For the second time in just over two weeks, the Baltimore Orioles and Kansas City Royals will meet up, this time in Kaufman Stadium in Kansas City for a three-game set.
Last time around, the Orioles came out victorious in a tough rainy series at Camden Yards by taking two out of three via walk-offs.
For this series, we will see Dean Kremer (0-1, 4.96 ERA) kick thinges off in game one, followed by staff ace Corbin Burnes (2-0, 2.28 ERA) and Cole Irvin (0-1, 6.75 ERA) in games two and three, respectively.
Kremer’s first start of the year came against this same Royals team back on April 1. He pitched well that day, allowing three runs in 5.1 innings. However, two of his three hits allowed were home runs.
Coming into this series, the Oriole offense is hotter than they’ve been all year. But just like in that first series, the O’s will be matched up against some good starting pitching in Alec Marsh (2-0, 4.32 ERA), Cole Ragans (0-1, 1.93 ERA) and Seth Lugo (3-0, 1.05 ERA).
A big thing for this O’s offense will be to see more success against these starters than they did last time out. In a combined 13.1 innings between Marsh and Ragans in the last series, the Birds netted just three hits and one run all together against those two arms.
The offense and how they can get to these starters is a point of focus in this series. However, it is not our BATTERY ❌️-Factor.
BATTERY ❌️-FACTOR
Instead, our BATTERY ❌️-FACTOR for this series will be the O’s pitching staff’s ability to limit the production from Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia and the Royals’ running game.
Witt Jr. and Garcia nearly swept that first series by themselves if it wasn’t for the last inning heroics from Jordan Westburg and James McCann.
A big key that contributed to the success of these two hitters was the way the entire O’s pitching staff seemed uncomfortable with the way the Royals ran all over the base paths.
To see success in this series, the staff must limit the KC’s ability to create runners in scoring position. Bats like Witt Jr. and Garcia will always find contact, but letting that happen with as little base distractions as possible is key.
ROSTER MOVES
Prior to the start of the series, the Orioles announced that catcher David Bañuelos has cleared outright waivers and has been assigned to Triple-A Norfolk.
Additionally, infielder Livan Soto, who was designated for assignment earlier this week, has been claimed off waivers by the Cincinnati Reds.
GAME 1 STARTING LINEUP
This series starts Friday night at 7:40 p.m. EST, with games two and three set for 7:10 and 2:10, respectively. You can catch each game on MASN2 or 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 (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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