The Baltimore Orioles dropping 14 of their last 19 games has allowed the Boston Red Sox to jump them in the standings. Now, the Birds will try to claw their way back on top of the BoSox. The Orioles snapped a seven-game losing streak on Monday and just took two of three from the first-place Yankees. It’s a start, but can they keep up the success as they shift divisional foes?
This series will be contested from Thursday, June 1, 2017 through Sunday, June 4, 2017 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore. Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on FOX with the other three games of this series shown on MLB Network for those outside the local broadcast markets.
Bet on MLB odds at BookMaker.eu every day of the season.
Pitching Matchups
A pair of southpaws will kick off this four-game set on Thursday as Wade Miley takes the mound for the Orioles against former Orioles’ farmhand Eduardo Rodriguez for the Red Sox.
Miley’s had a very bizarre season so far. He’s just 1-3 despite a 3.02 ERA, but it’s the walk rate that stands out. The lefty is walking 5.2 per nine innings and has a 1.509 WHIP. His FIP is 4.62, largely due to the number of base runners allowed. Nevertheless, he’s consistently worked his way out of jams.
Nevertheless, the base runners have hurt his pitch count. He’s only pitched more than five innings once in his last six starts. That puts pressure on a depleted bullpen without Zach Britton, but he’ll at least usually keep you in the game through five.
As for E-Rod, he’s been huge for the Sox given the struggles of Rick Porcello and injuries to Steven Wright and David Price.
Rodriguez is 4-1 with a 2.77 ERA which ties him with Chris Sale for the team’s ERA lead out of the rotation. He’s also been more pitch efficient than Miley. He’s walking just 3.4 batters per nine which is still a bit high, but not compared to the O’s starter. He’s also pitching to a 1.120 WHIP and has allowed just five home runs all season, a tough sell for a team built on the long ball.
As the series progresses, things may get easier for the Orioles even though they’re facing the reigning Cy Young Award winner on Friday. Porcello is not pitching like he did last year. He looks more like the middle-of-the-rotation arm he’s been the rest of his career. He’s also never enjoyed much success at Oriole Park, going 2-4 with a 4.89 ERA.
Meanwhile, the Orioles will send Alec Asher to the hill. Asher has unseated Ubaldo Jimenez in the rotation. He’s getting his fourth start of the year. He struggled through two innings in his last start, but that can be attributed to some rust. He’s been otherwise very good in a variety of roles for this team.
The biggest question may be: can he give the O’s length? They’re not likely to get much from Miley unless he improves his pitch efficiency and if Asher cannot go deep either, that may hurt the Orioles’ chances with so much reliance on the pen.
Fortunately, they can count on a deep start on Saturday with Dylan Bundy on the mound. He’s gone at least six in every start.
Bundy will pitch opposite of David Price who will be making his second start of the season. The first didn’t go particularly well. He went just five innings, allowing three runs. All those runs came on a Melky Cabrera home run. Other than that, Price pitched a bit better than the line indicates. He did struggle through his rehab assignment so he’s still not back to form.
On the other hand, Bundy hasn’t been in better form. The young right-hander is the team’s most valuable player per rWAR and is 6-3 with a 2.89 ERA and 1.144 WHIP in a team leading 71.1 innings pitched.
Bundy was the stopper for this team on Monday, ending a seven-game losing streak and has 10 quality starts in 11 total starts.
After the Orioles send their ace to the mound Saturday, the Sox will follow up with theirs on Sunday with Chris Sale pitching. Chris Tillman—the former ace of the O’s—will toe the rubber opposite of him.
Sale is coming off a rare bad outing, giving up six runs on 10 hits, but still has a 6-2 record. 2.77 ERA and 0.910 WHP while striking out 12.7 per nine innings.
Understatement of the year: Sale has had a good season. Tillman has not. The O’s right-hander missed the start of the year and hasn’t been himself since coming off the DL. He gave up five runs—including three bombs—in 2.2 innings in his last start.
Offensive Breakdown
The Birds have never been a good on-base percentage squad. They’ve lived and died by the longball since their resurrection from the ashes in 2012, consistently ranking atop the league in dingers.
Now, the Orioles rank in the middle of the pack in homers, at 67, well below the Rays, Yankees and Blue Jays. The only team in the AL East with less bombs than the Orioles is the Red Sox.
Boston has outscored the Orioles with a better ability to manufacture runs. Conventional wisdom says it’s better to have several ways to score, especially against good pitching, though logic says, a couple home runs can go a long way against a pitcher like Chris Sale who is hard to hit against.
Regardless, based on early season numbers, we’re dealing with very different teams. The Orioles are heating up. Adam Jones and Chris Davis both went yard on Wednesday.
The Sox’s offense is heating up, too, but homers are still hard to come by. With a capable bat at nearly every position, it’s still a hard lineup to navigate. At least the O’s have J.J. Hardy and his 50 OPS+ to help Sox pitchers.
Bullpen Brawl
The Orioles have been known for their bullpen—along with infield defense and home run power—over their latest run of success, but it’s the Sox boasting the better bullpen.
Save for a little hiccup, Brad Brach has been good filling in at the closer role for the Orioles and Darren O’Day is pitching better, too. That tandem is good and Donnie Hart and Mychal Givens gives Buck Showalter matchup options, but the rest of the pen has been a revolving door of inconsistencies and general ineffectiveness.
As for the Sox, Craig Kimbrel is back to being Craig Kimbrel. He’s off to Zach Britton like start and has a 0.78 ERA, 0.391 WHIP and 16.4 strikeouts per nine. After eight, it’s over if the Sox have the lead. With Joe Kelly, Robby Scott and even Heath Hembree and Matt Barnes throwing well, it may be over well before that.
As for the brawl part, who can forget the back-and-forth between these teams, the hit-batters and in the case of Manny Machado, the just-missed batters? Will we see the tension boil up between these teams again of is this craziness finally in the past? If it comes back to light, it could certainly serve as a momentum shifter.
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook!
