The O’s will try not to get swept in the afternoon finale in Minnesota. I’m not particularly optimistic.
Another day, another Orioles game. Yay?
The Orioles will attempt to avoid suffering their second sweep of the season today. The last time they were in the same predicament, April 27 in Detroit, Dean Kremer failed to stave off the sweep in a 7-0 loss. Today it’s again Kremer who is being asked to play stopper, hopefully with a better result. The outlook isn’t great. Kremer has been dreadful on the road this season, with an 8.17 ERA in five outings (compared to 0.73 in two home starts).
Even if Kremer somehow puts together a quality start today, he might not get enough offense to support him. The O’s scored only three runs in the first two games of the series, including a particularly inept performance last night in which they turned 11 baserunners into just two runs.
The Birds had been scheduled to face Joe Ryan and his 2.93 ERA today, but he was scratched due to illness. Bailey Ober (4-1, 3.72) will start instead. Will the O’s take advantage of getting to face a pitcher who is somewhat inferior to Ryan? I think we all know the answer to that question, but let’s pretend we don’t.
Orioles lineup:
SS Gunnar Henderson
2B Jackson Holliday
RF Ryan O’Hearn
1B Ryan Mountcastle
CF Ramón Laureano
LF Heston Kjerstad
DH Coby Mayo
3B Emmanuel Rivera
C Maverick Handley
RHP Dean Kremer
Twins lineup:
CF Byron Buxton
DH Trevor Larnach
2B Brooks Lee
1B Ty France
SS Carlos Correa
RF Willi Castro
3B Royce Lewis
LF Harrison Bader
C Christian Vázquez
RHP Bailey Ober