Jordan Lyles takes the mound for the Orioles with an, um, interesting lineup behind him.
The Orioles’ first matchup against the Blue Jays last night didn’t exactly go as hoped. Pitiful pitching and horrible hitting make for a bad combination, as it turns out.
Well, there’s nothing to do but get back on that horse and try again in game two. Let’s just take a quick peek at the Orioles’ lineup tonight, and…
CF Cedric Mullins
RF Austin Hays
1B Ryan Mountcastle
DH Adley Rutschman
3B Tyler Nevin
LF Ryan McKenna
SS Jorge Mateo
C Robinson Chirinos
2B Richie Martin
…oh. Huh. That’s, um, definitely a lineup, all right. It has nine batters and everything. Certainly fits the rulebook definition.
It’s just not what you’d call a great lineup. With Ramon Urias on the injured list, Anthony Santander on the restricted list, and Trey Mancini out of the lineup after getting hit by a pitch last night, the Orioles’ already thin depth is getting stretched even further. Beyond the top three in that lineup — or maybe top four, depending on whether you think Rutschman is heating up — it’s a pretty unintimidating crew. Worse yet, with lefty Yusei Kikuchi on the mound, Kyle Stowers is getting the night off, despite being arguably the lone bright spot in Monday’s contest with his first major league hit and RBI. Stowers had a .926 OPS in 54 PAs against lefties in the minors this year, so I’m not sure why he’s already being relegated to a platoon role.
But this is baseball. Bad teams with bad lineups beat good teams with good lineups more often than you’d expect. Maybe it’ll happen tonight.
Orioles lineup:
CF Cedric Mullins
RF Austin Hays
1B Ryan Mountcastle
DH Adley Rutschman
3B Tyler Nevin
LF Ryan McKenna
SS Jorge Mateo
C Robinson Chirinos
2B Richie Martin
RHP Jordan Lyles
Blue Jays lineup:
DH George Springer
SS Bo Bichette
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
RF Teoscar Hernandez
LF Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
CF Raimel Tapia
3B Matt Chapman
C Gabriel Moreno
2B Cavan Biggio
LHP Yusei Kikuchi