Saturday afternoon Orioles game thread: vs. Brewers, 4:05

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - JULY 5: Félix Bautista #74 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches in the ninth inning of a game against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on July 5, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Edward M. Pio Roda/Getty Images) | Getty Images Look, it’s not like the reasonable among us expected t

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What is the story about?

Look, it’s not like the reasonable among us expected to win every game against the Brewers, current owners of the MLB’s best record. But last night was frankly a bummer. The Orioles had loads of baserunners and yet—that old saw—couldn’t drive them in. The Baltimore Sun reports today that GM Mike Elias and manager Craig Albernaz expect to be back to with the team next season. Fine, but I hope the approach to hitting with runners on base gets a major overhaul—it needs to.

Baltimore belatedly announced

that today’s starter (stopper) would be Trevor Rogers (10-10, 4.22, 143 SO in 157.2 IP). The lefty last pitched on Sept. 13, six days ago, a blah outing against the Blue Jays where he allowed four runs in six innings in a loss. But before that, he had two strong starts against Cleveland and Colorado. Rogers’ pre-All Star Break ERA is 4.48; post it’s 3.88.

In pitching news from the back end of the bullpen, the Orioles just reinstated closer Félix Bautista, who hasn’t appeared in a game in over a year. It’s too late in the season to make much of a difference, but man, it’ll be good to see The Mountain trotting out to the mound in late innings instead of guys like Alex Hoppe or Andrew Kittredge. The O’s skipper hasn’t committed to using Bautista as a closer yet, so perhaps expect in him a bridge role.

Starting for the Brewers today is Robert Gasser, initially one of four arms the Brewers acquired in 2022 via the trade for closer Josh Hader. Now in his third season with Milwaukee, it’s a little soon to assess Gasser’s value, as he missed long stretches due to Tommy John surgery. This season, he started out with Milwaukee’s Triple-A team and since joining the team in late May, has been pretty much average, with a 4.30 ERA in 18 starts.

As our own Mark pointed out in the series preview, Gasser’s Statcast peripherals fail to inspire confidence. Gasser has a five-pitch mix, but his sweeper, his most-thrown pitch, has a -6 run value, his worst of any. His fastball is also below-average, per Statcast. He doesn’t throw the ball hard, he doesn’t get a lot of whiffs, and he doesn’t get batters to chase outside of the strike zone very often.

Gasser is left-handed, so the Orioles have stuffed their lineup with righties… not that you will necessarily love all the names. Jeremiah Jackson makes a rare appearance in the leadoff spot, and the bottom four hitters include three righties in Rece Hinds, Christian Franklin, and Leody Taveras (switch-hitter). Well. At least Alonso and Mayo, in the second and third spots, are hot right now.

Orioles lineup