September was feeling pretty good in Birdland up until this past weekend, with the Orioles sweeping one playoff contender (Padres), winning a series against another (Dodgers), and sweeping a team roughly on their level (Pirates) to begin the month. Being swept over three different agonizing games in Toronto halts that momentum. Now, the Orioles turn their attention to one of the league’s worst teams this year, the White Sox, who also had a pretty good start to September before getting swept over this past weekend.
Many games separate these two teams in the standings. The White Sox are 12.5 games farther out than the Orioles are. They’ve been eliminated officially for a while, whereas the Orioles are only highly likely to be eliminated over the next couple of days. They are, however, in a very similar place in terms of run differential, giving them nearly-identical records in Pythagorean expected win-loss (65-84 for the Orioles, 66-84 for the White Sox).
This is because the Orioles have been blown out in nearly 40% of their losses. The White Sox are only blown out (5+ runs, as defined by Baseball Reference) in a bit more than a quarter of their losses. The frequency with which the Orioles lose ugly because of a pitching staff that is heavily composed of players who have no business being on major league rosters is one of the defining things about this season.
With Kyle Bradish starting for the Orioles tonight, hopefully tonight will not be one of those games. Three starts into his return from Tommy John surgery, Bradish has picked up right about where he left off. This continuing the rest of the way will be one of the things that could help us feel better about 2026 before we ever get there. The White Sox are, of course, a pretty bad-hitting team, so they’re not the biggest test Bradish is going to face, but bad teams can beat good pitchers on nights where they struggle. We’ll see how that shakes out.
A patented 2025 Orioles pitching roster shuffle also took place before this game. The Orioles recalled pitchers Yaramil Hiraldo and Chayce McDermott from Triple-A Norfolk. As corresponding moves, Albert Suárez was placed on the 15-day injured list with what the team said is right elbow discomfort. Not great! Additionally, Carson Ragsdale was designated for assignment; the team also announced Ragsdale had been optioned after yesterday’s game.
Additionally, the Orioles claimed an out-of-options lefty reliever from the Mariners. That’s 29-year-old José Castillo. This player has not reported to the team yet, so there will be another move to fit him onto the active roster in a day or two when he arrives.
Orioles lineup
- Jackson Holliday – 2B
- Jeremiah Jackson – 3B
- Gunnar Henderson – SS
- Tyler O’Neill – RF
- Ryan Mountcastle – 1B
- Dylan Beavers – LF
- Coby Mayo – DH
- Samuel Basallo – C
- Colton Cowser – CF
Many of these dudes could really stand to hit better over the last two weeks of the season.
White Sox lineup
- Mike Tauchman – RF
- Kyle Teel – C
- Lenyn Sosa – 1B
- Colson Montgomery – SS
- Curtis Mead – 3B
- Andrew Benintendi – LF
- Edgar Quero – DH
- Chase Meidroth – 2B
- Dominic Fletcher – CF
Chicago is using an opener for this game in the form of Tyler Gilbert. The 31-year-old lefty has not pitched more than two innings in any game this season, and has not been used as a “starter” since April.
