After taking the first series of the season against the New York Yankees, the Baltimore Orioles are set to take on the Oakland Athletics for a three-game set in the third and final series of their latest ten-game stint at Camden Yards.
The Orioles (16-11) go into the series holding 2nd place in the AL East, and are in hot pursuit of the Boston Red Sox (17-11) for first place in the division. The O’s are currently 4-3 on their current home stand and host the A’s boasting a superb 11-4 record at OPACY so far on the year.
The Athletics (13-16) are going through a bit of a rough patch as of late, going 3-7 in their last ten games and come into OPACY in the middle of a current four-game skid. The A’s are now in 4th place in the AL West and find themselves 4.5 back of the Seattle Mariners (17-11) for first place. Don’t write this series off as an automatic two out of three however, as the A’s own just a 5-11 record at the Oakland Coliseum but an impressive 8-5 record on the road this season.
The Orioles’ strong showing in the opening weeks has been fueled by Manny Machado (.342, 13 2B, 7 HR, 16 RBI), Mark Trumbo (.324, 3 2B, 8 HR, 22 RBI) and a potent offense that ranks 7th in runs per game (4.2), 2nd in batting average (.264), 2nd in OBP (.326) and 3rd in HR (36), but the O’s pitching has really stepped up their game as of late, and the starting rotation has been phenomenal after getting off to a rough start in the first few weeks of the season. The O’s come into the series ranked 4th in total ERA (3.59), 6th in WHIP (1.27), 7th in OBP (.317) and tied for 7th in BAA (.244), while the Orioles starters’ ERA has dropped to a season-low 4.31, good for 8th in the AL. The O’s starting five also rank 6th in WHIP (1.28) and OBP (.321), and 9th in BAA (.252).
Led by Jed Lowrie (.315, 5 2B, 0 HR, 15 RBI), Josh Reddick (.260, 5 2B, 4 HR, 12 RBI), Khris Davis (.233, 2 2B, 6 HR, 14 RBI) and Marcus Semien (.209, 1 2B, 7 HR, 12 RBI), the Oakland A’s offense comes into Baltimore ranked just 11th in runs per game (3.5), 12th in batting average (.235) and dead last in OBP (.287). To call these guys a free-swinging club would be an understatement, but they pull it off pretty well as they are ranked 7th in the AL in HR (31).
Oakland’s pitching staff comes into the series ranked 9th in the AL in total ERA (3.89), 9th in OBP (.322), and 10th in BAA (.255), but they are racking up the K’s in impressive fashion, as their 231 staff Ks rank 4th in the AL. However, they do have an upper hand on the Orioles in one unexpected category: the bullpen.
The Orioles iron-clad bullpen ranks 6th in the AL in innings pitched (91.2), 8th in BAA (.230), and 3rd in ERA (2.45), but the A’s relievers, led by Ryan Madson (8 saves, 1.32 ERA, 1.10 WHIP), John Axford (2-1, 1.29 ERA, 0.93 WHIP) and Fernando Rodriguez (1-0, 1.04 ERA, 0.92 WHIP), rank 2nd in IP (99.0), 3rd in OBP (.282), tied for 4th in WHIP (1.10) and 5th in ERA (2.82).
Now, let’s take a look at the projected starters:
Ubaldo Jimenez (1-3, 5.20 ERA) is set to take on A’s southpaw Rich Hill (3-3, 2.53 ERA) in the opening game of the series on Friday. The 32-year-old Jimenez has a 3-1 career record versus the Athletics despite owning a 5.28 ERA and a 1.61 WHIP against them over six starts. The former All-Star last faced Oakland in the O’s 8-6 win over the A’s on August 14th, 2015, in which he allowed four runs on nine hits over five innings with two walks and six strikeouts.
Hill, on the other hand, has been one of the coolest stories in baseball over the past year. After resurrecting his career in Boston last year, the 36-year-old has posted a 3-3 record with a stellar 2.53 ERA so far this season for the A’s and is 2-1 with a phenomenal 1.42 ERA over his last three starts. Go add him on your fantasy teams, everybody!
