The Orioles will take on the Evil Empire on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball, as they look to secure their first winning season against New York since 2016.
Saturday’s loss to the Yankees once again underlined some of the Orioles’ lingering weaknesses on an otherwise excellent ballclub. Tyler Wells once again showed signs of serious fatigue, and as a result the club sent Wells down to Bowie on Sunday. The middle relief also struggled again on Saturday, as a result the corresponding move to sending Wells down was not bringing up another starter, but rather turning to reliever Joey Krehbiel to aid the bullpen.
Neither of these moves are sure to fix the Orioles’ pitching problems, and will certainly give Mike Elias plenty to think about ahead of Tuesday’s trade deadline. However, no reinforcements will arrive before 7pm tonight, so the Orioles will have to regroup to do what they’ve done so well this year: rebound with a win after a tough loss. In 21 home games this season immediately following a loss the Orioles are 12-9, and will look to pick up lucky win 13 tonight.
The O’s also have a chance to seal the season series against New York, which currently sits tied at six games apiece. With that in mind, Baltimore turns to Dean Kremer to close out the series. The 27-year-old will set a new career high with his 22nd start of the season tonight, but unlike Wells he is not showing signs of fatigue. Kremer’s July has been much better than his June, as he’s gone from a 5.91 ERA last month to a 2.92 ERA in his four starts this month. The fourth-year starter has also enjoying his best month of the season in terms of limiting base runners, posting a miniscule WHIP (0.89) and BAA (.153).
If the Orioles are going to earn a win tonight, Kremer will have to continue his recent resurgence against the Yankees. Historically, the Evil Empire from the Bronx has been a an oppressive opponent for Kremer. In his first seven career starts against the Yankees, Kremer was 1-3 with a 5.61 ERA. However, in his last start vs. the Yanks, he delivered his best start of the season, going seven innings, allowing two runs (one earned) and collecting a career-high 10 Ks. Another effort like that tonight, and the Orioles should have their first winning season against the Yankees since 2016.
New York will oppose Kremer on the mound tonight with hard-throwing righty Luis Severino. After starting the season on the IL, the former All-Star is now in the midst of the worst season of his career. After looking back to his old self in his first two starts of the season, Severino has completely fallen off in June and July. In his last nine starts, he’s allowed less than three runs in only two of them and allowed 5+ runs in four. His last outing vs. the Orioles was undoubtedly his worst start of the season; Severino only lasted 2.2 innings while giving up 10 hits and seven runs. Like Wells, Severino’s biggest struggle this year has been giving up the long ball. His home run rate of 2.3 per nine innings would be the worst in baseball if he had enough innings to qualify.
Orioles Lineup
- Adley Rutschman (S) DH
- Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
- Anthony Santander (S) RF
- Ryan O’Hearn (L) 1B
- Austin Hays (R) CF
- Adam Frazier (L) LF
- Ramón Urías (R) 3B
- Jordan Westburg (R) 2B
- James McCann (R) C
Starting pitcher: Dean Kremer (10-4, 4.59 ERA, 1.31 WHIP)
Yankees Lineup
- Jake Bauers (L) RF
- Gleyber Torres (R) 2B
- Giancarlo Stanton (R) DH
- Anthony Rizzo (L) 1B
- Isiah Kiner-Falefa (R) 3B
- Harrison Bader (R) CF
- Greg Allen (S) LF
- Anthony Volpe (R) SS
- Kyle Higashioka (R) C
Starting pitcher: Luis Severino (2-4, 6.46 ERA, 1.73 WHIP)