After a nightmare of a visit to the Bronx, the Orioles will now fly home to take on the Cleveland Indians for a three-game set starting Friday in the opener of a six-game home stand.
The upcoming clash of the O’s and Tribe will feature MLB’s best home squad as the Orioles come into the series with an amazing 33-14 record at Camden Yards. However, they will be facing off against a club that boasts an MLB-best 30-22 record on the road.
The Orioles (54-40) trail the Red Sox by half a game for first place in the division after dropping three of four in NYC, but they’ve also got the red-hot Blue Jays right on their heels and just a game behind them in third place. It’s going to be an intense second half with these three squads battling it out for first.
The Indians (56-38) have been steadily marching towards the home stretch ever since posting an incredible 22-6 record in the month of June and come into Baltimore with a seven-game lead over the Detroit Tigers for first place in the AL Central.
The last time these two teams squared off back in late May, the Orioles took two out of three at “The Jake.” The Birds own an impressive 7-2 record against the Tribe since the start of the 2015 season.
If there’s a sign of a rebound after the letdown in the city that never sleeps, it’s that the Orioles have recorded an outstanding 16-6 record against the talented AL Central this season.
Friday’s series opener will feature the 3rd and 4th overall picks of the 2011 MLB Draft, as Oklahoma native Dylan Bundy (2-2, 3.70 ERA) will take on UCLA alum Trevor Bauer (7-3, 3.36 ERA).
Bundy, 23 will be making his first career start versus the Indians after recording his long-awaited first MLB win against them on May 27th, a game in which Bundy retired four of the five batters he had faced.
Going into just his second MLB start, Bundy will be looking to rebound after allowing four runs on five hits over 3.1 innings in a 5-2 loss versus Tampa Bay on July 17th.
Bauer, 25, comes into Friday’s ballgame in the middle of a breakout season and owns an impressive 5-1 record and 2.78 ERA on the road.
However, after allowing three runs on nine hits over six innings versus the O’s on May 27th, the North Hollywood native has recorded a 0-2 record with a 5.71 ERA in three starts against the Birds.
Kevin Gausman (1-7, 4.05 ERA) will take the mound against Josh Tomlin (10-2, 3.34 ERA) in Saturday’s contest.
Gausman will be making just his second career start versus the Tribe and his first since August 17th, 2014, in which the Colorado native allowed just one run on a measly two hits over six innings in a 4-1 victory.
The resurgent Tomlin is having a phenomenal career year at the age of 31 and has earned the tag of “Road Warrior” this season, registering a perfect 6-0 mark with a stellar 2.44 ERA away from The Jake. In his last start on July 18th, the native Texan allowed just one run on six hits over 7.2 innings with one walk and four K’s in a 6-1 victory versus Minnesota.
The Texas Tech alum will be making his first start versus the Birds in over four years. He owns a 5.02 ERA in six games (five starts) against the O’s in his career while hitters are batting .328 against him.
Vance Worley (2-1, 3.16 ERA) will take on 2014 AL Cy Young winner Corey Kluber (9-8, 3.42 ERA) in the series finale on Sunday.
Worley will be making his first MLB start versus Cleveland after facing them for the first time and allowing just one earned run on two hits over 4.1 innings in an 11-4 loss on May 28th.
The CSU Long Beach alum will look to shake off his last outing, when he allowed three runs on three hits over 4.1 innings along with four walks to just three strikeouts in a 7-1 loss against New York.
The 30-year-old Kluber has been hitting his Cy Young caliber form as of late, and has been practically unhittable over his last five starts. During that span, the Stetson University alum has recorded a 3-1 record with a sparkling 2.04 ERA while racking up 36 K’s over 35.1 innings.
Over his last three outings, Kluber is a perfect 2-0 with a microscopic 0.56 ERA.
In four career starts versus the Orioles, the Birmingham native has registered a 1-1 record and a 3.42 ERA. In his last start against them on June 26th, 2015, Kluber allowed three runs on seven hits over seven innings while striking out ten in the process but received a no-decision in the 4-3 loss.
The Orioles pitching staff that ranks eighth in the AL in total ERA (4.31) and a lowly 14th in starter ERA (5.06) will have a tough task on their hands in silencing a line-up that includes 22-year-old star shortstop Francisco Lindor (.299, 12 HR, 49 RBI), two-time All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis (.285, 16 HR, 52 RBI), perennial sluggers Mike Napoli (.249, 22 HR, 67 RBI) and Carlos Santana (.255, 21 HR, 54 RBI) and with speedster Rajai Davis (.263, 9 HR, 35 RBI, 24 SB). The Indians boast the third-best scoring offense in the AL (5.02 runs per game) while ranking fourth in the American League in home runs (125).
But the real battle to watch will be the one between the O’s semi-slumping sluggers and the Indians superb stable of starters. The Indians starting rotation comes into Baltimore with the lowest ERA (3.57), BAA (.236), OBP (.290) and WHIP (1.16) in the AL and the second-most strikeouts (535).
This has the potential to be not only an excellent mid-season clash, but a preview of an October match-up as well…so in other words, don’t miss it for the world, folks! Even though the schedule says that this is the last meeting between these two clubs, I have a feeling that their paths may soon cross again…
But in the meantime, here’s to bouncing back at Camden Yards this weekend!
