The Orioles head into Sunday’s series finale in Colorado with a chance to turn a near-miss into a clean finish.
Colton Cowser’s diving catch Monday night kept Jake McCarthy from ending the game with a walk-off homer, and without it the Orioles would be staring at a sweep. Instead, they’re still alive in the race for the third Wild Card and sitting 1 ½ games back. The Rangers are tied with them after the Guardians beat the Blue Jays on Saturday night, while Toronto trails by 2 ½ games.
A win this afternoon would send Baltimore home from the trip with a 7-2 mark.
The lineup brings a few notable changes, starting with Luis Robert Jr. making his Orioles debut. He’s hitting cleanup and playing left field. Heston Kjerstad, who flied out as a pinch-hitter last night, is back on the bench.
Jackson Holliday is serving as the designated hitter, with Blaze Alexander at second base, Coby Mayo at third and Samuel Basallo behind the plate.
The bigger concern for Baltimore so far in Denver is the offense. Coors Field was supposed to be the place where the runs came in bunches, but the Orioles have managed only four through the first two games.
Trevor Rogers gets the ball for Baltimore after giving up six runs and seven hits over five innings in St. Louis in his last outing.
He has handled Colorado well in limited work, posting a 3.06 ERA in three career starts against the Rockies across 17 2/3 innings. His lone start at Coors Field, though, was rough: five runs, five hits and five walks in 3 2/3 innings.
A handful of Rockies have yet to solve him. Hunter Goodman, Mickey Moriak, Ezequiel Tovar and Jordan Beck are a combined 0-for-10 against Rogers.
Colorado counters with a familiar face in former Orioles right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano. He enters at 12-8 with a 5.23 ERA in 24 games, along with 29 walks and 75 strikeouts in 125 2/3 innings.
Sugano has been hit hard lately. Over his last three starts, he’s allowed 17 earned runs and 18 total on 26 hits in just 12 innings. Before that skid, he was 12-5 with a 4.43 ERA.
The splits haven’t been kind either. Sugano carries a 5.00 ERA and 1.333 WHIP in 12 home games, plus a 5.46 ERA and 1.388 WHIP in 12 road games. He had a 4.80 ERA in the first half and a 6.10 ERA since the break.
Pete Alonso and Leody Taveras are 0-for-2 against him.
One other note: Sugano is getting a lower batting average against his splitter this season, holding opponents to .189 after they hit .213 off it last year with the Orioles.
This matchup also sets up as a fastball test. The Rockies own the third-best average against fastballs this season at .276, while the Orioles rank ninth in fastball usage at 49.3 percent.
Baltimore’s lineup is Jackson Holliday at DH, Pete Alonso at first, Gunnar Henderson at shortstop, Luis Robert Jr. in left, Samuel Basallo at catcher, Coby Mayo at third, Dylan Beavers in right, Blaze Alexander at second and Colton Cowser in center. Rogers is on the mound.
For Colorado, it’s Jake McCarthy in left, Connor Norby at third, Goodman catching, TJ Rumfield at first, Cole Carrigg in center, Jordan Beck in right, Adael Amador at DH, Ryan Ritter at second, Ezequiel Tovar at short and Sugano pitching.
The Orioles are not revealing their starters for the four-game series against the Red Sox at Camden Yards. Boston is set to start left-hander Jake Bennett, left-hander Ranger Suárez, right-hander Sonny Gray and left-hander Payton Tolle.
Friday night will also bring a ceremonial moment at Camden Yards, with Jim Palmer, Boog Powell and Eddie Watt scheduled to throw out the first pitches on the 60th anniversary of the 1966 World Series champions.
In Other News...
Orioles Already Sent A Clear Message With Luis De Lens Debut
Luis De Lens major league debut came in relief against the Rockies, and even in a brief one-inning look, the Orioles got a small snapshot of why they brought him up. He struck out one batter, showed the kind of arm that can miss bats at this level, and also learned immediately how quickly the margins tighten in the big leagues when a two-run homer changes the shape of an outing.
Craig Albernaz and De Lens teammates still came away talking about his potential future role, which is often the real point of these first appearances for a young pitcher. For Baltimore, the debut was less about one line on a scorecard than about sending a message that De Len is in the conversation now, with the next step depending on how the Orioles decide to use and develop him from here. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Are Pulling Off A Trade Deadline Balancing Act
The Orioles spent the trade deadline walking a line that few clubs are willing to try this late in a season, moving notable pieces while still keeping one eye on the playoff race. Baltimore dealt away key players including Adley Rutschman, Taylor Ward and Tyler Wells, then brought back a wave of prospects, a haul that signaled a clear bet on the future without fully shutting the door on the present.
Even with the sell-off, the Orioles were still hanging around the wild card picture in early September, which is what makes the deadline such a balancing act. The Athletics report handed Baltimore an A grade for the moves, pointing to both the clubs continued contention and the promise in the prospects it added, leaving the bigger question for the weeks ahead: whether the front offices mix of short-term competitiveness and long-term planning can pay off on both fronts. [Read more 🡒]
Orioles Face A Tough Jackson Holliday Decision At The Worst Time
Jackson Hollidays rookie season has reached the kind of stretch that forces a contender to weigh patience against practicality. Since Aug. 1, the 22-year-old first overall pick has been one of the Orioles least productive regulars, hitting just .202/.242/.310 with a 50 wRC+, while also battling through uneven defense. Even so, Baltimore has kept running him out there as the club tries to stay in the playoff race, betting that the long view still matters even in a crowded pennant chase.
Blaze Alexanders return only sharpens the question of how much longer the Orioles can keep sorting through Hollidays growing pains in real time. Alexander has handled right-handed pitching well, giving the club another option as the games start to carry more weight, and that leaves Baltimore with a tricky playing-time puzzle at exactly the wrong moment. For a team with postseason hopes on the line, every at-bat and every defensive decision now carries a little more consequence than it did a month ago. [Read more 🡒]