The Orioles need a win tonight to avoid a sweep and head into the weekend on a high note.
No major league team is a pushover, but the Orioles likely expected this midweek series with the last-place Cubs to go a bit different than it has to this point. Unfortunately, the O’s have been haded two L’s so far. They really don’t want to make that a clean sweep.
Justin Steele is a very good pitcher. In fact, he threw a complete game in his last outing, holding the Angels to one run on two hits, two walks, and seven strikeouts. Opponents are hitting just .206 against him this season, and he owns a 1.00 WHIP. This ain’t gonna be easy!
To the credit of Albert Suárez, this pitching matchup is still quite close on paper. The 34-year-old is in the midst of a career-saving season that has seen him make huge contributions in both the bullpen and in the rotation. He has been particularly good recently, holding the Rangers and Athletics to two runs over his last 12 innings of work. The Orioles will lean on him heavily here.
Something of note in the lineups is that Adley Rutschman will DH for a second straight day, while James McCann maintains backstop duties. This is only the third time this season that Rutschman has done this, the most recent coming on June 24th and 25th against the Guardians.
It’s probably something that Brandon Hyde should consider even more. Rutschman has played (in some capacity) in 86 of the team’s 92 games this year. That’s a lot for a catcher! Rutschman has had a tough start to July (4-for-26), and since he will be participating in this year’s All-Star Game he will not get the same kind of break that much of the league will enjoy. The O’s should get him off his feet as much as possible, and this is how to do it while keeping his bat in the lineup.
Orioles lineup
- Gunnar Henderson, SS
- Adley Rutschman, DH
- Ryan Mountcastle, 1B
- Anthony Santander, RF
- Jordan Westburg, 3B
- Austin Hays, LF
- Jorge Mateo, 2B
- Cedric Mullins, CF
- James McCann, C
RHP Albert Suárez (5-2, 2.48 ERA)
Cubs lineup
- Nico Hoerner, 2B
- Michael Bursch, 1B
- Seiya Suzuki, RF
- Ian Happ, LF
- Christopher Morel, DH
- Dansby Swanson, SS
- Miles Mastrobuoni, 3B
- Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF
- Tomás Nido, C
LHP Justin Steele (1-3, 2.95 ERA)