Hill also has a career 0.60 ERA and vicious 0.73 WHIP over 11 games (1 start) versus Baltimore. In his only start against the O’s on September 25th, 2015, Hill threw a dominant two-hit complete game shutout with one walk and ten strikeouts in the Red Sox 7-0 win.
Mike Wright (1-2, 5.18 ERA) is slated to go against Jesse Hahn (1-0, 0.00 ERA) on Saturday. This meeting will mark the first time that either of these pitchers will have faced the opposing ball club in their young careers. Wright, 26, is coming off of his best start of the season against Chicago on April 29th, in which he allowed just two runs on five hits over six innings with two walks and six Ks in the O’s 6-3 win. Hahn, 26, was lights-out in his first start of the season against Houston on April 30th, allowing just three hits over 6.2 shutout innings with four strikeouts in the A’s 2-0 win.
The red-hot Chris Tillman (3-1, 2.81 ERA) will take the mound in the series finale against Kendall Graveman (1-3, 4.40 ERA) on Sunday. In five starts against Oakland, Tillman is 2-0 with a stellar 2.25 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. In his last start versus the A’s on August 17th, 2015, the Anaheim native allowed just two runs on three hits over seven innings with three Ks in the Orioles’ 4-2 victory. Graveman, 25, is 0-1 with a dreadful 7.59 ERA and 1.59 WHIP over four games against the O’s in his career. The Alabama native was chased early after getting tagged in his last start against the O’s on August 16th, 2015, allowing six runs on eight hits over 3.1 innings with four K’s in the O’s 18-2 annihilation of the A’s.
If you’d ask me if I’d bet on Machado, currently 2nd in the AL in hits (38), batting average (.342), doubles (13), slugging % (.649) and 3rd in OPS (1.045) and T-3rd in HR (7), cooling down against Oakland, I’d answer with a resounding ‘’no’’. The 23-year-old boasts a stellar .315 batting average with 15 runs, 7 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI and a .363 OBP in just 23 games against the A’s.
But the Orioles superstar isn’t the only one that sticks a thorn in Oakland’s side. Chris Davis has posted the most hits (60), runs (33), HR (15) and RBI (46) that he’s recorded against a non-AL East opponent along with a .286 batting average and a .360 OBP in 59 games versus the A’s. Adam Jones is a career .267 hitter with 30 runs, 10 2B, 11 HR and 39 RBI in 70 games against Oakland, while the red-hot Jonathan Schoop has posted a .341 batting average and a .383 OBP with four doubles, one home run and three RBI in 12 games against the A’s.
The O’s face a familiar trio in the likes of Jed Lowrie, Josh Reddick and Billy Butler, with all of them having more than their fair share of success against O’s pitching.
Lowrie, 32, is just a .211 career hitter against the O’s, but the Salem, Oregon native and Stanford alum has recorded 16 runs, 9 2B, 3 HR, 21 RBI and a .315 OBP over just 40 games.
Reddick, 29, has developed a decent reputation as an Oriole killer over the years and comes into the upcoming series boasting an impressive .295 batting average with the fifth-most hits (36) and 2B (10) and the fourth-most HR (8) that he’s recorded against a single club along with 20 runs scored and 20 RBI in 41 games.
Butler, 30, is not-so-fondly remembered as a long-time Oriole slayer during his tenure with the Kansas City Royals, as the Floridian slugger comes into the series owning a superb .303 batting average with 71 hits, 32 runs, 19 2B, 38 RBI, a .360 OBP and the fifth-most homers he’s launched against a single club with 10 over 61 career contest versus Baltimore.
Going into the first meeting of the season against the A’s, the O’s will look to pick up the blueprint on what they did against Oakland last year, as they took the season series 6-1 and outscored the Athletics 50-23. The Orioles are also 13-7 against their West Coast opponents since 2013.
Here’s to continuing that trend in 2016!
