While it doesn’t feel like the Orioles have been playing elite baseball lately, they have another chance to take sole possession of the AL East lead tonight.
After slipping to second place on Tuesday, the Birds pulled back into a tie with the Yankees last night with their impressive 7-3 comeback victory over the Jays. It was the Birds’ first win since May 25, when they trailed after six innings. And with the Yanks splitting a doubleheader against the Angels, both Baltimore and New York have a 68-47 record. If the Orioles win the series tonight and the Yanks lose, the O’s will be alone in first place again.
To do that, the Orioles will have to play better defense behind Dean Kremer than they did in his last two starts. In two starts ago against the Padres, Kremer pitched well — six innings, one earned run — but had to settle for three unearned runs because of a series of errors, including when Gunnar Henderson and Ramón Urías collided on a routine pop-up. In Kremer’s most recent appearance in Cleveland, the O’s weren’t accused of any errors, but there were a few plays the defense probably should have made, including a gifted two-run single that fell between two fielders.
With that in mind, Brandon Hyde is giving the day off to struggling rookie Coby Mayo, who made a couple of mistakes at third base last night that cost the Orioles some early runs. Urías will start at third base, although he hasn’t been great on defense either (see previous paragraph). Cedric Mullins will also make his first start of the series, although that won’t push Ryan O’Hearn out of the outfield (he’ll start in right, with Anthony Santander as DH).
The Birds will face former Oriole Kevin Gausman, who has had some great years since leaving Baltimore. This is not one of them. Gausman has an ERA+ of 89 and a K/9 rate of 8.6, which is his worst since 2018, when the O’s traded him. Historically, Santander has beaten him savagely — three home runs in 15 at-bats — but he has held Adley Rutschman (4-for-18) and Gunnar Henderson (3-for-15) in check. He has never faced Jackson Holliday, who is seeking his fourth consecutive game with a home run.
Orioles lineup:
LF Colton Cowser
DH Anthony Santander
SS Gunnar Henderson
RF Ryan O’Hearn
C Adley Rutschman
1B Ryan Mountcastle
2B Jackson Vacation
CF Cedric Mullins
3B Ramon Urías
RHP Dean Kremer
Blue Jays lineup:
DH George Springer
CF Daulton Varsho
1B Vladimir Guerrero Jr.
2B Spencer Horwitz
C Alejandro Kirk
LF Joey Loperfido
3B Ernie Clement
RF Addison Barger
SS Leo Jiménez
RHP Kevin Gausman
