The Orioles look for their first series win of the year as Cade Povich takes the mound against the Royals.
Being under .500 is no fun. The Orioles can fix that today.
The O’s will look for their first series win of the year in the rubber game in Kansas City this afternoon, which would bring them back to an even-water 5-5 mark for the season. Cade Povich, who flashed good stuff but was not pitch efficient in his 2025 debut last week, will take the mound for the second time, hoping to follow the lead of Tomoyuki Sugano’s solid outing last night.
With the Birds facing southpaw Kris Bubic, Brandon Hyde has penned a lineup that includes just one left-handed hitter, Gunnar Henderson. That leaves Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, Ryan O’Hearn, and Cedric Mullins on the bench, with Gary Sánchez DH’ing and Jorge Mateo making just his fifth start in center field as an Oriole. My recollection is that Mateo isn’t particularly smooth in the outfield, and he also hasn’t been hitting, so starting him in place of Mullins is certainly…a choice. Benching Holliday, who’s coming off a three-hit game, is also a choice. But hey, maybe it’ll work out.
Orioles lineup:
SS Gunnar Henderson
C Adley Rutschman
2B Jordan Westburg
RF Tyler O’Neill
1B Ryan Mountcastle
LF Ramón Laureano
DH Gary Sánchez
3B Ramón Urías
CF Jorge Mateo
LHP Cade Povich
Royals lineup:
3B Jonathan India
SS Bobby Witt Jr.
DH Vinnie Pasquantino
1B Salvador Perez
LF Mark Canha
2B Michael Massey
RF Hunter Renfroe
CF Maikel Garcia
C Freddy Fermin
LHP Kris Bubic