Can the Orioles turn their luck against lefties around?
One of the things the Orioles’ front office set out to do in the offseason was improve their lineup against left-handed pitching. It’s funny because they weren’t even that bad at hitting lefties last year. They hit them about as well as they did righties, with an overall OPS of .750. Against lefty starters, it was .728. That was slightly above league average.
I understood the impulse as the team’s everyday lineup is very lefty-batter heavy. But…things have not worked out as planned. And that is putting it nicely. In nine games against lefty starters, the Orioles have a 2-7 record and are hitting just .181/.237/.254. That’s an OPS+ against lefties of just 45.
Cedric Mullins, who can do no wrong, is killing lefties this year. Everyone else stinks. That includes players brought in with the idea they can hit lefties. Tyler O’Neill, Gary Sánchez, and Ramón Laureano are at the bottom of the ranks. And now two of them are hurt. Watching Jorge Mateo has been painful. Jackson Holliday, who is sitting in favor of Mateo today, is hitting lefties better.
I guess you see where I’m getting with this. LHP Carlos Rodón is starting for the Yankees tonight. Good luck, everyone.
Orioles lineup
- Cedric Mullins (L) CF
- Adley Rutschman (S) C
- Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
- Ryan Mountcastle (R) DH
- Ramón Laureano (R) RF
- Ramón Urías (R) 3B
- Emmanuel Rivera (R) 1B
- Jorge Mateo (R) 2B
- Dylan Carlson (S) LF
SP: RHP Kyle Gibson
Yankees lineup
- Trent Grisham (L) CF
- Aaron Judge (R) RF
- Ben Rice (L) DH
- Paul Goldschmidt (R) 1B
- Cody Bellinger (L) LF
- Jazz Chisholm Jr. (L) 2B
- Anthony Volpe (R) SS
- Austin Wells (L) C
- Oswaldo Cabrera (S) 3B
SP: LHP Carlos Rodón