OK, this has been quite enough baseball against good teams—Baltimore just went 2-6 against Tampa, Miami (ish), Cleveland—and I’m ready to beat up on a bad team now. After today’s game, Cleveland is off to face the underperforming Royals, while the Orioles welcome to Oriole Park the worst team in the league in Colorado.
But before we get to that, we still have one more game against the Guardians. The season series ends today (Cleveland has unsurprisingly won it, with 4-2 advantage) with a 1:10 afternoon
game to allow both teams to hit the road.
The Orioles can’t win the series but they can salvage their dignity (?) with a win over Cleveland and left-hander Logan Allen (6-8, 4.06 ERA). The onetime Orioles draftee debuted in 2023, posting a 3.81 ERA and 112 ERA+ in 24 games. He regressed in 2024 (5.73 ERA, 71 ERA+), and is splitting the difference now with a 102 ERA+. Allen did pitch well against the Orioles earlier this season, throwing 5.2 scoreless innings in a Cleveland win.
If rumors are to be believed, this could be Charlie Morton’s last start in the black and orange (unless he gets traded to the Giants, harhar). Morton infamously started his season with an April ERA north of nine, but got that mark down to 2.88 in five starts in June. He’s been a bit wobblier in July, with a seven-run clunker against Tampa Bay last week. His potential trade value could fluctuate depending on whether that clunker was an outlier or not.
Orioles lineup
Jackson Holliday 2B
Jordan Westburg DH
Gunnar Henderson SS
Ramón Laureano LF
Tyler O’Neill RF
Ramón Urías 3B
Coby Mayo 1B
Dylan Carlson CF
Alex Jackson C
RHP Charlie Morton
Guardians lineup
Steven Kwan LF
Angel Martínez CF
José Ramírez DH
Kyle Manzardo 1B
Nolan Jones RF
Daniel Schneeman 2B
Will Wilson 3B
Brayan Rocchio SS
Austin Hedges C
LHP Logan T. Allen
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