The Baltimore Orioles have gone from an expected 100 losses to one of the most talked about teams in the last couple months.
Ready to post back-to-back monthly winning records for the first time since 2016, this year’s Orioles are turning heads and have entered the realistic discussion of playoff possibility.
Wrapping up a 4-3 home stand over top two teams in the AL East, the Orioles are looking to spoil the ease in which many teams thought they would have when it came to facing this up-and-coming team.
For the Cincinnati Reds, it has been a different experience, as they started the season losing 20 of their first 23 games, with a 14-game losing streak in between.
With Baltimore coming to town, the Reds will send out Mike Minor, Tyler Mahle and Nick Lodolo to face a lineup that has become dangerous from top to bottom.
The Orioles will counter with Kyle Bradish (activated from the IL), Dean Kremer and Austin Voth for the series.
Of course, you’re not going to talk about the Orioles without mentioning their bullpen. One of the top bullpens in the majors, they are coming off another stellar showing, in which they allowed just two runs in 18.2 innings (0.97 ERA) against Tampa Bay.
Leading the way for the vaunted bullpen is Félix Bautista, who over his last eight games has pitched nine innings, allowing no hits, no runs, one walk and 15 strikeouts. Batters are currently 0-for-25 over that stretch against “The Mountain.”
❌️-FACTOR:
The Baltimore Battery’s ❌-FACTOR for this series is O’s infielder, Ramón Urías.
Urías returned from the IL July 4 and has not stopped hitting since. For the month, he is batting .354 with seven multi-hit games.
Urías produced five home runs, three doubles, 18 RBIs and scored 11 runs this month. His on-base percentage for the month is an amazing .382.
If Urías can maintain his torrid pace, he will continue to be a table setter at the bottom of the lineup and help push the Orioles over the top.
ROSTER MOVES:
The O’s made a roster move prior to their series in Cincinnati.
Firstly, right-hander Kyle Bradish was activated off the 15-day IL. The young O’s prospect hasn’t pitched in the big leagues since June 18, after suffering from shoulder discomfort.
To make room on the 26-man roster, right-hander Logan Gillaspie, who was just called-up yesterday, has been optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk.
GAME 1 STARTING LINEUP:
Game time is set for 6:40 p.m. EST Friday and Saturday, with a 1:40 p.m. EST start time Sunday. You can catch each game on MASN or on your local Orioles Radio Network station.
How do you see this series playing out? Let us know in the comments below! And make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook and Twitter, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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