Get hype: it’s Keegan Akin time!
It has been a frustrating stretch of baseball for the Orioles. First they looked great for a stretch after the All-Star Break, and then the bullpen said, “We’re having none of this,” proceeding to give up an incredible 37 runs in five games. Now fans in the Twitterverse seem to be asking for Brandon Hyde’s head, and even Mike Elias’.
Today would be a great day for the Orioles to break the schneid and calm the angry hordes. But with an 0-5 and 7.66 ERA’d-Keegan Akin making a start out of necessity to shore up an injury-ridden, thin rotation, the odds are against us. (I mean, they often are.)
Akin joined the club late this season, and in the capacity of a reliever, not a starter, after a poor spring. He’s made eight starts this season, and suffice it to say, they ain’t been pretty. Akin is 0-5 with an 8.82 ERA as a starter, and 0-0 with a 5.50 ERA as a reliever. His last start came on July 16 against the Royals in KC, when he got absolutely lit up for six runs in three innings. (I was at that game; he really did get lit up.) However, in his last appearance against NYY, he pitched three scoreless innings.
Casey Mize, the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft, is set to face the O’s tonight. He’s 6-6 this season with a 3.57 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. Again, not ace numbers, but solid enough in his first full season. Last time the O’s faced him they did little on offense, putting up just four hits and one run in seven innings. Mize’s last start against Boston was a little rough, however, with the Red Sox tagging him for three long balls. Can the O’s look more like that and less like . . . themselves tonight?
Orioles lineup
1. Cedric Mullins CF
2. Ramón Urías 2B
3. Trey Mancini 1B
4. Anthony Santander RF
5. Austin Hays LF
6. DJ Stewart DH
7. Maikel Franco 3B
8. Jorge Mateo SS
9. Austin Wynns C
Tigers lineup
1. Robbie Grossman RF
2. Jonathan Schoop 1B
3. Miguel Cabrera DH
4. Jeimer Candelario 3B
5. Erik Haase C
6. Niko Goodrum SS
7. Willi Castro 2B
8. Akil Baddoo LF
9. Derek Hill CF