A victory here will clinch the Orioles a third consecutive series win.
If you’re like me, you lose touch with the Orioles a bit during these west coast road trips. As much as I love the Birds, my days of staying up past midnight multiple nights per week are largely behind me. Thankfully, we exist in an era of video recaps, so it’s easy enough to catch up on games you may have missed.
ICYMI, the O’s have had themselves a nice little road trip. They have won three out of four, and are on the precipice of a third consecutive series win. That’s a nice way to answer the little five-game swoon they had near the end of June.
Cade Povich is back on the bump to start this one. The rookie has been a steady part of the rotation ever since getting called up. His most recent start came on June 29 against the Rangers. On that day he tossed five innings and allowed two runs en route to his first career win.
Just about everyone in the bullpen should be available to Brandon Hyde, apart from closer Craig Kimbrel. The veteran has appeared in three out of the four games on this road trip, and it’s unlikely that Hyde wants to make that four out of five. That would be true for just about any pitcher, but particularly a 36-year-old that this team needs for the second half of the season.
The easy way to make that not matter would be for the Orioles to blow the Athletics out of the water. It’s certainly on the table as Oakland starter Luis Medina does not have a great (nor long) big league track record. But he was good last time out (six innings, one run), so a lot could depend on Povich.
Orioles lineup
- Gunnar Henderson, SS
- Adley Rutschman, C
- Anthony Santander, DH
- Ryan O’Hearn, RF
- Jordan Westburg, 2B
- Ryan Mountcastle, 1B
- Cedric Mullins, CF
- Austin Hays, LF
- Ramón Urías, 3B
LHP Cade Povich (1-2, 4.05 ERA)
Athletics lineup
- Daz Cameron, CF
- Miguel Andujar, LF
- Brent Rooker, DH
- Shea Langeliers, C
- Armando Alvarez, 1B
- Zack Gelof, 2B
- Tyler Nevin, RF
- Brett Harris, 3B
- Max Schuemann, SS
RHP Luis Medina (1-3, 4.80 ERA)