Mountcastle remains missing from Orioles lineup

Ryan Mountcastle remains out of the Orioles’ lineup tonight due to an illness. He hasn’t played since Thursday.

Ryan O’Hearn is the first baseman and cleanup hitter to open the Blue Jays series. Gunnar Henderson is leading off and serving as the designated hitter.

Henderson had eight hits while the Orioles swept the Royals, with two home runs and two stolen bases. Per STATS, he's just the sixth rookie in the modern era (1901) to reach those numbers in a three-game series.

O’Hearn has a 1.362 OPS in nine games at Camden Yards, the highest mark for any Orioles player in his first nine home games with a minimum of 30 plate appearances, also according to STATS.

Aaron Hicks gets another start in center field.

Dean Kremer faced the Blue Jays on May 21 and surrendered one run and nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. Matt Chapman homered in the second, his only career hit against Kremer in 12 at-bats.

Kremer allowed a season-high six runs in nine innings in his most recent start in Milwaukee. He has a career 5.22 ERA and 1.613 WHIP in eight games (seven starts) against the Blue Jays.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is 6-for-19 with a double and four home runs against Kremer. Alejandro Kirk is 4-for-11. Bo Bichette is 3-for-17.

Kremer’s 4.89 ERA in 13 starts this season is the highest among the 26 pitchers with six or more victories. He’s posted a 2.50 ERA in his six wins, a 7.71 ERA in three losses and a 7.13 ERA in four no-decisions.

A win tonight would move the Orioles 18 games above .500 for the first time since July 25, 2016. The Rays lost last night in Oakland to move the Orioles within five games of first place in the American League East.

The Orioles are 27-2 in games when they’ve allowed three runs or fewer, second in the majors behind the Marlins (27-1). They’ve won the last 16.

The Orioles swept the Blue Jays in a three-game series in Toronto May 19-21.

Right-hander Chris Bassitt is 7-4 with a 3.29 ERA and 1.024 WHIP in 13 starts, including a complete-game shutout against the Braves. His ERA is 1.29 at night.

Bassitt has allowed two runs in 15 2/3 innings this month, with no walks and 13 strikeouts. He hasn’t surrendered an earned run in five starts this season, including three in a row last month.

Right-handed hitters are batting .156/.216/.234 against Bassitt this season.

Bassitt has made four career starts against the Orioles and gone 3-0 with a 2.36 ERA and 1.013 WHIP in 26 2/3 innings.

Bichette leads the Blue Jays in all three triple crown categories.

Santiago Espinal is a career .438 (35-for-80) hitter against the Orioles.

Guerrero has a .575 slugging percentage in road games this season and a .299 slugging percentage in Toronto. All nine of his home runs have come at Rogers Centre.

The Blue Jays are 37-30 and in fourth place in the division, one game behind the Yankees and 10 behind the Rays. They’ve gone 18-17 on the road.

The Jays are 21-10 against the Orioles in Baltimore over the past four seasons. They hit 62 home runs and posted a .306 average in that span.

Toronto has won 11 games this season after trailing by multiple runs, second in the majors behind the Reds (12).

For the Orioles
Gunnar Henderson DH
Adley Rutschman C
Anthony Santander RF
Ryan O’Hearn 1B
Austin Hays LF
Aaron Hicks CF
Adam Frazier 2B
Ramón Urías 3B
Jorge Mateo SS

Dean Kremer RHP

Single-A Delmarva defeated Salem 10-2. Alfred Vega tossed four scoreless innings with two hits allowed, and first baseman Noelberth Romero belted his first home run. Left fielder Ryan Higgins had a three-run double.