Look alive, folks, we’ve got some morning baseball for ya.
The Orioles won’t have to linger too long on yesterday’s demoralizing loss to the Yankees. They’re back in action before lunchtime today, squaring off in the 11:35 rubber game airing on Roku TV. It’s the Orioles’ first morning game of the season but not their last; they’ll play another 11:35 game in Atlanta two weeks from today.
Today’s result will decide not only a series win or loss against the Yankees, but also whether the O’s emerge from their seven-game AL East road trip with a winning record. There’d be some measure of pride for the Orioles in surviving a tough trip with their head above water, not that a bunch of 4-3 weeks are going to get them back into the postseason race.
For that to happen, the O’s will need a better performance from their starting pitcher. Tomoyuki Sugano and Zach Eflin both suffered miserable, abbreviated outings in the first two games against the Yankees, with Sugano chased in the fourth inning and Eflin after just three. It’s up to Dean Kremer to reverse that trend. This is his first start of the year against the Yankees but he faced them six times in the previous two seasons, going 3-0 with a 3.58 ERA.
Kremer, like most pitchers, has had trouble getting Aaron Judge out. The Yankee slugger has crushed four home runs in just 15 career at-bats against Kremer. Maybe just walk him?
Because the Orioles had to burn through so much of the bullpen in the previous two games, they made a somewhat surprising roster move to bring in a fresh arm, optioning Yenner Cano to Triple-A Norfolk and recalling Yaramil Hiraldo. Cano, as one of the few relievers with options, was the victim of a roster crunch, though it’s not as if he’s pitched particularly well this year. He has a 4.73 ERA and lately has been relegated to middle relief or mop-up outings. The former All-Star set-up man will try to regain his form in the minors, where he hasn’t pitched since April 2023. Hiraldo, who has had four days off since his last appearance for Norfolk, could potentially pitch multiple innings of relief if needed.
The Orioles’ lineup looks less intimidating without Adley Rutschman, who went on the IL yesterday, and Jordan Westburg, who left Saturday’s game with a sprained hand and might not be available today. But I’ve certainly seen weaker-looking O’s lineups that resulted in victory — including the opener of this series two days ago — so we’ll find out what happens.
Orioles lineup
2B Jackson Holliday
3B Ramón Urías
SS Gunnar Henderson
1B Ryan O’Hearn
DH Ramón Laureano
LF Colton Cowser
CF Cedric Mullins
RF Dylan Carlson
C Maverick Handley
RHP Dean Kremer
Yankees lineup
CF Trent Grisham
RF Aaron Judge
1B Ben Rice
LF Cody Bellinger
DH Giancarlo Stanton
3B Jazz Chisholm
2B DJ LeMahieu
C Austin Wells
SS Oswald Peraza
RHP Will Warren