The Orioles who are left after the trade deadline must carry on and try to stay in the wild card picture.
This year’s trade deadline has come and gone. The Orioles were busy in the last 36 hours before the deadline rolled around, with yesterday’s trade of Trey Mancini and this morning’s deal that sent Jorge López to the Twins. Never mind that the team is 2.5 games out of a wild card spot. Mike Elias thought he could make moves for the future. I hope he’s right. The guys who are left behind will have to carry on.
For tonight, at least, the Orioles get to continue playing a team that, even without Mancini and López, should be below their level. Things haven’t worked out for the Rangers this year. The O’s dispatched them easily last night. If they want to keep themselves in the picture, they need to do so again, and on against the Pirates this weekend. There are no guarantees. They won the opening game against the Reds before losing the last two. It wasn’t great.
Tonight’s Orioles starter, Jordan Lyles, has some familiarity with pitching in Texas, since he was with the Rangers for the last two years. They went poorly for him! He came away from the Rangers with a 5.60 ERA, though at least last year, he had a better ERA at home than on the road. Maybe that’s a good sign for him pitching well tonight, or at least getting back to eating innings. Lyles hasn’t finished six in his last three starts. I think he’s going to need to do a little more than he’s done to get his 2023 option picked up.
Orioles lineup
- Cedric Mullins – CF
- Adley Rutschman – C
- Anthony Santander – LF
- Ryan Mountcastle – 1B
- Austin Hays – RF
- Rougned Odor – 2B
- Ramón Urías – 3B
- Terrin Vavra – DH
- Jorge Mateo – SS
It’s a less exciting lineup than it would be if Mancini hadn’t been traded and he was in here as the DH. I will have to get over it. I am looking forward to seeing what Vavra is able to do with a little regular playing time, so we’ll see if the Orioles start to give it to him.
Rangers lineup
- Marcus Semien – SS
- Corey Seager – DH
- Leody Taveras – CF
- Nathaniel Lowe – 1B
- Ezequiel Duran – 2B
- Kole Calhoun – RF
- Meibrys Viloria – C
- Nick Solak – LF
- Josh Smith – 3B
Pitching for the Rangers tonight is Spencer Howard, who has a 5.93 ERA in eight games (six starts) for Texas this season. Crucially, he’s allowed ten home runs in 30.1 innings, so hopefully that’s a sign that the Orioles batters will be able to tee off on him. In July, he faced the Orioles in Baltimore, allowing four runs in four innings.