The Orioles snapped a five-game losing streak yesterday, which will stop feeling good if they start another one today.
Imagine how dire things would feel right now if the Orioles had lost to the Guardians last night! Thankfully, they did not. The Orioles stopped the losing streak. And as bad as things were over that stretch of games, the O’s lost just a half game to the Yankees. The question for them now will be where do they go from here? Getting things turned around against the Rangers is going to be crucial to feel like things have stabilized. If they don’t do that, then, y’know… it won’t feel like things have stabilized.
Corbin Burnes is certainly the guy that you want on the mound to get things continuing in the right direction. Not that Burnes pitching is always enough. The Orioles are 11-5 in Burnes starts despite Burnes not ever having an awful outing. When your worst is four runs allowed in seven innings, that’s pretty good.
Over the course of that five-game skid, it’s not like pitching was the only Orioles problem. They lost two games where they scored only one run and one game where they scored two. They’ve got to put it all together and keep winning. A below-.500 Rangers team that has scuffled through May and June will hopefully be a team that they are prepared to take advantage of getting to play here.
Orioles lineup
- Gunnar Henderson – SS
- Adley Rutschman – C
- Ryan O’Hearn – DH
- Ryan Mountcastle – 1B
- Heston Kjerstad – RF
- Jordan Westburg – 3B
- Colton Cowser – LF
- Cedric Mullins – CF
- Jorge Mateo – 2B
This is the crew that will be supporting Burnes tonight. Burnes slipped from the top spot in ERA for the AL down to fifth with his last outing. It was not an awful start, and in going seven innings he helped spare the bullpen, but it definitely wasn’t up to the standard he has set through the first half of the season with the Orioles.
The thing about having an ERA down at 2.35 is this: It’s pretty hard to go lower than that! If you give up two runs over six innings, which is a pretty good start, that ERA goes up. Two runs over seven innings, same deal. Burnes has been great to have that ERA up to this point and he’ll have to keep being great to hold at that level or go any lower.
With how the Rangers offense has performed up to this point in the season, Burnes should be better than them! On the other hand, three of the four best Texas hitters will be batting lefty, and it’s a pretty hot day at Camden Yards, so who knows.
Rangers lineup
- Marcus Semien – 2B
- Corey Seager – SS
- Josh Smith – 3B
- Adolis García – RF
- Wyatt Langford – DH
- Nathaniel Lowe – 1B
- Jonah Heim – C
- Derek Hill – LF
- Leody Taveras – CF
Texas starting pitcher Jon Gray has been pretty good this season too, if not as good as Burnes. He brings a 3.03 ERA into this game. Gray hit a real bump in the road two starts ago, as the Mets cracked him for nine runs in three innings. As we know, Orioles betters have done some solid ERA inflation for starting pitchers who’ve been doing well this year. Maybe they’ll be up to that task for Gray tonight.
Heim, the former Orioles prospect from long ago, is the birthday boy today. May he get three hits while the O’s romp to an easy victory.