After splitting their four-game set with the White Sox in Chi-Town, the Orioles are now set to conclude their road trip with a three-game set in Tampa over the weekend.
The Orioles (16-34) have gone 3-5 so far during their current stint away from Camden Yards, but seem to be determined to put their early-season misery behind them. After starting the 2018 campaign on an 8-27 note, they’ve now doubled their season win total over the last fifteen games.
The Rays (23-25) are set to host the Birds after dropping two of three against the Red Sox, but have been in solid form as of late. After going 3-8 through their first eleven games in May, they’ve now won seven of their last ten contests.
David Hess (1-1, 6.75 ERA) will get the nod against Sergio Romo (1-0, 4.34 ERA) in tonight’s series opener.
Hess will be looking to get back in the win column after giving up five runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings during his latest outing in Boston. He notched his first career win on his MLB debut against the Rays on May 12th.
Romo will be making his third straight ”start” as part of Tampa Bay’s piggyback pitching set-up. Over nine games (two starts) this month, Romo has posted a stout 3.00 ERA and has held hitters to a .206 batting average over nine innings of work.
Andrew Cashner (2-5, 4.72 ERA) will match-up against Ryne Stanek (0-0, 5.40 ERA) on Saturday.
Cashner snapped his streak of seven straight starts without a win during his last time out by holding the Chi’Sox to two runs over five innings, and will be looking for a second straight solid outing in Tampa. Over four starts this month, Cashner has gone 1-1 with a 4.64 ERA.
Stanek will be making his first ever start against the Orioles. A first round pick out of Arkansas in 2013, Stanek owns a 5.76 ERA over 27 career appearances as a reliever since making his debut in May 2017.
Kevin Gausman (3-3, 3.48 ERA) will look to record another excellent start against Sergio Romo/ Ryan Yarbrough (4-2, 3.54 ERA) in the series finale on Sunday.
Gausman shut out the White Sox over 6 1/3 innings and recorded ten strikeouts to just one walk during his last start, but was robbed of the win due to the ‘Sox late-game comeback win. The Orioles 2018 ace has been lights out with a 2.63 ERA over four starts this month, and has gone 2-2 with a sparkling 2.49 ERA over his last seven contests.
Yarbrough has been starring in his current role with the Rays, and the Rays’ unorthodox approach doesn’t seem to be coming to an end anytime soon. The rookie southpaw has allowed just two runs over his last 11 1/3 innings. Over four games (two starts) in May, Yarbrough has notched a 3-1 record and a stellar 2.95 ERA over 21 1/3 innings of work.
Notes
– Manny Machado continues to be one of the hottest hitters in baseball coming into Tampa. He’s hitting .311 with six homers and seventeen RBI over his last fifteen games.
– Adam Jones has also stayed in red-hot form this month. He’s hitting .310 with four doubles, five homers and ten RBI in May and has posted a .367 average with two homers and four RBI over his last seven contests.
– Matt Duffy is on fire at the moment. Over his last fifteen games, the Rays Third Baseman is hitting an incredible .382 (21-for-55) with one home run and seven RBI.
– Rays catcher and former National Wilson Ramos is also tearing the cover off the ball this season. He’s hitting a whopping .385 with two home runs and six RBI over his last seven ballgames and has recorded an excellent .339 average with six homers and 24 RBI over his last thirty.
That’s it for now, folks!
Here’s to coming home on a high note.
