dpThe Orioles have struggled when facing winning teams this season. Here we are with them opening a three-game series, on the road where they’re also bad, against the team with the best record in all of baseball, the Dodgers. The on-paper stuff doesn’t point to an Orioles series victory, or perhaps to any Orioles victories at all.
All that the Orioles need to do is play better than they have been playing. The frustrating big picture thing about them this season is that doesn’t seem like it should be so hard, and yet, they keep on not playing better, or at least not playing better for long enough to really prove anything. The thing that I keep coming back to is how they’ve yet to win more than three games in a row. You know who else never won more than three games in a row? The 52-110 Orioles of 2021.
It would behoove the Orioles to play well tonight, because Yoshinobu Yamamoto lurks tomorrow and there’s probably not an “end the no-hitter in the ninth inning and still win” miracle waiting for them – certainly not as a walkoff win, since they’re on the road. Another Japanese pitcher is up for the Dodgers in this one: Roki Sasaki, a 24-year-old righty who’s veered between good and bad outings this year. His last one was bad and he has a 4.76 ERA for the season. Hit some homers against this guy.
Game recap note: This game will not be recapped until after your recap writer (that is, me) has gone to sleep and woken up on Saturday morning. I’m hoping to wake up and need to find things to say about an awesome game. Don’t wait up for the recap!
Trey Gibson is the starting pitcher tonight. He’ll have to make do with an infielder in the outfield.
Note the lack of Adley Rutschman in the starting lineup. Manager Craig Albernaz said the Orioles are giving Rutschman a full day off after he took a thrown baseball in his ear while running to first base in Sunday’s game against the Mariners. They will re-evaluate him tomorrow.
