The Baltimore Orioles return home after a 5-5 road trip to kick of a seven-game home stand.
Starting July 4, the Orioles will look for some fireworks on this home stand, the final one before the All-Star break.
Lately, the Orioles have been getting stellar pitching performances from their starters but are not taking advantage of scoring opportunities.
Over the last six games, Oriole starters have allowed five earned runs in 33.1 innings (1.35 ERA), as they have paved the way for the team.
The Orioles will start the series with Dean Kremer, who carries an 18.2-inning streak of not allowing a run.
The Rangers counter with Dane Dunning, who leads the leagues in hit batters (Trey Mancini beware) and carries a 5.28 road ERA into the Independence Day series opener.
To round out the series, the Orioles will send Austin Voth (a bullpen game) and Spenser Watkins out to round out the series.
Texas counters with a yet to be determined starter Tuesday and Glenn Otto to end the series.
The Orioles are batting .210 across thier last 10 games, while the pitching staff has a collective 2.65 ERA. The good news, the Orioles outscored their opponents by nine runs over that same period.
❌-Factor:
For the Orioles to take full advantage of the opening home series, the bullpen is going to have to step up and return to their dominant role again.
The starters have been stellar over the last six games, but the team has come away with a 2-4 record, partly because of two blown saves and the bullpen not being able to lock down when it mattered most.
As one of the better bullpens in the majors, the bullpen will need to stop it up and return to form, especially with a bullpen game expected Tuesday.
The series starts today with first pitch at 1:05 p.m. EST at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. You can catch each game on MASN or on your local Orioles Radio Network station.
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