The Orioles look to rebound from their 9-1 loss in the series opener by sending Charlie Morton and his 9.76 ERA to the mound.
Where to watch: MASN, MASN+
Probable pitchers: RHP Charlie Morton (0-6, 9.76 ERA, 26 Ks) vs. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (2-2, 4.03 ERA, 30 Ks)
After getting absolutely dominated by Pablo Lopez and the Twins in Game 1, the Orioles and Birdland were looking for a reason to be optimistic about Baltimore’s chance in Game 2. Instead, Brandon Hyde announced that Charlie Morton would be starting the second contest in Minnesota.
By pretty much every metric, Morton has been the worst starter in the American League this season. He’s tied for the league “lead” with six losses. He’s allowed the most ERs, given up the most walks and has the AL’s worst bWAR among pitchers at -1.2. Perhaps more significant is the fact that the Orioles are 0-8 in games Morton pitches and 13-13 when he doesn’t pitch.
Brandon Hyde moved Morton to the bullpen to give the 41-year-old pitcher an opportunity to work through his struggles. It sort of worked in that Morton’s ERA as a reliever was 6.43, compared to his 10.98 ERA as a starter. Still, Morton getting the start tonight is much more about the Orioles’ depseration for healthy starting pitchers than it is an indication that Morton is turning things around.
Perhaps working in Morton’s favor is that most of these Twins have never hit against them and none of them have seen a lot of curveballs this year. Of the Twins in the lineup tonight, only Byron Buxton, Kody Clemens and Ty France have ever faced Morton before. That trio is a combined 6-for-12 with an OPS over 1.000, but the element of unfamiliarity should be a plus for Morton against the rest of the lineup.
Even if Morton finally puts together a decent outing, Baltimore will also need their offense to wake up if they want to even the series with the Twins. Minnesota’s starter, Simeon Woods Richardson, has never faced the Orioles before and comes into the game with a 1.74 ERA at Target Field this year. Woods Richardson relies heavily on his fastball, which should be good news for Ramón Laureano, Ryan O’Hearn, Gunnar Henderson and Jackson Holliday; all four are hitting above .300 and slugging above .500 on fastballs this season.
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
- Ramón Laureano (R) LF
- Heston Kjerstad (L) RF
- Emmanuel Rivera (R) 3B
Twins Lineup
- Byron Buxton (R) CF
- Trevor Larnach (L) RF
- Ryan Jeffers (R) C
- Ty France (R) 1B
- Carlos Correa (R) SS
- Brooks Lee (S) 3B
- Royce Lewis (R) DH
- Willi Castro (S) LF
- Kody Clemens (L) 2B