Orioles and Astros lineups for series opener in Houston

The Orioles begin their three-game series in Houston with Colton Cowser out of the lineup for the second consecutive day.

Ryan O’Hearn is making his second start in left field, with Cedric Mullins in center and Anthony Santander in right.

Jordan Westburg is the third baseman. Adley Rutschman is serving as designated hitter.  

Texas native Grayson Rodriguez is making his first career start in Houston. He faced the Astros last season at Camden Yards and allowed two runs in six innings.

Rodriguez has made three starts this month and allowed five earned runs in 19 1/3 innings. He’s walked two batters and struck out 16.

Rodriguez has struck out 206 batters in 35 career starts, the most in club history, per STATS. Hall of Famer Rube Waddell struck out 216 in 1908 before the franchise moved from St. Louis to Baltimore in 1954.

Gunnar Henderson (22 years, 357 days) is the fifth-youngest Orioles player with 150 career RBIs after Eddie Murray (22, 157), Boog Powell (22, 269), Manny Machado (22, 329) and Cal Ripken Jr. (22, 329).

The Orioles’ 17 runs yesterday were the most scored on the road since Aug. 10, 1999, when they defeated Tampa Bay 17-1.

Also per STATS: The Orioles lead the majors with 145 RBIs with two strikes, nine more than the Twins. The last Orioles team to rank first in a season was in 1996 (296).

The Astros are calling up right-hander Jake Bloss from Double-A Corpus Christi to make his major league debut. He posted a 1.61 ERA and 0.716 WHIP in eight starts before getting the call.

Bloss, who turns 23 on Sunday, also made four starts with High-A Asheville and registered a 2.08 ERA and 1.096 WHIP in four starts. He struck out 25 batters in 17 1/3 innings.

The Astros drafted Bloss in the third round in 2023 out of Georgetown University. MLB Pipeline ranks him as the organization’s No. 10 prospect.

Bloss tossed 6 1/3 hitless innings in Saturday night’s win over San Antonio.

“His stuff is really, really good,” manager Joe Espada, the brother-in-law of Orioles manager Brandon Hyde, told the media. “A strike-thrower, upper 90s, can spin the ball. All the things we hear about his makeup, he checks all the boxes.”

The Astros are 35-40 and sitting in second place in the American League West, eight games behind the Mariners. They’ve won five of their last eight.

Houston’s .259 average leads the majors. The Orioles rank first in home runs with 119 and slugging percentage at .455, and second in OPS at .768.

The Orioles and Phillies are tied for the lowest ERA at 3.13. The Astros are 19^th at 4.12.

The home team hasn’t won the last seven series between these club, and the visitors are 16-6 in that span. The Orioles took two of three games in Houston in 2023.

The Astros were 11-1 against the Orioles at home from 2016-19, but are 2-7 from 2021-23.

José Altuve is a career .339/.398/.515 hitter in 58 games against the Orioles.

For the Orioles

Gunnar Henderson SS
Adley Rutschman DH
Ryan O’Hearn LF
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Anthony Santander RF
Jordan Westburg 3B
Cedric Mullins CF
Jorge Mateo 2B
James McCann C

Grayson Rodriguez RHP

Double-A Bowie pitcher Houston Roth was placed on the seven-day injured list.

For the Astros

José Altuve 2B
Alex Bregman 3B
Yordan Alvarez DH
Yainer Diaz C
Jake Meyers CF
Jon Singleton 1B
Mauricio Dubón SS
Joey Loperfido LF
Trey Cabbage RF

Jake Bloss RHP

Steve Melewski is handling game coverage in Houston.