Cade Povich returns to the Orioles’ rotation as they look to take control of their series against Boston.
After a victory in Game 1 of this series vs. the Red Sox, it felt like a safe assumption that the Orioles would be heading into Game 3 looking to secure a series win. After all, Game 2 had ace Corbin Burnes taking the mound for the O’s while the Red Sox were rolling with a bullpen game. All the makings for an easy Baltimore win—until it wasn’t. As Melanie Newman commented in the postgame show on the Orioles Radio Network, Friday turned into one of those games where everything went the opposite of how you’d expect it to go. So maybe, just maybe, the same can happen in tonight’s Game 3.
The Orioles will need at least a slight reversal of fortunes as they give the ball to rookie left-hander Cade Povich. After putting together a mixed bag of starts throughout June, Povich fell on hard times during his three starts in July. Back on July 6 vs. Oakland, the 24-year-old southpaw only registered three outs as he allowed eight runs and two home runs in the first inning. His next two outings against the Yankees and Blue Jays were certainly better—pitching a combined 9.2 innings—but he still took the loss in both games while giving up nine total runs (six earned). Across those three outings, Povich posted an 11.81 ERA with opponents hitting .362 off the Orioles’ rookie.
This will be the lefty’s first crack at the rival Red Sox, a team whose lineup is notably weaker against left-handed pitching. Boston leads the AL with a .266 average against right-handed pitchers but is barely above the MLB average with a .250 average vs. lefties. After watching the likes of Jarren Duran, Rafael Devers and Masataka Yoshida destroy Burnes & Co. on Friday, Birdland will hope that Povich can take advantage of the left-on-left matchups and slow down the Boston offense. Povich will also be pitching without the weight of expectation on Saturday; by all accounts, this is a one-off start for him meant to give the rest of the rotation an extra day of rest.
Opposing Povich is 25-year-old righty Brayan Bello. The hard-throwing sinkerballer out of the Dominican Republic may not have numbers that jump off the page (with a 4.97 ERA and 1.44 WHIP), but he’s been a source of consistency for the Red Sox since the All-Star break. Bello has allowed three or fewer runs in all six of his starts since the break, with Boston going 5-1 in those outings. When Bello has run into trouble in his recent starts, it’s usually been due to the HR ball. His home run rate of 1.4 HR/9 was already one of the highest in the majors, but that number has ballooned to 1.6 since the All-Star break. The matchup could prove particularly fruitful for Anthony Santander, who is slugging .561 with four HRs off sinkers this season.
Orioles lineup
- Colton Cowser (L) LF
- Anthony Santander (S) RF
- Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
- Ryan O’Hearn (L) RF
- Ryan Mountcastle (R) 1B
- Jackson Holliday (L) 2B
- Cedric Mullins (L) CF
- Ramón Urías (R) 3B
- James McCann (R) C
Starting pitcher: LHP Cade Povich (1-5, 6.27 ERA, 25 Ks)
Red Sox lineup
- Jarren Duran (L) CF
- Rob Refsnyder (R) RF
- Tyler O’Neill (R) LF
- Rafael Devers (L) 3B
- Danny Jansen (R) C
- Romy Gonzalez (R) 2B
- Triston Casas (L) 1B
- Connor Wong (R) DH
- Ceddanne Rafaela (R) SS
Starting pitcher: RHP Brayan Bello (10-5, 4.97 ERA, 114 Ks)