The Orioles are on the brink of a four-game sweep. Can Trevor Rogers be the stopper?
This has not been a great weekend of Orioles baseball. It started with the exciting news of Samuel Basallo’s contract extension to top off the great stretch where the Orioles had won three straight series against postseason contenders. The vibes felt good, but it turns out vibes can’t actually win baseball games.
One of the teams the Orioles beat last week, the Astros, is taking out their vengeance this weekend. They’ve won three straight games and are looking to win their fourth and secure the sweep against the Orioles. The past two days, the offense has not been the problem. They scored eight runs yesterday and seven on Friday, but neither were enough. The starting pitching, which had been on such a great run, has fallen apart in this series. You’re not going to win many games when the starters allow 20 runs in three games.
Enter Trevor Rogers. Rogers didn’t face the Astros in the last series; instead, he pitched a win against the Red Sox on Monday. I’m preaching to the choir to say that Rogers has been a revelation this year. But let’s look at some of his stats, because it’s really fun. In 12 starts, Rogers has a 1.41 ERA. He has pitched at least six innings in 10 of them (and 5.1 in another). He has allowed two or fewer runs in 11 starts, including zero runs in four of them.
You never want to be on the brink of any sweep, let alone in a four-game series. But when it happens, Rogers is the best you can hope for to turn the fortunes around.
For the Astros, the starter is Spencer Arrighetti. He has made five starts this year and allowed five runs in three of them. I want to feel good about this, but I am an Orioles fan. So all I can really feel is that Rogers vs Arrighetti is a reverse lock waiting to happen.
Jackson Holliday and Coby Mayo are both being given the day off today, which makes the bottom of the lineup look bleak. Both Mayo and Holliday have been struggling of late.
Orioles lineup
- Colton Cowser (L) CF
- Jeremiah Jackson (R) RF
- Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
- Ryan Mountcastle (R) 1B
- Samuel Basallo (L) DH
- Dylan Beavers (L) LF
- Alex Jackson (R) C
- Vimael Machín (L) 3B
- Luis Vázquez (R) 2B
Astros lineup
- Jeremy Peña (R) SS
- Carlos Correa (R) 3B
- Jose Altuve (R) DH
- Christian Walker (R) 1B
- Yainer Diaz (R) C
- Ramón Urías (R) 2B
- Mauricio Dubón (R) LF
- Cam Smith (R) RF
- Chas McCormick (R) CF
Let’s go O’s!
Category: General Sports
