On a four-game skid and with the offense cold, the Orioles need a stopper performance from Grayson Rodriguez.
Nope, the Orioles didn’t blast off and launch an offensive revival last night. Instead, they continued to look lifeless at the plate and fell, 4-1, to extend a four-game losing streak. Cade Povich could have been better, but he also could have been much worse, and in the end it was the 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position that did them in.
With the division lead down to a single game, it would be a darn fine time for young Grayson Rodriguez to step up and deliver an ace performance for his team. Of any of the three starters lined up for this weekend’s series, he is perhaps the best equipped to do it.
Rodriguez has a 3.52 ERA in 16 starts, with a 1.25 WHIP and 105 strikeouts. Eliminate two clunkers against Houston and Los Angeles (seven runs against each) and he’d have a 2.53 ERA. But of course, two bad starts out of 16 isn’t bad at all. Rodriguez last faced the Yankees in late April, when he threw 5.2 scoreless innings against them, allowing five hits and three walks in an eventual 2-0 win.
No Yankee has seen Rodriguez more than twice. Juan Soto is 1-for-6 and so is Gleyber Torres. Aaron Judge went 1-for-4 with a double off of the Orioles right hander.
Meanwhile, New York’s Luis Gil has put up good season-long numbers—a 3.27 ERA/3.77 FIP and 1.090 WHIP in 18 games—but that conceals a recent trend toward ineffectiveness. After posting a 6-0 record and 0.70 ERA in May, that ERA ballooned to 6.45 in five starts in June, and for now he’s got a 4.22 mark in July. Consistent with that pattern, Gil has looked like a different in the two times he’s faced the Orioles this season. On May, he threw a dominant 6.1 shutout innings against them, but on June 20, he got blasted for seven runs in just 1.1 innings.
Several Orioles hit Gil well in a short exposure. Gunnar Henderson is 2-for-5 with a 1.000 OPS. Ryan O’Hearn is 1-for-3, Anthony Santander 2-for-4, and Jordan Westburg 2-for-3. Cedric Mullins has a home run off Gil in six trips.
Orioles lineup
- Gunnar Henderson SS (L)
- Adley Rutschman C (S)
- Anthony Santander RF (S)
- Ryan O’Hearn DH (L)
- Jordan Westburg 2B (R)
- Ryan Mountcastle 1B (R)
- Colton Cowser CF (L)
- Austin Hays LF (R)
- Ramón Urías 3B (R)
Yankees lineup
1. Alex Verdugo LF (L)
2. Juan Soto DH (L)
3. Aaron Judge RF (R)
4. Ben Rice 1B (L)
5. Gleyber Torres 2B (R)
6. Austin Wells C (L)
7. Anthony Volpe SS (R)
8. Trent Grisham CF
9. DJ LeMahieu 3B (R)