Saturday night Orioles game thread, vs. Phillies, 7:05 ET

Baseball: Philadelphia Phillies Christopher Sanchez (61) looks on from the mound vs New York Mets at Citi Field. Flushing, NY 8/25/2025 CREDIT: Erick W. Rasco (Photo by Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images) (Set Number: X164759 TK1) Friday night’s comeback win was about as good as it g

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Friday night’s comeback win was about as good as it gets. Down two in the seventh, the Orioles strung together a four-run rally set up by Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s pinch-hit two-run double, and an emotional two-run triple by Gunnar Henderson. It felt like the kind of win that can really carry clubhouse momentum into the next day…

Now, how long exactly this good feeling will last is unclear, because tonight’s assignment is simply brutal. We have arguably the best lefty starter in the game facing

an Orioles team that has struggled against lefties all year. Let’s say this is a matchup that ain’t for the faint of heart.

If you don’t know much about Sánchez, here’s some background. The 29-year-old Dominican signed as an international free agent with Tampa at a youngster, then spent the better part of a decade as a Rays farmhand before getting dealt to Philadelphia in 2019. Sánchez didn’t stick in the majors for good until 2023, but now that deal looks like highway robbery. He was named an All-Star in 2024, then runner-up for the NL Cy Young in 2025 after a 13-5 ERA season where he led all NL pitcher in bWAR (8), tied for first in quality starts, and was second in FIP (2.55), third in ERA (.250), fourth in WHIP (1.06), and fifth in strikeouts (212 in 202 IP).

This year, folks, he’s still good, entering this matchup with a 2.73 ERA in 22 starts. His sinker is one of the best in the game. Earlier this year, he even reeled off a 50 2/3-inning scoreless streak, the longest ever by a left-hander and fifth-longest by anyone in MLB history.

In short, prepare yourself for an O’s lineup full of right-handers, and a lot of strikeouts anyway. Coby Mayo is batting leadoff for the first time in his life, and I am curious! New guy Christian Encarnación-Strand is batting sixth, and still OPS’ing over 1.000 for his new team in nine games.

As for Shane Baz, it’s been kind of an interesting first season with him in Birdland. After signing with the O’s in the offseason, he inked a 5-year, $68 million extension before throwing a pitch, then appeared to be bad for his first month or two. But since June, Baz has been nothing to sneeze at. He posted a 3.68 ERA in six starts in June, then an even 3.00 ERA in four starts in July. His last start, which saw him allow one earned run in 4 1/3 innings against Atlanta, dropped his ERA below 4.00 for the first time this season.

He’s got a tall matchup, but it’s cool to see Baz string together good start after good start. Let’s see if it continues. Baz is mostly a mystery to this Phillies lineup, with only Bryce Harper (1-for-4), Bryson Stott (1-for-6), and Trea Turner (3-for-6) having seen him more than three times.

Let’s go O’s!

Orioles lineup