Charlie Morton looks to stay in form and lead the Orioles to a series win over the visiting Rangers.
It’s not a coincidence that the Orioles’ improved form over the last month has been matched by Charlie Morton’s return to competence as well. Since May 26, Morton has made five starts. The Orioles have won all five of those starts, and Morton has produced a 2.42 ERA, 2.23 FIP and struck out 34 batters across 26 innings.
The 41-year-old has been a major factor in the team’s turnaround. He has both gotten the O’s back into the periphery of the playoff discussion and positioned himself to be pitching in the postseason somewhere. If the Orioles do decided to sell at next month’s deadline, Morton may be their most sought after player. The two-time World Series champ has appeared in 18 career postseason games and has a 3.60 ERA in those games. That, plus a solid regular season career, is why the Orioles wanted him, and it’s why he would be a hot commodity.
But the focus for the Orioles is on the games directly in front of them. They need to win a whole lot of them to get back into arm’s length of a wild card spot. A win tonight would give them the series and inch them ever closer to one of the many teams ahead of them in the standings.
The Rangers may be going with a bullpen game this evening. Their starter, Jacob Latz, has made just one start this year and has typically thrown one or two innings per outing. But he threw 5.2 innings of bulk relief in his most recent game, and has gone three or more innings in four different appearances this year. So it may depend on how the Orioles do against him.
Tony Mansolino isn’t shying away from a left-handed starter. Jackson Holliday, Ryan O’Hearn, and Cedric Mullins are all in the starting lineup. Lefties are hitting .143/.196/.310 against Latz this season, so either Mansolino thinks he will be in for just a short time tonight, or the skipper is opting for his gut over outcomes.
Orioles lineup
- Jackson Holliday, 2B
- Ramón Laureano, RF
- Gunnar Henderson, SS
- Gary Sánchez, C
- Ramón Urías, 3B
- Ryan O’Hearn, DH
- Coby Mayo, 1B
- Cedric Mullins, CF
- Dylan Carlson, LF
RHP Charlie Morton (4-7, 5.64 ERA)
Rangers lineup
- Josh Smith, 1B
- Wyatt Langford, LF
- Corey Seager, SS
- Marcus Semien, 2B
- Adolis García, DH
- Evan Carter, CF
- Josh Jung, 3B
- Alejandro Osuna, RF
- Kyle Higashioka, C
LHP Jacob Latz, (1-0, 3.26 ERA)