The Baltimore Orioles have landed in San Francisco and will face the Giants for a three-game series to start June. It’s been four years since the Orioles have faced the Giants, and this looks like one that could be fun.
The Orioles completed May at 16-12, scoring 134 total runs as they held on to their second place standing in AL East. On the opposite side, the Giants completed a 17-12 May, scoring 131 total runs.
Set to face the Giants for the first time will be Dean Kremer in game one. He will be followed by Kyle Bradish on Saturday and Tyler Wells to end the series on Sunday.
Kremer, who is a native of California, will be pitching for the first time in his home state as a professional. Kremer was 3-1 (five starts) with a 2.45 ERA in the month of May and did not allow more than three runs in any start for the month.
The Giants will roll out Logan Webb, Anthony DeSclafani and a pitcher TBD for Sunday.
ROSTER MOVES
Prior to the series, the Orioles have placed right-hander Mychal Givens on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Left-hander Bruce Zimmermann has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.
Givens, in six games this season, has an ERA of 11.25 and a WHIP of 2.500. He’s given up six runs (five earned) on four hits in four innings pitched, with two strikeouts and six walks.
Zimmermann has pitched in nine games for Triple-A Norfolk this season and has pitched to a 4.05 ERA and 1.46 WHIP, with 50 strikeouts in 46.2 innings pitched.
BATTERY ❌-FACTOR
The Orioles have been getting strong pitching from the starters, but it seems the offense has gone into a mini-slump as of late. Cedric Mullins (groin strain) is currently on the IL for some time. These reasons are why the O’s offense is going to be the BATTERY ❌-FACTOR for the series.
Mullins set the table and bar for the offensive flow of the game, whether hitting, walking and/or stealing bases. With his injury, the offense seems to have lost its way.
The O’s offense ranks in the top 10 in RBIs (sixth with 273), runs (eighth with 281) and walks (fifth with 203). The problem is they are middle of the pack in batting average (15th at .252) and hits (15th with 476). They are in the middle with an average of 3.59 runners left in scoring position on the road as well.
The offense will need to find a way to fill Mullins’ absence, as well as give the starting staff a lead to work with. For the Orioles to win this series, it will be the ability of the offense as a whole to capitalize on opportunities and scoring.
GAME 1 STARTING LINEUPS
Baltimore Orioles (35-21): Managed by Brandon Hyde
1. Adam Frazier 2B
2. Adley Rutschman C
3. Anthony Santander RF
4. Austin Hays LF
5. Gunnar Henderson DH
6. Aaron Hicks CF
7. Ryan O’Hearn 1B
8. Ramón Urías 3B
9. Jorge Mateo SS
SP. Dean Kremer RHP (5-2, 4.58 ERA)
San Francisco Giants (28-28): Managed by Gabe Kapler
1. Lamonte Wade Jr. 1B
2. J.D. Davis 3B
3. Mike Yastrzemski RF
4. Mitch Haniger LF
5. Blake Sabol DH
6. Casey Schmitt 2B
7. Patrick Bailey C
8. Brandon Crawford SS
9. Brett Wisley CF
SP. Logan Webb RHP (4-5, 2.75 ERA)
Tonight’s game begins at 10:15 p.m., followed by 10:05 p.m. tomorrow and 4:05 p.m. Sunday. All game times are Eastern Standard Time and can be seen on MASN or listened to on your local Orioles Radio Network station. Tonight’s game is also the MLB.TV Free Game of the Day.
How do you think this series will play out? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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