After taking two of three against the Boston Red Sox in Beantown, tShe Baltimore Orioles (7-1) will look to continue their fantastic run of form against the Texas Rangers (5-5) in a four-game set at Globe Life Park in Arlington before heading back to Camden to host the Toronto Blue Jays.
Before we get too carried away, let’s take a look at the O’s starters that are slated to take the mound in Arlington:
-Game One: Chris Tillman (1-0, 1.29 ERA) In his last start against the Rangers on July 2nd, 2014, Tillman allowed three runs on seven hits over 5 2/3 innings with four walks and two strikeouts in a no-decision in a game the O’s won 6-4. Over six career starts against Texas, Tillman has posted a 3-1 record with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. Rangers ace Cole Hamels (2-0, 2.08 ERA) will be his adversary on Thursday.
-Game Two: Vance Worley (0-0, 3.86 ERA) The 28-year-old Worley will be making just his second career start against the Rangers on Friday night. In his first start versus Texas on April 25th, 2013, Worley allowed two runs on six hits over five innings with three Ks in a 2-1 loss.
-Game Three: Yovani Gallardo (1-0, 5.40 ERA) The O’s 30-year-old veteran will be facing his 2015 club on Saturday, and he’s faced them just once over the course of his ten-year career. Gallardo’s only career start against the Rangers on June 14th, 2010, and he allowed four runs on six hits over six innings despite racking up ten Ks in a 7-2 Brewers loss.
-Game Four: Mike Wright (1-0, 7.20 ERA) Wright, 26, will be making his first career start against the Rangers on Sunday. Unfortunately, he’s facing off against southpaw Derek Holland, who threw a complete game shutout, allowed just three hits, and struck out eleven O’s batters in his last start against Baltimore on 8/30/15 in a 6-0 win.
Let’s take a look at a few of the O’s that have loved to face off against the Rangers in the past:
– Mark Trumbo: It’s no secret that the red-hot Trumbo (.406, 2 HR, 5 RBI) is a thorn in the side of the Texas Rangers after facing them regularly as a member of the Los Angeles Angels and the Seattle Mariners. Against Texas, Trumbo has recorded more hits (72), doubles (17), homers (14) and RBI (49) than he has against any other club.
– Adam Jones: Even though he didn’t start a game against Boston, he came on to make two late-game defensive appearances versus the Red Sox and may return to the line-up on Thursday after being out of it for six straight games with a rib cage ailment. In 68 career games against the Rangers, Jones has racked up plenty of hits (73), home runs (12) and RBI (41), the highest totals he’s recorded against a non AL-East opponent, with an outstanding .304 average and .347 OBP.
– Chris Davis: Ok, I know. He’s a career .189 hitter against his former club and only has four home runs and 10 RBI in twenty-six games against the Rangers, but I always pull for ”Crush” whenever the O’s head to his home state. The Longview, Texas native grew up just two hours away from the Rangers ballpark, and you can be sure these trips to Texas mean a lot for the 30-year-old slugger.
Now let’s talk about the difference in our two stables of pitchers, because it’s becoming a bit worrisome.
The O’s Bullpen has been razor sharp to begin the campaign and as a result, they are third in the league in innings (32.1), and fourth in ERA (1.67), WHIP (1.05), and OBP (.273) along with racking up 33 Ks (6th) and allowing opposing hitters to hit just .207 so far on the year. They are also the main reason the O’s have the sixth best ERA in the majors (3.04) so far this season.
But, the starting pitching has been pretty disappointing. With just one quality start in eight games, the O’s pitchers have combined to throw 38.2 innings – not even five per start. On top of that, after getting knocked around in Boston, the rotation’s ERA has ballooned to 4.19 along with a 1.32 WHIP and a .267 BAA. That’s just not getting the job done, and the lack of quality starting pitching will eventually wear down and burn out a bullpen as the season goes on, no matter how good they are. Out of all people, O’s fans probably know that better than mostly everyone…here’s to not letting history repeat itself.
Enjoy the upcoming four game stint in Texas everyone! After this, the O’s will be flying back to the yard!
