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Series Preview: Orioles (5-8) @ Red Sox (10-2)

A shot from inside Fenway Park during a game.
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After narrowly avoiding the sweep against the Blue Jays, the Orioles will look to reel off a few notches in the win column against a red-hot Boston squad over the next four games at Fenway.

The Orioles (5-8) find themselves 5.5-games behind the ‘Sox after their incredible start to the 2018 campaign, so to pull a few of those back right away would be ideal. Thankfully, it is only April 13th. We’ve got some time to play catch up.

The Red Sox (10-2) have been firing on all cylinders to kick off the season. The ‘Sox line-up ranks third-best in the majors with 69 runs and their pitching staff ranks third in the AL with a stout 3.08 ERA. They’ll be looking to keep the fire blazing after taking two of three in a hotly-contested match-up against the Yankees earlier this week.

Chris Tillman (0-2, 8.68 ERA) will get the ball rolling against Eduardo Rodriguez (0-0, 7.36 ERA) in today’s series opener.

Tillman struggled through his last outing against the Yankees and allowed five runs on eight hits over 5 1/3 innings in an 8-3 loss. The O’s veteran hurler is still on the hunt for his first win in eleven months.

Rodriguez looked rusty during his season debut versus the Rays last week and allowed three runs on five hits over 3 2/3 innings. Interestingly enough, he notched seven strikeouts out of just eleven outs.

Alex Cobb (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his highly-anticipated Orioles debut versus Hector Velazquez (1-0, 3.12 ERA) on Saturday.

Cobb will be looking to make a big impact on the club after signing a four-year, $57 Million contract this offseason.

Velazquez will be making his first start since he shut down the Rays to the tune of one run on five hits over 5 2/3 innings on April 1st.

Dylan Bundy (0-1, 1.35 ERA) will be looking to notch his first win of the season against Chris Sale (1-0, 1.06 ERA) on Sunday.

Bundy took the loss during his last start against Toronto after giving up a two-run shot to Steve Pearce. He was magnificent outside of this and finished his outing having allowed just two runs on four hits over seven innings while recording 10 strikeouts. He’s now given up just three earned runs over his first 20 innings of 2018.

Sale dominated the Yankees during his last start and allowed just a single run on eight hits over six innings to go with eight strikeouts. The ‘Sox ace has allowed just two runs over his first 17 innings of 2018 and has notched 23 strikeouts in the process.

Andrew Cashner (1-1, 2.50 ERA) will take on Brian Johnson (1-0, 2.70 ERA) in the series finale on Monday.

Despite allowing just four hits over seven stellar shutout innings during his last start against Toronto, Cashner took the no-decision in the Orioles eventual 2-1 loss. Cashner has been rolling for the Orioles to start the season and has held opposing hitters to a lowly .194 batting average through his first three starts.

Johnson will be making his first start since he took on the Marlins on April 2nd. During that start, he allowed just a single run on six hits over six innings en route to his first win of the year.

 

Danger

Mookie Betts has been lighting the world on fire this season. The Red Sox right fielder has posted an astonishing line of a .370 batting average, 14 runs, six doubles, two homers and nine RBI through the first twelve games of 2018.

Xander Bogaerts has been just as incredible. Over just nine games, the Red Sox shortstop is hitting .368 at the plate with seven runs, seven doubles, two homers and nine RBI.

Hanley Ramirez rounds out the ‘Sox three killer B’s at the moment. On the year, The Red Sox slugger is hitting .357 with eight runs, two doubles, two homers and twelve RBI.

– In comparison, Manny Machado is the only Orioles hitter in red-hot form at the moment. The O’s star shortstop is hitting .321 with six runs, three doubles, three homers and six RBI.

 

That’s it for now, folks!

Here’s to a few in the win column.

0 Responses

  1. Xander Bogaerts is injured, and Hanley Ramirez isn’t a killer B (those were Betts, Bogaerts and Bradley Jr.).

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0 Responses

  1. Xander Bogaerts is injured, and Hanley Ramirez isn’t a killer B (those were Betts, Bogaerts and Bradley Jr.).

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Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

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