Cade Povich is on the bump as the Birds look to salvage their midweek trip down to D.C.
Another game, another woeful starting pitcher heads to the mound for the Orioles. Cade Povich’s most recent outing (3.1 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 5 BB, 4 SO vs. CIN) was his worst of the year. He can’t be any worse, can he?
Some amount of pressure is beginning to mount on the less serviceable arms in the team’s corral. Kyle Gibson is ready to roll. Trevor Rogers is making rehab starts. Zach Eflin is throwing a bullpen this weekend. Soon enough, it will no longer be acceptable to have an ERA that starts with a six and still start games. Povich is the easiest player in the current crop to demote, so he really needs to step it up.
Brandon Hyde is starting four left-handed hitters against the southpaw MacKenzie Gore tonight. That’s interesting for a team that has stuck to their platoons rather rigidly this season. It is notable that lefties have OPS’ed .864 against Gore this season, compared to .636 from right-handed batters.
Tyler O’Neill is a prominent exclusion from the lineup. He is 1-for-20 over the last five games. And while he was supposed to be a lefty killer this year, it has not panned out that way. On the season he is 2-for-21 with 11 strikeouts against southpaws. A rest is probably a good idea.
Orioles lineup
- Cedric Mullins, CF
- Adley Rutschman, C
- Gunnar Henderson, SS
- Ryan Mountcastle, 1B
- Jordan Westburg, 3B
- Heston Kjerstad, LF
- Ramón Laureano, RF
- Ryan O’Hearn, DH
- Jorge Mateo, 2B
LHP Cade Povich (0-2, 6.38 ERA)
Nationals lineup
- CJ Abrams, SS
- Alex Call, RF
- James Wood, LF
- Keibert Ruiz, C
- Nathaniel Lowe, 1B
- Amed Rosario, 3B
- Josh Bell, DH
- Dylan Crews, CF
- Luis García Jr., 2B
LHP MacKenzie Gore (2-2, 3.41 ERA)