The two worst teams in the American League face off
If the season ended today, the only American League team farther out of a playoff spot than the Orioles would be the Chicago White Sox. At 18-38, the White Sox are 1.5 games worse than the Orioles in the standings.
The difference, of course, is that the White Sox were expected to be terrible. Last year, as the Orioles were headed to their second straight playoff season, the White Sox were experiencing a historically bad season. They lost 121 games and finished 51.5 games out of first place in the AL Central.
Neither the Orioles nor the White Sox are particularly good at either pitching or hitting. But so far this year, the Orioles have been better at scoring runs than the White Sox, while the White Sox have had the upper hand in pitching.
The White Sox lineup has a few bright spots in Miguel Vargas and Chase Meidroth. Vargas leads the team with eight home runs and 15 doubles, while the shortstop Meidroth doesn’t have much power but has an impressive .370 OBP from the leadoff spot. The rest of the lineup is pretty much a black hole, although the disappointing Luis Robert leads the league with 21 stolen bases despite his .276 OBP.
Starting pitcher Shane Smith has been the White Sox best starting pitcher with a 2.68 ERA in 11 starts, but the Orioles won’t face him this series. They will see Davis Martin, who has also been pretty good. The good news is that they will not see a lefty starter.
Game 1: Friday, May 30th, 4:30 pm. MASN
NOTE: This game start time was rescheduled on Friday morning due to the forecast for inclement weather later.
RHP Zach Eflin (6 GS, 33.1 IP, 5.40 ERA) vs RHP Sean Burke (11 GS, 54 IP, 4.33 ERA)
Zach Eflin has had some troubles since returning from the IL, the worst of which was an eight-run disaster against the Nationals two starts ago. His last start, vs Boston, also stank. Hopefully, he is still getting back to form after his injury. But the Eflin that pitched for the Orioles last year and in his first few starts of this season was different than who he’d been over the rest of his career.
Sean Burke doesn’t have an impressive ERA, but he’s been pitching quite well since the start of May. In five games in May, Burke has allowed just eight earned runs. In four of those starts, he has given up just zero or one run. Even in that impressive stretch, Burke has walked a lot of batters and he doesn’t strike out a ton. Maybe that will translate to the Orioles scoring some runs. We’ll see.
Game 2: Saturday, May 31st, 4:05 pm, MASN
RHP Dean Kremer (11 GS, 61 IP, 5.02 ERA) vs RHP Davis Martin (10 GS, 62.2 IP, 3.45 ERA)
Which Dean Kremer will we see this weekend? Like Burke, Kremer has had a much better May than he did April, but he did have two clunkers mixed in there. His last start against Boston was very good, as he pitched 5.1 shutout innings in the Orioles’ 5-4 win.
Davis Martin is having a nice year so far and is currently on a three-game run of pitching at least six innings with two or fewer runs allowed. He allows his fair share of baserunners with a 1.261 WHIP, but he is one of the better pitchers on the White Sox at limiting walks.
Game 3: Sunday, June 1st, 1:35 pm, MASN
RHP Charlie Morton (13 G / 7 GS, 47 IP, 7.09 ERA) vs RHP Adrian Houser (2 GS, 12 IP, 0.00 ERA)
So…is Charlie Morton just back in the starting rotation? He is for this go round, at least. Lucky me, I’ll get to watch this start in person. In fairness, Morton’s last start was pretty good. He pitched six innings and allowed just two runs. He has been better over the last month, mostly out of the bullpen. In that time his ERA has dropped from a completely horrifying 9.76 to a mildly horrifying 7.09.
Adrian Houser is a 32-year-old who made his first start of the season on May 20th and has been very good over two starts. He’s completed six innings each time and has yet to allow a run. Houser showed some promise with the Brewers in 2019 and 2021, but hasn’t been able to repeat his success since then. In his two starts this year, his fastball velocity is the highest it’s been, which might be something if he can keep it up.