Orioles and Red Sox lineups and notes

BOSTON – The Orioles are a season-high 37 games above .500 and four games ahead of the Rays in the American League East as they reach the final stage of their road trip at Fenway Park.

They’ve won five in a row, seven of nine, 11 of 14, 14 of 18 and 25 of 35. On the line this weekend is a streak of 84 consecutive multi-game series without being swept.

Gunnar Henderson is the shortstop tonight against the Red Sox. Ryan O’Hearn is batting cleanup as the designated hitter, followed by first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.

Austin Hays is in left field. In 18 games since Aug. 15, Hays is batting .338/.413/.646/1.059 with eight doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs.

Adam Frazier is playing second base and Ramón Urías is at third.

Kyle Bradish has maintained a 3.03 ERA since his Aug. 20 start. He’s allowed nine runs in his last six outings over 35 2/3 innings.

Bradish faced the Red Sox in April at Camden Yards and surrendered seven runs in 2 1/3 innings. He’s 0-4 with a 9.36 ERA and 1.840 WHIP in six career starts against Boston, and he’s allowed 13 runs in four innings at Fenway Park.

Rafael Devers is 6-for-13 with a double against Bradish. Alex Verdugo is 6-for-15 with two doubles.

The rotation has produced 60 quality starts this season.

The Orioles are 3-3 against the Red Sox this season, losing two of three in Boston to begin the season. They’ve scored at least five runs and recorded at least 10 hits in every game, tying for their second-longest streak in a season in club history, per STATS. They reached those totals in eight straight against the Rangers in 1998.

The Orioles are trying to record back-to-back road series sweeps of at least three games for the second time in franchise history. They did it in August 2020.

The Red Sox are 72-68 and in fourth place in the division, 16 ½ games behind the Orioles and five back in the wild card chase. They’ve lost seven of their last 10 games.

Right-hander Tanner Houck has a 5.07 ERA and 1.310 WHIP this season in 16 starts. He faced the Orioles twice in April and allowed six earned runs (seven total) in 10 innings.

Houck has made seven career appearances (three starts) against the Orioles and posted a 3.28 ERA and 1.378 WHIP over 24 2/3 innings. Cedric Mullins is 4-for-13 with a home run.

Defense could make a different in the series. The Orioles have committed 53 errors, fewest in the AL and second fewest in the majors behind Arizona’s 46. The Red Sox have committed 94, most in the AL and second-most in the majors behind San Francisco’s 95.

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

Kyle Bradish RHP

Kyle Gibson is the Orioles’ nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award, the annual recognition of a major league player “who best represents the game of baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”

I wrote about Gibson’s charitable work here in a March article. Since signing his $10 million deal with the Orioles, he’s launched the #ALLWIN campaign, with each strikeout providing a donation to the Maryland Food Bank that’s now totaled around $14,000. He also makes a donation to the House of Ruth Maryland for each victory.

Gibson also has hosted “Swinging For Impact” to support City of Refuge Baltimore and created a fantasy football league with fan donations funneled to Help One Now.

Per Major League Baseball, Gibson raised more than $108,000 for charities during his 1 ½ seasons in Philadelphia.

Gibson was the Phillies’ nominee last year and the Twins’ nominee in 2019.

For the Red Sox
Alex Verdugo RF
Rafael Devers 3B
Justin Turner DH
Triston Casas 1B
Adam Duvall CF
Masataka Yoshida LF
Trevor Story SS
Enmanuel Valdez 2B
Connor Wong C

Tanner Houck RHP

Houck is the Red Sox’s nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award.