Albert Suárez looks to lead the Orioles to a series sweep of baseball’s worst team.
There’s nothing like playing baseball’s worst team to make you feel good about the Orioles. Fresh off a 13-3 win on Labor Day and a 9-0 final on Tuesday, the O’s take the field tonight looking to hand the White Sox their 110th loss and complete Baltimore’s first sweep since June 10th.
Leading the charge against the South Siders is the rejuvenated Albert Suárez. The 34-year-old from Venezuela has been the O’s best pitcher over the last month, posting a 1.19 ERA in five starts during August. Suárez is coming off his longest start of the season, throwing seven innings of two-run ball in the series-opening win in Colorado. The veteran right-hander has feasted against inferior competition this year, posting a 2.64 ERA and .234 BAA when pitching against teams below .500. Suárez faced the White Sox earlier this season in Chicago, where he threw four shutout innings in a 5-3 Orioles win.
Opposing Suárez for the White Sox is towering rookie right-hander Jonathan Cannon. The 6’6” 24-year-old out of the University of Georgia had a promising month of July (posting a 3.48 ERA) but has since crashed back to earth. In his five August starts, Cannon had a 6.31 ERA, giving up a .906 OPS and five HRs. The matchup with Cannon should give Anthony Santander an excellent chance to launch home run No. 40. The White Sox starter throws changeups 32% of the time to left-handed batters, and Tony Taters is slugging .594 against cambios with six home runs.
Orioles lineup
- Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
- Adley Rutschman (S) DH
- Ryan O’Hearn (L) 1B
- Anthony Santander (S) RF
- Colton Cowser (L) LF
- Cedric Mullins (L) CF
- Coby Mayo (R) 3B
- Jackson Holliday (L) 2B
- James McCann (R) C
Starting pitcher: RHP Albert Suárez (7-4, 3.14 ERA, 85 K)
White Sox lineup
- Nicky Lopez (L) 2B
- Luis Robert Jr. (R) CF
- Andrew Benintendi (L) LF
- Andrew Vaughn (R) DH
- Gavin Sheets (L) 1B
- Lenyn Sosa (R) 3B
- Dominic Fletcher (L) RF
- Chuckie Robinson (R) C
- Jacob Amaya (R) SS
Starting pitcher: RHP Jonathan Cannon (2-9, 4.70 ERA, 66 Ks)