After suffering through a three-game sweep dealt by the Houston Astros, the O’s are set to conclude their nine-game road trip by taking on the Cleveland Indians for a three-game set at Jacobs Field Progressive Field.
The Orioles (26-19) are going through a bit of a rough patch at the moment and head into Cleveland on a season-high four game losing skid and have dropped seven of their last ten ballgames. The Orioles will also be looking to gain back some momentum against the Indians after posting just a 2-4 record on their current road trip and improve upon their 9-11 mark away from Camden Yards.
After getting blanked in Houston, the Birds will head into ‘’ The Rock & Roll Capital of the World” currently placing second in the AL East and two games behind the Boston Red Sox (29-18).
The Indians (25-20) are on an excellent run of form as of late and are set to host the Birds in the middle of a three-game winning streak and have triumphed in seven of their last ten contests. The Indians recent surge has pulled them to just half a game behind the Chicago White Sox (27-21) for first place in the AL Central.
Let’s take a glance at the starters during this three-game set:
Mike Wright (2-3, 4.97 ERA) will get the first chance at stopping the Orioles current losing streak against Trevor Bauer (3-2, 4.31 ERA) on Friday night.
Wright, 26, is set to make his first career start versus Cleveland in this match-up, and will look to build upon his recent progression that he’s made lately. In his last two starts, Wright has allowed just four earned runs on eight hits over 12.1 innings of work with nine Ks, resulting in an impressive 2.97 ERA. He’s also allowed just two earned runs in three of his last four starts.
Bauer, 25, has posted a 0-2 record with an inflated 6.35 ERA over two starts versus the O’s in his career. In his last start against the Birds, the native Californian and USC alum allowed four runs on five hits over seven innings with one walk and five K’s in a 4-0 loss on June 28th, 2015.
Ubaldo Jimenez (2-5, 6.04 ERA) will attempt to get his season back on track against the Indians up-and-coming ace Danny Salazar (4-3, 2.32 ERA) on Saturday.
Jimenez, who played in Cleveland from 2011 to 2013, has posted a 1-2 record with a 5.06 ERA versus his former club over four starts, but the 32-year-old was absolutely fantastic against the Tribe last season. In just two starts, the Dominican veteran went 1-0 and allowed just one run on ten hits over 13 innings of work with 12 Ks versus Cleveland in 2015, registering a microscopic 0.69 ERA. In his last outing against the Indians on June 28th, 2015, Jimenez allowed just four hits over a sparkling eight innings of shutout baseball with zero walks and seven strikeouts in a 4-0 victory.
Salazar has been tremendous in his first two career starts versus Baltimore, posting a 1-0 record with a 2.25 ERA. In his last start against the O’s, the 26-year-old Dominican allowed just one run on six hits over seven innings with just one walk to ten strikeouts in a 2-1 Indians victory on June 6th, 2015.
Orioles golden ace Chris Tillman (6-1, 2.61 ERA) is set to take on Indians rookie Mike Clevinger (0-1, 8.71 ERA) in the series finale on Sunday.
Tillman has been in outstanding form over his past seven starts, registering a perfect 5-0 record with a 1.94 ERA, and will be looking to continue that trend against a club that he dominated last season. In two starts versus Cleveland in 2015, the Anaheim native went 2-0 and allowed just two runs on ten hits over 13.1 innings with nine Ks, resulting in an outstanding 1.37 ERA. In last outing against the Tribe in the second game of a double header on June 28th, 2015, Tillman allowed only four hits over seven superb shutout innings with zero walks and six K’s in the Orioles decisive 8-0 triumph.
In his career, the 28-year-old All-Star has recorded a 4-2 record with a solid 3.89 ERA over seven starts against the Indians. Here’s to making that 5-2 on Sunday!
Clevinger, 25, has had a rough welcoming to the big leagues in his first two career starts after making his debut in the show on May 18th versus Cincinnati. In his last start against the White Sox on May 23rd, the Florida native allowed six runs on seven hits over five innings with three walks and four Ks in a 7-6 loss.
Now, let’s take a look at how these two teams match-up:
Despite the Orioles recent offensive struggles, they will always pose a threat to opposing ball clubs with the likes of Manny Machado (.309, 17 2B, 13 HR, 28 RBI), Mark Trumbo (.279, 5 2B, 14 HR, 32 RBI) and Chris Davis (.229, 8 2B, 10 HR, 27 RBI) in their midst along with a red-hot Matt Wieters (.292, 6 2B, 4 HR, 16 RBI) and Jonathan Schoop (.265, 8 2B, 8 HR, 26 RBI) supporting them. The O’s come into the Forest City ranked 6th in the AL in runs per game (4.4) and batting average (.257) while ranking 2nd in home runs (66).
But the Orioles will be facing a dangerous attack in the home dugout over the course of the next three games as well.
Led by 22-year-old phenom shortstop Francisco Lindor (.318, 8 2B, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 9 SB), two-time All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis (.279, 8 2B, 6 HR, 27 RBI) and perennial sluggers Carlos Santana (.231, 9 2B, 8 HR, 23 RBI) and Mike Napoli (.230, 9 2B, 8 HR, 30 RBI), the Tribe head into the series ranked 4th in the AL in runs per game (4.75) along with a .251 batting average (8th) and 47 HR (T-9th). These guys know how to Rock & Roll.
But the Orioles slumping offense may want to find their form promptly versus the Indians impressive pitching staff, or more directly, their starting rotation.
Led by Salazar, Josh Tomlin (7-0, 3.35 ERA- Thankfully, the O’s will avoid facing him) and former Cy-Young winner Corey Kluber (4-5, 3.78 ERA), the Indians rotation ranks 5th in the AL in total ERA (3.95), 4th in K’s (249), 2nd in batting average against (.238) and 1st in OBP against (.293).
On the year, the Indians pitching staff ranks 6th in team ERA (3.81), 5th in K’s (380), and 2nd in BAA (.235) & OBP (.300).
A Message to the Orioles: Find your bats, and put them on the charger. If we don’t, it’s going to be a long series and a long flight home.
After posting just a 12-17 record versus Cleveland from 2011 to 2014, the Orioles finally took it to their upcoming hosts by taking 5 of 6 games against the Tribe in 2015 and outscored them 29-10 in the process.
Here’s to breaking out of this slump and picking up a few much-needed wins in Cleveland before heading back to the yard!
