The new-look Orioles face the suddenly surging Matthew Boyd.
Well, our first impression of an O’Hearn/Laureano/Urías/Mullins-free offense wasn’t so great, with the Orioles notching only three hits against Cubs rookie Cade Horton on Friday afternoon. The lift doesn’t get any lighter today, as the Cubs are moving up left-hander Matthew Boyd for this start. Gulp, a lefty. And a good one.
In the past, the Orioles have hit Boyd well: posting a .296 average against and 6.20 ERA against him. But those were different offenses, and this is a different Boyd. The eleventh-year veteran is putting up some of the best numbers of his career (11-4, 2.47 ERA, 110 K), having retooled his fastball and arm slot.
Who knows, maybe a rare righty-heavy Orioles lineup will hit him: overall, we have six guys hitting from the right side today, counting the switch hitters and the newcomer Jeremiah Jackson, starting today in right field (which position I was not aware he plays . . . [checks notes]. Yup, he’s originally a shortstop—more lineup shenanigans by these Orioles to game the platoon advantage).
I don’t know what to expect from Tomoyuki Sugano (8-5, 4.38 ERA, 71 K) at this point. The 35-year-old righty has been all over the map this season. He had a 2.79 ERA in April but looked mighty hittable in June (6.20 ERA and a .330 opponent average). He’s been okay in his last three starts, allowing three runs in six innings to the Mets, three in 3.2 innings to Cleveland, and one in six innings against (an admittedly-bad) Colorado.
The Cubs are not going to be such pushovers, though. I fear lefties Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong eating our right-handed starter for breakfast, or at least an early afternoon snack. Let’s see if Sugano can navigate this lineup carefully.
Orioles lineup
Jackson Holliday 2B
Jordan Westburg 3B
Gunnar Henderson SS
Adley Rutschman C
Tyler O’Neill DH
Coby Mayo 1B
Colton Cowser LF
Dylan Carlson CF
Jeremiah Jackson RF
Tomoyuki Sugano RHP
Cubs lineup
Michael Busch 1B
Kyle Tucker RF
Seiya Suzuki DH
Pete Crow-Armstrong CF
Ian Happ LF
Willi Castro 2B
Nico Hoerner SS
Reese McGuire C
Matt Shaw 3B
Matthew Boyd LHP