In which Tomoyuki Sugano tries to stop the eight-game slide.
Entering the season, if you had “The Orioles will lose eight games in a row” on your bingo card, well, I have to tell you you’re a very cynical person. But that’s where we are, after the offense failed to show up again last night against Milwaukee rookie Logan Henderson in a 5-2 loss.
Go figure, Tomoyuki Sugano, the 35-year-old rookie from Japan, is the closest thing this Orioles rotation currently has to an ace. In nine starts, the right hander is 4-3 with a 3.08 ERA. He’s held opponents to four runs or less in each of them, and has completed five innings or more seven of nine tries. The only area of concern is the lack of strikeouts: Sugano has whiffed four hitters or less in all but two starts. The lone exceptions: he struck out five Angels on May 9, and eight Yankees in an excellent five-inning shutout on April 28.
The Brewers will counter with a second consecutive rookie right-hander, Chad Patrick, a 2021 fourth-round draft pick by Arizona who made his way to Milwaukee through a series of trades, one involving erstwhile Orioles infielder Jace Peterson. Across nine starts, Patrick has been good, with a 3.35 ERA and 124 ERA+. He’s considered to have a great fastball, but isn’t striking out many guys or drawing many whiffs. Plus the contact against him has been hard. Is this the pitcher that finally melts the Orioles’ deep freeze?
Orioles lineup
1. Jackson Holliday 2B
2. Adley Rutschman C
3. Gunnar Henderson SS
4. Ryan Mountcastle DH
5. Ryan O’Hearn 1B
6. Cedric Mullins CF
7. Emmanuel Rivera 3B
8. Heston Kjerstad LF
9. Dylan Carlson RF
Brewers lineup
1. Brice Turang 2B
2. Jackson Chourio CF
3. Christian Yelich DH
4. Rhys Hoskins 1B
5. Sal Frelick RF
6. Eric Haase C
7. Jake Bauers LF
8. Caleb Durbin 3B
9. Joey Ortiz SS