The Orioles are back at Camden Yards for the first time since July 29 to begin a four-game series against the surging Boston Red Sox.
The Orioles (35-80) finished their recent road trip at 3-6, and their offensive output was the lone bright spot over that stretch. Over their last 12 outings, the Orioles have pushed 80 runs across the plate, good for an average of 6.6 runs per game.
The MLB-best Red Sox (81-35) are now running away with the division as we head into mid-August, owning an eight-game lead over the second place Yankees. On top of posting a 13-5 record since the end of the All-Star Break, the Red Sox have an outstanding 25-7 record since the beginning of July.
Dylan Bundy (7-10, 4.38 ERA) will match-up against Nate Eovaldi (5-4, 3.38 ERA) in tonight’s series opener.
Bundy turned in a solid performance during his last start in Texas, but took the loss despite having allowed just one earned run over six innings. Over his last five starts, Bundy has gone 1-3 with a 6.75 ERA.
Eovaldi was sublime during his last start against the Yankees and allowed just three hits over eight shutout innings en route to his fifth win of the season. He’s now won back-to-back starts while notching 15 scoreless innings since moving to Boston, and he owns a stellar 4-1 record and 2.32 ERA over his last seven appearances.
Yefry Ramirez (1-4, 5.66 ERA) is expected to take on David Price (11-6, 3.93 ERA) in game one of Saturday’s double-header, but the starters for game two on Saturday night are still TBD.
Ramirez was tagged for five runs over just 1 2/3 innings during his last start against the Rangers, and will be looking to bounce back into form against the Red Sox. After starting his Orioles tenure in fine form, Ramirez has posted a 10.80 ERA over 11 2/3 innings during his last three contests.
Price took the no-decision in the Red Sox eventual win over the Yankees in his last start after allowing two runs on four hits over six innings. Price has been in outstanding form during his last four starts as he’s posted a 2-0 record and a 2.00 ERA over his last 27 innings combined.
Alex Cobb (3-14, 5.55 ERA) will go up against Chris Sale (11-4, 2.04 ERA) in Sunday’s series finale.
Cobb took a tough-luck no-decision after allowing just a single earned run over seven innings against the Rays, but will look to stay in red-hot form against the Red Sox. Over his last five starts, Cobb has recorded a superb 2.37 ERA over 30 1/3 innings.
Sale has been sensational all season long, but has been simply out of this world in recent memory. After blanking the Twins over six innings during his last start, Sale now owns a perfect 5-0 record and a microscopic 0.59 ERA over his last seven contests. During that span, he’s allowed just three runs over 46 innings of work while also notching a whopping 78 strikeouts.
That’s it for now, folks!
Here’s to the weekend.
