Ace Kyle Bradish and the O’s take on a Texas team that is fresh off a two-game dismantling of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Game time: 1:03pm ET
Where to watch: FS1, foxsports.com
Where to listen: 98 Rock FM (97.9) WBAL News Radio AM (1090), ESPN Radio
Orioles Lineup
- Austin Hays (R) LF
- Adley Rutschman (S) C
- Anthony Santander (S) DH
- Ryan Mountcastle (R) 1B
- Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
- Aaron Hicks (S) RF
- Jordan Westburg (R) 2B
- Cedric Mullins (L) CF
- Ramón Urías (R) 3B
Starting pitcher: Kyle Bradish (5-4, 2.23 ERA, .199 BAA, .554 OPS in 13 starts at Camden Yards in 2023)
Despite Texas’ potent lineup, this is clearly a team that doesn’t scare Kyle Bradish. In two appearances this year against the Rangers, Bradish pitched 9.1 innings, gave up only five hits and one earned run and punched out six Texas hitters. Even going back to last season, Bradish has dominated the Rangers as he put up five innings of one-run ball with 5 Ks in a 6-3 Orioles win.
Bradish is typically a slider first, sinker second pitcher, who then expands his arsenal once he’s ahead in the count. However, when he last faced the Rangers, he showcased a different approach. His May 28th outing against Texas featured his highest curveball usage of the season as well as a much greater reliance on his 4-seamer over his sinker. This is with good reason: the heart of the Texas order—Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Adolis García all rake against sliders but are less effective against curves. The same is true on their sinker/4-seamer splits. How Bradish approaches this Texas lineup—and how many times Brandon Hyde lets him go through the order—will be key in setting the tone for this game.
Rangers Lineup
- Marucs Semien (R) 2B
- Corey Seager (L) SS
- Robbie Grossman (S) DH
- Adolis García (R) RF
- Evan Carter (L) LF
- Jonah Heim (S) C
- Nathaniel Lowe (L) 1B
- Josh Jung (R) 3B
- Leody Taveras (S) CF
Starting pitcher: Andrew Heaney (2-3, 7.63 ERA, .333 BA, 1.070 OPS in seven career appearances against the Orioles)
The Rangers had two options for their Game 1 starter: turn to ace Jordan Montgomery on three-days rest or turn to their third starter in Heaney. The fact that they went with the latter should help the Orioles in two ways. For one, Baltimore can match their ace with a clearly inferior starter for Texas. Secondly, Heaney has struggled in his career against the O’s.
Heaney’s 7.63 career ERA vs. Baltimore is the highest against any opponents he’s seen at least five times. In his first start of this season, the O’s roughed-up Heaney to the tune of seven runs on seven hits over 2.2 innings. However, that start was in Arlington, and Heaney very much redeemed himself almost two months later in Baltimore. With the Great Wall of Baltimore aiding his cause, Heaney tossed seven of one-run ball back in May, limiting the O’s to just four hits.
Texas manager Bruce Bochy is clearly looking to take advantage of the dimensions at Camden Yards by stacking his two lefties—Heaney and Montgomery—at the top of his ALDS rotation. Only T-Mobile Park in Seattle was less friendly to right-handed hitters this season than OPACY, and the Great Wall of Baltimore surely played a big factor in that. That being said, the O’s average and OPS were nine and 48 points higher, respectively, against southpaw starters as opposed to righties. Something in this matchup has to give, let’s all just hope that something is Heaney reverting back to his usual form against the O’s