Thursday afternoon game thread: 1:05 ET, vs. Rays

Drew Rasmussen meets Cade Povich in an ultimately meaningless rubber match.

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

Well, it certainly feels like the Orioles offense has already started to take off the rest of the season. Last night they put up just three hits against Shane Baz and the Rays. Actually, they had none off Baz (who left after four innings) because they didn’t have a hit until the seventh.

Which is why today’s matchup worries me: The Orioles offense doesn’t need to be facing an ace to look lifeless, and Drew Rasmussen has been really good this year. After missing lots of time with elbow trouble, the

30-year-old righty is 10-5 in 30 starts with a 2.80 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. His strikeout totals aren’t wow (124 in 147 innings), but he’s been limiting walks and hits. Some of Rasmussen’s peripherals indicate overperformance, as his average exit velocity is a pretty-high 90.6 mph. But the results are the results.

The other reason I’m concerned about this matchup is Cade Povich. This season would have been a great one for the second-year lefty to stake a claim to a rotation spot, but I doubt that a 5.06 ERA/ is good enough. Povich has never had trouble with strikeouts: 114 in 106 innings, and, nice to see, his K/9 rate is up by nearly a full two batters per game from last year. But he still walks too many hitters, isn’t delivering length, and a .276 opposing average doesn’t inspire confidence. Over his last three starts Povich has allowed four runs to San Diego, two runs in 5.2 innings against a bad Pittsburgh offense, and three runs in five innings against the Yankees. Povich has never faced the Rays.

With Jackson Holliday getting a rest day for a sore knee, Dylan Beavers bats leadoff and Jorge Mateo gets a rare start at second, and Alex Jackson mans the dish.

Orioles lineup