Series Preview: Orioles (11-6) @ Rays (8-10)

After taking one game out of three against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium, the Baltimore Orioles will continue the latter part of their six-game road trip against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field for a three-game set before flying back home.

The Orioles (11-6) head into Tampa with a firm early-season grip on the AL East after their trip to Kansas City. They have a 2.5-game lead on the Toronto Blue Jays, while the Rays (8-10) head back to “The Trop” in fourth place and 3.5 games behind the O’s in the AL East after dropping two of three in the Bronx against the Yankees.

The high-flying Orioles offense comes into Tampa ranked 1^st in the AL in average (.275), OBP (.339) and HR (27) while ranking 3^rd in runs per game (4.7), but the Rays stifling pitching staff will look to keep their visitors at bay as they try to scale back up the division. The Rays hurlers are ranked 3^rd in the AL in OBP (.289), WHIP (1.15) and Ks (167) while ranking 5^th in ERA (3.52) and 6^th in BAA (.236).

With the die set to be cast, let’s take a look at the starters:

Kevin Gausman is slated to make his season debut on Monday night against the Rays’ struggling ace Chris Archer (0-4, 7.32 ERA). In nine games (seven starts) versus Tampa Bay, the 25-year-old Gausman is 2-3 with a 6.16 ERA and a 1.76 WHIP. The Colorado native took a no-decision in his last outing in a 7-6 Rays win on September 20^th, 2015 in which he allowed four runs on eight hits over six innings with one walk and six Ks. Archer, 27, is 2-5 with a 5.03 ERA and 1.50 WHIP in ten outings versus the O’s, and in his last start against Baltimore on April 8^th, the Raleigh native allowed a career-high four homers and six runs total on ten hits over five innings with two walks and five Ks in the Orioles’ 6-1 victory.

[Related: Orioles Rotation Needs Spark from Kevin Gausman]

Ubaldo Jimenez (1-1, 3.71 ERA) will take the mound on Tuesday versus Jake Odorizzi (0-1, 3.97 ERA). Jimenez, 32, is 4-1 with an outstanding 2.56 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP in five starts versus Tampa, and in his last start against the Rays on May 8^th, 2014, the Dominican veteran allowed just one run on seven hits over 5.1 innings with two walks and three Ks in the O’s 3-1 win. Odorizzi, 26, is 2-3 with a 4.94 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP over nine games versus Baltimore. In his last start against the O’s, the former Royals prospect allowed four runs on nine hits over six innings with four strikeouts in an O’s 5-3 victory on April 10^th.

Chris Tillman (1-1, 4.42 ERA) will get the nod in the series finale against Matt Moore (1-1, 3.60 ERA). Tillman, 28, is 6-9 with a 4.19 ERA and 1.19 WHIP over 21 career starts versus Tampa. The Anaheim native allowed just one run on four hits over five innings with four Ks against the Rays on April 8^th, in a 6-1 victory. In nine career starts against Baltimore, Moore is 4-4 with a 3.83 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. The 26-year-old southpaw was phenomenal in his last start versus the O’s on September 17^th, 2015, allowing just two hits over seven shutout innings with nine Ks, but got a no-decision in the O’s 4-3 comeback win.

Gausman, Jimenez, and Tillman will look to improve upon the O’s woeful starting rotation numbers in the upcoming series. On the year, the O’s starters are ranked 13^th in the AL in OBP (.345), WHIP (1.42) and BAA (.284), 14^th in ERA (5.32) and last in IP (86.1) and Ks (69), while the Tampa rotation has posted a solid 3.80 ERA and is ranked 1^st in Ks (121) and 3^rd in WHIP (1.17) and OBP (.289).

Both teams have very good bullpens, but the advantage leans heavily in favor of the O’s so far this season. The Rays bullpen is ranked 6^th in the AL in OBP (.282) and 7^th in BAA (.223), WHIP (1.12) and ERA (2.94), but the O’s outstanding bullpen has been lights out all year and ranks 5^th in OBP (.278) and WHIP (1.09), 4^th in BAA (.202) and 2^nd in ERA (1.72).

On the other side of the plate, you can bet that the O’s ‘’Big Three’’ of Manny Machado (.380, 16 R, 8 2B, 6 HR, 11 RBI), Mark Trumbo (.373, 12 R, 5 HR, 16 RBI) and Chris Davis (.230, 17 R, 6 HR, 13 RBI) are playing with the confidence that they can mash against whoever the opposition throws on the mound on any given night. And as for the O’s opponent in this match-up, they’re not alone, as the O’s have a few other sluggers that love to light it up versus Tampa.

Matt Wieters is not only a .317 hitter against the Rays, but has recorded more runs (39), homers (15) and RBI (56) versus the Rays than any other club he’s faced. Adam Jones is a career .267 hitter versus Tampa with 22 doubles, 17 homers and 62 RBI in 134 games. And J.J. Hardy has recorded more hits (92) versus the Rays than any other club in his career along with a .275 average, eight home runs and 33 RBI in 88 games.

Even though the Rays aren’t currently lighting it up at the plate as a whole with a .227 batting average and a .291 OBP while scoring 3.6 runs per game (12^th in the AL), they still have a few hitters that are starting to catch fire amongst their ranks. Just to name a few, 3B Evan Longoria (.253, 6 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI) is as deadly as ever, while 2B Logan Forsythe (.303, 5 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI) is in fine form as well. But the real danger threats at the moment are OF Steven Souza (.291, 2 2B, 5 HR, 11 RBI) and DH Corey Dickerson (.259, 5 2B, 5 HR, 9 RBI).

It all starts with the heart and soul of Tampa in Longoria. The 30-year-old native of Downey, California crushes the O’s, along with the rest of the division. In his career, the superstar third baseman is a .267 hitter with 35 2B, 30 HR (the most he’s hit against a single opponent) and 83 RBI in 127 games versus Baltimore. And he’s not the only Oriole killer in Tampa. Forsythe, 29, is a .317 hitter versus Baltimore with eight doubles, five homers, and 13 RBI in 36 games, and super utility man Brandon Guyer (.346, 5 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI) is a .311 hitter with ten doubles, three homers and eight RBI in 33 games against Baltimore.

From 2014 to this point in 2016, the O’s are 24-16 against their southern foes, and have gone 14-8 at “The Trop” during that span. Can the O’s continue their great run of form against the Rays? After a humbling trip to KC, here’s to the O’s flying home on a high note!