While Cleveland is only 2.5 games better than Baltimore in the standings, it has the superior roster. Despite playing on the road, the Indians should be confident in their ability to at least pull out a split of this four-game set.
The Orioles have a nucleus that has found a lot of success in recent years and needs to start playing better in order to return to the postseason. Baltimore is still right in the thick of it all and would love to win this series against the defending American League champions.
This series will be contested from Monday, June 19 through Thursday, June 22, 2017 at Camden Yards in Baltimore, Maryland. All four of the games will be televised regionally on MLB Network.
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Pitching Matchups
The first game of the series has an elite pitching matchup. The Indians will send out Corey Kluber, who is 5-2 on the season with a 4.15 ERA. He has 69 strikeouts in only 56.1 innings pitched and will aim to keep it rolling following three straight strong starts. The Orioles will counter with Dylan Bundy, who is 7-5 with a 3.29 ERA. While Bundy has the superior ERA, his peripheral numbers aren’t as promising, which could suggest some regression upcoming.
In the Tuesday matchup, Cleveland is scheduled to start Josh Tillman. He is 4-8 on the season with a 5.83 ERA. Tomlin has 51 strikeouts to only six walks on the season but hitters have been teeing off on him at a .314 clip and he must do a better job against batters. The Orioles will send out Chris Tillman, who is 1-5 with an ugly 8.07 ERA. He has given up 14 earned runs in his past two outings and isn’t fooling anyone right now.
In the third game of the series, the Indians plan to send Carlos Carrasco to the mound. He is 7-3 with a 3.21 ERA and is averaging nearly a strikeout per inning. The Orioles’ Kevin Gausman has been more suspect with a 3-6 record and a 6.60 ERA. Gausman has given up 12 combined earned runs his past two times out as Baltimore’s pitching has hit a rough patch.
In the series finale, the Indians will send out Mike Clevinger. He is 2-3 with a 3.89 ERA. Clevinger 42 strikeouts in 37 innings pitched and has done a good job of keeping his walks in check. Baltimore will counter with Wade Miley, who is 3-4 with a 4.29 ERA. He had a 2.82 ERA just four starts ago but has watched it increase by nearly a run-and-a-half since then.
Key Stat
45. That’s Baltimore’s negative run-differential on the season, and despite that, it is still 34-34 on the season. The Orioles are lucky to be in the playoff race as no one beyond the Red Sox has really distinguished themselves in the wild card race, but unless things improve they could fall out of contention.
Baltimore’s pitching has been a trainwreck of late and the starting rotation needs to be more consistent for the Orioles to have a chance at turning things around. While the overall record looks OK, the Orioles could be in trouble.
Road Feels Like Home For Cleveland
The Indians have done really well away from home this season, which is the biggest reason why they are now in first place in the division. Cleveland is coming off a road sweep of the Minnesota Twins and is 21-14 away from home overall.
The Orioles have been great at home this season with a mark of 23-11, so it will be interesting to see how these games turn out.
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