It’s always a great feeling heading off for a road trip after a good series win. It’s even better when that series win is a three games to one beat down of the rival New York Yankees to take sole possession of the AL East.
However, the Orioles begin a new series, this one in Cincinnati against the Reds. The Reds come in at 16-15, looking to gain some ground from the middle of the NL Central.
Excitingly, the Orioles get a long missed arm back into their rotation for a second time this week. This time, it’s southpaw John Means, who will make his 2024 debut start in game two, following Cole Irvin in game one and preceding Dean Kremer in game three.
The combination of Irvin and Kremer has been lights out recently, with Means looking to fit in between following a fantastic last start of his rehab in Norfolk.
On the mound for the Reds will be Hunter Greene in game one, followed by Andrew Abbott in game two and Nick Lodolo in game three.
What really stuck out in the series win against the Yankees, and hopefully it will keep up, was the O’s bullpen. Even after being decimated by fatigue against Oakland, the bullpen was lights out against New York.
The pen combined for 12.1 innings, allowing just a single run over those four games. Now, playing their eighth, ninth and 10th days in a row, the O’s bullpen finishing off this stretch strong will help tremendously.
The offense will rely heavily on a couple of right-handers in this series in Ryan Mountcastle and Jordan Westburg. Seeing two left handers in this set, it may still be tough sledding for some slumping lefty hitters in the lineup. Luckily, the right-handed-hitting duo is coming off a combined 4-for-8 with four RBIs in game four against the Yankees and seems to be getting hot at the perfect time.
BATTERY ❌️-FACTOR
There is one glaring issue the Orioles will need to handle in this series, and it is our BATTERY ❌️-FACTOR.
The Reds are the best base running team in the league, while the O’s have had their troubles controlling the running game. The worst thing for this pitching staff would be allowing the Reds, who have stolen a league-leading 55 bases, to generate extra opportunities on the base paths.
Similar to the series against the Kansas City Royals, allowing those extra bases and runs while the O’s offense has been a little down could make for a long weekend.
GAME 1 STARTING LINEUP
This series starts on Friday evening at 6:10 p.m. EST, with games two and three starting at 6:40 p.m. EST and 4:10 p.m. EST, respectively. You can watch each game live 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! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
Like Justin’s content? Follow him on X – @orioles4life96
The Baltimore Battery 
Leave a comment