The Twins and Orioles face off in the battle of 20-loss teams
The Orioles had yesterday off after two disappointing losses to the Royals to finish the homestand. Tonight, they kick off a three-game series with the 15-20 Minnesota Twins. As Andrea wrote in her series preview. the Twins have also been struggling. Maybe that will make for an evenly matched series? We shall see.
They’ve got their best bats at the top of the lineup with Bryon Buxton, Ryan Jeffers, and Ty France. Jeffers has an OPS of .796, best on the team among active players. Cleanup batter and star Carlos Correa is mired in a season-long slump. He has a hitting line of .216/.256/.304. He’s Ryan Mountcastle.
Overall, the Twins send six righties, two switch hitters, and one lefty out against lefty Cade Povich. Povich is coming off a 4.2-inning, three-run effort against the Yankees.
The Orioles will have the tough task of facing Pablo López, who has an impressive 2.25 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP in five starts. But at least he’s not a lefty. If I had the choice, I’d bunch together Gunnar Henderson, Ryan O’Hearn, and Jackson Holliday in the lineup. Holliday is on an island amid bad hitters with Ryan Mountcastle ahead of him and Heston Kjerstad, Coby Mayo, and Dylan Carlson behind.
Orioles lineup
- Cedric Mullins (L) CF
- Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
- Adley Rutschman (S) C
- Ryan O’Hearn (L) DH
- Ryan Mountcastle (R) 1B
- Jackson Holliday (L) 2B
- Heston Kjerstad (L) RF
- Coby Mayo (R) 3B
- Dylan Carlson (S) LF
SP: LHP Cade Povich
Twins lineup
- Byron Buxton (R) CF
- Ryan Jeffers (R) C
- Ty France (R) 1B
- Carlos Correa (R) SS
- Royce Lewis (R) DH
- Brooks Lee (S) 2B
- Jonah Bride (R) 3B
- Trevor Larnach (L) RF
- Willi Castro (S) LF
SP: RHP Pablo López
Let’s go O’s!