Can the Orioles please win with this weirdo lineup?
The Orioles have lost two straight to the Guardians and are attempting to mix things up with an, um, unusual lineup. I generally think lineup angst is tiresome but I did a double take when I saw this one posted. Here are some thoughts, prefaced with the disclaimer that of course none of us know exactly what’s going on with any of these players on any given day.
Adley Rutschman is getting the day off. I know he gets a fair number of days off and has been scuffling for quite some time. But he does hit lefties well and tonight’s starter is just that. They often DH him when there is a lefty starter to get James McCann’s right-handed bat into the game. But tonight they have new Oriole Eloy Jiménez in at DH. That part makes sense; that is why he’s here. But to me, that just means Adley could stay in as catcher.
Another new Oriole, Austin Slater, is getting a start in place of Cedric Mullins (with Colton Cowser moved over to center). Mullins has been hot at the plate over the last month but he’s also been pretty darn awful against lefties. Slater only has 109 PA this year and he’s been horrible overall, but he does have a .799 career OPS against lefties. So….ok, I guess? Even though I’d rather see Mullins. But why is he batting leadoff? LEADOFF?
And speaking of the batting order, why is the team’s best hitter batting seventh? Cowser is a lefty, sure, but seventh? He’s OPS’ing .942 over the past 28 days.
The rest of the lineup gives me little to complain about, comparatively. I’m happy to see both Coby Mayo and Jackson Holliday back in the lineup today. Holliday was on base three times yesterday with two hits and a walk. Mayo went hitless in his MLB debut but walked twice.
It’s worth mentioning that every time I feel really discouraged about the lineup, that lineup usually does well. So maybe it won’t be so bad after all.
Zach Eflin is making his second start as Oriole and while his first one wasn’t a disaster, I am hoping he can do better today. Three runs in six innings gives your team the chance to win the game, which the Orioles did in his last start. But it’s not incredibly impressive. I could really go for impressive tonight.
Lefty Joey Cantillo is starting for the Guardians making just his second ML appearance. On July 28th he gave up three runs in 3.1 innings against the Phillies. He walked three and gave up two homers. Per MLB Pipeline, he is their #9 prospect.
Orioles lineup
- Austin Slater – LF
- Ryan Mountcastle – 1B
- Gunnar Henderson – SS
- Anthony Santander – RF
- Eloy Jiménez – DH
- Coby Mayo (hon) – 3B
- Colton Cowser – CF
- James McCann – C
- Jackson Holliday – 2B
SP: RHP Zach Eflin
Guardians lineup
- Steven Kwan – DH
- Ángel Martínez – CF
- José Ramírez – 3B
- Josh Naylor – 1B
- Lane Thomas – RF
- Andrés Giménez – 2B
- Daniel Schneemann – LF
- Bo Naylor – C
- Brayan Rocchio – SS
SP: LHP Joey Cantillo
Tonight’s game is being broadcast on FOX. You can check the map to see if you’re in the viewing zone.
Let’s go O’s!