Tonight, the Orioles head north, but not quite as far north as the title above suggests. Although the Blue Jays were cleared by city and provincial governments to play their home games in Toronto’s Rogers Centre (still thought of as the “Skydome” by traditionalists like myself), the Canadian government denied their request.
Thus, the O’s are headed to Sahlen Field in Buffalo, New York, the normal home of the Buffalo Bisons. In case you were wondering, bisons are not buffalo; there are significant differences, including the fact that bisons have a large hump at the shoulders.
Speaking of hump, it is about time for John Means to get over the hump, and start showing us that his success in the first half of 2019 was not an aberration. That will mean that Means’ ERA needs to head south, for it presently registers at 10.13.
Further, we cannot lose sight of the fact that we are at the midway point of this slice of a baseball season, and that the Orioles (14-16) have just 30 games remaining. This fact makes the pending showdown in Toron…Buffalo all the more important, for the Birds sit just a game and half behind the Blue Jays (15-14) for the 8th and final slot in MLB’s expanded playoff format.
Therefore, let’s lay a Baltimore beatdown on these Buffalo Blue Jays, and head north in the standings of the American League East!
The Orioles lineup for today is as follows:
1. Hanser Alberto (R) 3B
2. Anthony Santander (S) RF
3. Jose Iglesias (R) DH
4. Renato Núñez (R) 1B
5. Pedro Severino (R) C
6. Ryan Mountcastle (R) LF
7. Pat Valaika (R) 2B
8. Andrew Velazquez (S) SS
9. Cedric Mullins (S) CF
John Means LHP
First pitch is at 6:37 p.m. EST, and you can catch the game on MASN2 or on the radio at 105.7 The Fan!
*If you tune in at 6:36 p.m. EST expecting baseball, just wait a minute.
Let’s Go O’s!
