De facto ace Kyle Gibson makes his second start of the season, facing off with his former Rangers’ teammates in Arlington.
After an impressive pitching performance Monday night, the Orioles head into Game 2 with the Rangers with a former Rangers pitcher taking the bump—Kyle Gibson. The veteran right in his 11 season heads back to Arlington after being a Rangers’ representative in the All-Star game in 2021. Gibson’s start got moved up a day after scheduled starter Tyler Wells pitched five innings of relief last night—due to the early injury of starter Kyle Bradish.
Gibson comes into this matchup with Texas sporting good career numbers in GlobeLife Field. His 3.33 career ERA in the Rangers’ new digs is more than a full run below Gibson’s career ERA, while opponents’ batting average drops 21 points when Gibson is toeing the rubber in North Texas. After getting the win on Opening Day—despite giving up four runs in five innings—Gibson will look to continue to lead the staff as its de facto ace and secure a series win against his old team.
The Rangers will send veteran lefty Andrew Heaney to the mound to make his first start of 2023. The former longtime Angel missed most of the beginning of last season with shoulder problems. However, once he got off the IL, Heaney put together 12 impressive starts over the last two months of 2022 for the Dodgers. His 14 K/9 rate in those starts represented a career-best for Heaney and he brings a devastating fastball-slider combo into this matchup with the O’s.
With a lefty on the mound for Texas, Gunnar Henderson drops to the bench in favor of Ramon Urias at 3B. Ryan McKenna also comes into the lineup, replacing Kyle Stowers in LF, while Anthony Santander assumes the DH role. The Orioles come into this game with an MLB-leading 11 stolen bases (on 11 attempts)—a number that should only go up with defensively challenged Mitch Garver behind the plate.
Orioles Line-up:
- Cedric Mullins (L)- CF
- Adley Rutshcman (S)- C
- Ryan Mountcastle (R)- 1B
- Anthony Santander (S)- DH
- Austin Hays (R)- RF
- Ramon Urias (R)- 3B
- Adam Frazier (L)- 2B
- Jorge Mateo (R)- SS
- Ryan McKenna (R)- LF
Starting Pitcher: Kyle Gibson (1-0, 7.20 ERA in 2023, 10-9, 3.71 ERA in 2022)
Rangers Line-up:
- Marcus Semien (R)- 2B
- Corey Seager (L)- SS
- Nathaniel Lowe (L)- 1B
- Adolis Garcia (R)- CF
- Josh Jung (R)- 3B
- Robbie Grossman (S)- RF
- Mitch Garver (R)- C
- Brad Miller (L)- DH
- Ezequiel Duran (R)- LF
Starting Pitcher: Andrew Heaney (4-4, 3.10 ERA, 110 Ks in 72.2 IP)