Finally, we have some more AL East baseball from beautiful Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
This week, the Toronto Blue Jays come to town for the first games of the 2024 season series between these two teams.
Last year, the Orioles were teetering on a slight ownership of Toronto, as they went a whopping 10-3 against the Blue Jays in their 13 contests. A big part of that success was thanks to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who absolutely torches the Jays.
To kick off the season series this year will be none other than the Orioles’ ace, Corbin Burnes (3-2, 2.83 ERA). Behind Burnes will be Kyle Bradish (0-0, 1.86 ERA) in game two, followed by Cole Irvin (4-1, 2.90 ERA) in game three.
Last year, Bradish was great against the Blue Jays. In two games against them, the O’s right-hander allowed just eight hits, good for a .167 batting average against.
On the mound for the Blue Jays will be Jose Berrios (4-3, 2.85 ERA), Chris Bassit (3-5, 5.06) and Yusei Kukuchi (2-3, 2.64 ERA). The O’s will have a tough test in game one against Berrios. In his career, Berrios is 10-1 against the Birds, with a collective 2.98 ERA.
For a bullpen that hasn’t been well-rested, this slate of starters for the Orioles in this series is promising. However, one big thing that isn’t happening for a couple of these pitchers leads us into our BATTERY ❌️-FACTOR for this series.
BATTERY ❌️-FACTOR
Give the pitchers some run support. Period.
Burnes has not been given a single run of support in over 14 innings of work. When you have pitchers like Burnes and Bradish, who will give you length with only a few runs given up, you have to take advantage.
These aces leaving their outings in line for losses will continue to not help out the bullpen or the starters in question for that matter. The biggest thing here is hitting with runners in scoring position in the early innings, something this offense hasn’t done very well.
ROSTER MOVES
Prior to today’s start of this three-game series with Toronto, the Orioles made quite a bit of roster moves.
Firstly, outfielder Kyle Stowers has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. Outfielder Heston Kjerstad was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to make room for Stowers on the 26-man roster.
Outfielder Austin Hays has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list and designated outfielder Ryan McKenna for assignment.
Lastly, the O’s claimed right-hander Corbin Martin off waivers from the Milwaukee Brewers and optioned him to Triple-A Norfolk. Martin, 28, was a second-round pick of the Astros in 2017.
The O’s 40-man roster is now at 39.
GAME 1 STARTING LINEUP
This AL East matchup begins on Monday at 6:35 p.m. EST, with games two and three set for 6:35 p.m. EST and 12:35 p.m. EST, respectively. You can catch each game on MASN or on your local Orioles Radio Network station.
This series will also feature “The Pasture,” which takes place on Tuesday. “The Pasture” is a set up by our very own Jason Benowitz and will feature a plethora of Oriole fans in their cow and milkman attire as they full up sections 72 and 73 in left field to support O’s rookie outfielder, Colton Cowser.
If you’d like to sit in “The Pasture” and dress up with fellow O’s fans, click the link here for tickets.
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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