The Colorado Rockies are in the mode of spoiler. After being swept by the Tamps Bay Rays, the Rockies have now lost four straight and 11 of their last 14 games.
Don’t let that fool you into thinking they are a pushover team. Against Tampa Bay, the Rockies held the lead in the sixth inning or later in each game. Unfortunately, their bullpen could do nothing to stave off the Rays.
The Rockies’ bullpen took the loss in all three games, and the pitching has given up at least one home run in 11 straight games. That bodes well for the Orioles, who are 14-7 this month and have won five of their last six games while scoring seven or more runs in four of those games.
The Orioles will open the series with Cole Irvin (1-3, 4.66 ERA), who will be making his 11th start out of 19 appearances. His last two outings, he went five innings, allowing one and zero runs in the two respective starts.
Irvin will be followed by two to-be-determined pitchers. After Jack Flaherty was scratched from his last start, it is possible that the decision will be based on Flaherty’s availability.
The Rockies will open the series with Kyle Freeland (5-13, 5.02 ERA), who will be followed by Chris Flexen (1-5, 7.18 ERA) and former Oriole Ty Blach (1-1, 4.39 ERA).
BATTERY ❌-FACTOR
Going into this series, there is one strong candidate for the BATTERY ❌-FACTOR, and that candidate is Adley Rutschman.
Rutschman has reached based in 18 of the last 21 games he has played while producing multiple hits in 11 games this month alone. Over his last 15 games, Rutschman is slashing .306/.368/.484 with six walks, 12 runs scored, two home runs and eight RBIs while batting leadoff.
Rutschman has become the de facto table-setter for the lineup by not wasting at-bats and getting on base by any means necessary. Since assuming the leadoff role, Rutschman is slashing .309/.382/.443 with 11 walks and 30 total hits.
The second series of this nine-game homestand gets under way tonight with a start time of 7:05 p.m. EST. Tomorrow night’s game has the same start time, while Sunday’s game will have a 1:35 p.m. EST start time.
The Birds continue their push towards the postseason tonight as they look to protect The Nest. Be sure to show the Rockies what Birdland is all about by heading to the ballpark, tuning in on MASN or listening in on your local Orioles Radio Network station.
How do you see this series playing 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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