Cole Irvin will need to play stopper for an Orioles team that has suddenly hit the skids in the midst of a brutal stretch of their schedule.
It’s been a tough stretch for our O’s. They’ve been swept twice, after not being swept at all in 2023. And now they have lost four games in a row, which ties their longest drought of a season ago. What’s worse is the rash of injuries throughout the pitching staff that still serves as an open wound that the team will need to address in some way, shape, or form. Things are not going great at this exact moment.
But if you zoom out just a touch, you gain some perspective.
The Yankees, who currently lead the AL East, have stumbled simultaneously. The O’s trail them by just two games and are well on their way to taking the season series against them. That might be huge in a race that looks like it will come down to the final days of the regular season.
And while injuries are a problem right now in Baltimore, the vast majority of the roster is the same one from Opening Day. They were really good then, and the same is true today!
The sky is not falling, Chicken Little. That doesn’t make things suck less at the moment, but it does tell us that the metaphorical sun will rise again. It might even happen in this game as the O’s match up with a starter that both pitches to contact and struggles with walks. Sounds like a recipe for success in the batter’s box to me, someone who has never actually stepped into a major league batter’s box.
Orioles lineup
- Adley Rutschman, DH
- Ryan Mountcastle, 1B
- Anthony Santander, RF
- Gunnar Henderson, SS
- Jordan Westburg, 3B
- Austin Hays, LF
- Jorge Mateo, 2B
- James McCann, C
- Colton Cowser, CF
LHP Cole Irvin (6-3, 3.45 ERA)
Guardians lineup
- Steven Kwan, LF
- Andrés Giménez, 2B
- José Ramírez, 3B
- Josh Naylor, 1B
- David Fry, DH
- Will Brennan, RF
- Daniel Schneemann, CF
- Gabriel Arias, SS
- Bo Naylor, C
LHP Logan Allen (8-3 5.23 ERA)