been particularly bad since early July. The 28-year-old tossed five shutout innings on July 3, his first game back from a lengthy IL stint. In six starts since then, he has a 6.14 ERA, 5.60 FIP, and .792 OPS against. In just 29.1 innings during that time, Kremer has walked 16 and struck out 24. Control has been an issue, and so has velocity. His fastball is averaging 93.4 mph this season, more than one tick below his 2024 average.
The rookie Herz has 11 big league starts under his belt, and he has been decent overall. There are highlights, like his June 15 start against the Marlins, when he struck out 13 and allowed just one hit over six shutout innings. But he gives up a ton of hard contact and has a massive 47% fly ball rate. That is not an ideal combination. Hopefully the homer-happy Orioles can take advantage.