The home stand continues.
The Orioles are set to welcome their second consecutive opponent from across the country, as the Arizona Diamondbacks follow the San Francisco Giants.
After clinching back-to-back series wins for the first time this season, Baltimore is looking to carry its offensive firepower from the weekend into the second series of the home stand.
However, an inconsistent track record at the plate mixed with a formidable National League opponent will make this as tough a series as any for the Birds.
Baltimore is the final destination of a nine-game road trip for the Diamondbacks, which they are currently 4-2 on. They, like the O’s, are coming off back-to-back series wins after taking two of three from both the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets. Arizona did not allow Philadelphia or New York to score more than four runs once across the six-game stretch, a testament to their strong pitching staff. A season ago, the D-Backs finished 80-82, but are looking to return to their 2023 form, which saw them come up short in the World Series.
Dean Kremer will make his season debut as the series gets under way. Baltimore’s 30-year-old right-hander began the season with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides, but was eventually recalled amid Zach Eflin’s season-ending elbow injury. Kremer recorded a 2.89 ERA in two starts with Norfolk this season. He has struggled against Arizona in his career, allowing six runs in his last start versus the D-Backs and accruing a 7.84 career ERA against them.
In the opposing dugout, right-handed Ryne Nelson will open the series for Arizona. Nelson, 28, has a 4.20 ERA and 1.067 WHIP in three starts for the Diamondbacks this season. The veteran delivered his most impressive start of the season on April 8, when he allowed just one run through 5 ⅔ innings against the Mets. Baltimore’s two most premier hitters, Pete Alonso and Gunnar Henderson, are a combined 7-for-15 against Nelson in their major league careers.
Orioles fans will get another episode of the Trevor Rogers show on Tuesday. Rogers, who has not lost a start in 2026, has yet to allow more than two earned runs in an outing this season. His 1.89 ERA through three starts ranks 10th among American League pitchers with at least 15 innings thrown. Current Arizona hitters possess a .121 combined career batting average against Baltimore’s ace, an encouraging sign for the middle match of the three-game series.
Rogers will face Arizona’s right-hander Merrill Kelly, who was recently reinstated from the team’s 15-day injured list and is set to make his season debut on Tuesday. Kelly, 37, spent seven seasons with Diamondbacks before being sent to the Texas Rangers at last year’s deadline. Over the offseason, the two parties reunited on a two-year contract and it was expected he would be featured on the mound for Arizona’s Opening Day. Kelly posted a 3.52 ERA across 32 starts last season.
As he did against the Chicago White Sox, Kyle Bradish will close out Baltimore’s series. Bradish is coming off his best start of the season, tossing a season-high seven strikeouts and holding Chicago to two earned runs. Command has been a struggle early in Bradish’s 2026 season, but things seemingly started to click in his most recent start. Bradish is making his fourth start of the season, hoping to wash away his early season woes and build on his seven-strikeout start.
Against Bradish, however, the Orioles will face their first left-handed pitcher of the 2026 season—Eduardo Rodriguez. Baltimore will miss the lefty-killing bats of Ryan Mountcastle and Tyler O’Neill for this one. Rodriguez has been nothing short of dominant this season after starting and winning the World Baseball Classic final for Team Venezuela. The 33-year-old lefty has notched a league-leading 0.50 ERA through three starts, letting up just one earned run in 18 innings. Rodriguez poses the most dangerous pitcher that Baltimore will face to date.
Birds to Watch
Pete Alonso, 1B
O’s new first baseman Pete Alonso has struggled mightily to start his first campaign in Baltimore.
That was, of course, until Sunday’s contest against the Giants.
Alonso raked two hits in the game, one of which was an RBI double in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Orioles a 4-1 lead over San Francisco.
Sunday marked the second time this season that Alonso has reached base three times in a game.
The question now becomes: can he expand on his hot Sunday performance against an Arizona team that he bats .216 against in his major league career?
The veteran is at least in position to have a strong series opener, considering he has four career home runs in 11 at-bats against Nelson, Arizona’s opening starter.
Blaze Alexander, INF
It’s revenge season for O’s infielder Blaze Alexander.
Baltimore’s 26-year-old utility man, who is starting Monday night’s contest at third base, was acquired by the team from Arizona over the offseason.
The Orioles sent right-handed reliever Kade Strowd in return for Alexander, who is hitting .242 through 11 games with Baltimore.
He was seldom featured in Baltimore’s previous series against the Giants—starting at third base on Friday, but not appearing in either of the next two games of the series.
Now, he gets a chance to face the organization that drafted him back in 2018 and hopefully escape the mini-slump he has dealt with in April, where he has hit .182 (4-for-22) across the month.
Kyle Bradish, RHP
Will this finally be the start that Bradish looks like Bradish?
Well, that’s what O’s fans are desperately searching for, and history suggests they may be in luck.
Current Arizona hitters have a combined .211 batting average and eight strikeouts against Bradish in their career. Ketel Marte is the only current D-Back to notch a double on Baltimore’s right-hander.
Bradish has faced Arizona once in his career, a six-strikeout, two-earned run win back in September 2023.
This season, Baltimore’s co-ace has had some hiccups.
Bradish has allowed eight earned runs and walked nine batters through three starts, though he finally earned his first win of the year.
Coming off a major injury a season ago, he is obviously still figuring things out.
But, it will be crucial to see if the 29-year-old righty can finally settle in this season and deliver the dominance Birdland knows he has in his arsenal.
Keys to the Series
Drive. Runners. In.
Despite their offensive escalation against San Francisco, the O’s still struggled with runners in scoring position. Across their last three games, Baltimore hit 4-for-29 (.138) with RISP and left a whopping 25 runners on base. Wins are wins, but that simply isn’t sustainable. And, it especially will not be sustainable against the Diamondbacks, who are 9th in hits with RISP (35), 2nd in doubles with RISP (13) and 10th in RBIs with RISP (52).
Continue the overall offensive efficiency
The Orioles’ 20 combined hits over the last two games has been a breath of fresh air, absence of clutch aside. Baltimore’s batters, especially in the bottom of the lineup, just looked more comfortable from the plate. Keep it up, because Arizona is built just like San Francisco. The Diamondbacks rank second-to-last in home runs this season, yet rank third in doubles and own a winning record. Arizona has exceeded five runs in three of their 11 games in April.
Tax the starters, Arizona’s bullpen is hot
Baltimore is coming off a series in which they taxed San Francisco’s unstable bullpen six runs across three games. Against Arizona, however, they will need to score early. The Diamondbacks’ bullpen has not allowed an earned run in its last four games and have allowed just three earned runs since April 3. Considering their offensive playstyle throughout the new season, it will be tough, but the O’s will need to add runs in the first half of games if they want a shot at winning a third consecutive series.
