Orioles lineup and notes for tonight's series opener in Arizona

The latest Orioles lineup tonight in Phoenix, where they begin a three-game series against the Diamondbacks, has Ryan O’Hearn in right field and Tyler O’Neill on the bench.

Jordan Westburg is batting cleanup as the designated hitter in another new twist. Heston Kjerstad returns to left field.

Ramón Urías is the third baseman and Jackson Holliday is at second base. Cedric Mullins is batting fifth for the third time this season.

Zach Eflin has completed six innings in both starts. He’s 0-2 with a 3.18 ERA and 0.918 WHIP in five career games (four starts) against the Diamondbacks and has registered a 3.68 ERA and 1.023 WHIP in three games (two starts) at Chase Field.

Randal Grichuk is 2-for-13 versus Eflin and Eugenio Suárez is 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts.

Opponents are batting .179 against Eflin in his first six road games with the Orioles, the lowest average in a minimum 30 innings, according to STATS. John Miller is next at .180 from 1962-65, followed by Steve Barber at .185 in 1960, Corbin Burnes at .188 in 2024 and Miguel Gonzalez at .194 in 2012.

Opponents are batting .301 against Eflin at Camden Yards since he joined the Orioles.

Also from STATS, Eflin has nine quality starts in his first 11 games with the club. The only other Orioles pitchers with nine or more in their first 11 starts are Jeremy Guthrie (10), Robin Roberts (nine) and Hoyt Wilhelm (11).

The Oriole have lost four of their last five games. They’re trying to avoid falling three games below .500 for the first time since July 8, 2022.

The lineup keeps changing, but whatever the combination, the third-through-fifth hitters lead the majors with a .336 average.

The Orioles have six different players with double-digit hits through 10 games, tied for most in club history with the 1957, 1996 and 2004 teams.

Westburg has doubled in all five career games against Arizona, one short of the modern era record versus any opponent. Wilbur Good doubled in his first six games against Cleveland in 1918 and Nick Green in his first six against the Dodgers from 2004-12.

Mullins has totaled 10 hits and 11 RBIs through the first 10 games to join Chris Davis (2013), Nick Markakis (2009) and Aubrey Huff (2008) as the only Orioles left-handed batters this century with double-digits in both categories through the first 10 games of a season.

Félix Bautista hasn’t pitched since last Monday and could be used tonight no matter the score.

The Diamondbacks are in fourth place in the National League West with a 5-5 record. They’ve lost three of four, including two straight to the Nationals in D.C. Their last six games have been decided by two runs or fewer.

Burnes started yesterday and won’t pitch in this series.

Arizona leads the majors with 28 runs scored from the seventh-through-ninth innings.

The Diamondbacks rank fourth in the majors with an .800 OPS and fifth with 58 runs scored. Their 5.07 ERA ranks 26^th.

Zac Gallen has allowed four runs in 10 2/3 innings in his first two starts. He’s struck out 17 batters. He shut out the Yankees on three hits and struck out 13 with no walks Wednesday in 6 2/3 innings.

Gallen owns a career 1.83 ERA in April, the lowest all-time for the month in a minimum 15 starts. He’s started twice against the Orioles in his career and surrendered seven runs and 12 hits in 11 1/3 innings.

O’Hearn is 3-for-8 with a double.

The Orioles won two of three against the Diamondbacks last season in Baltimore and two of three in 2023 at Chase Field. They’ve gone 8-4 (.667) against Arizona since 2016, their best winning percentage versus any opponent during that span. Before that, they were 3-12 and hadn’t won a series.

For the Orioles

Gunnar Henderson SS
Adley Rutschman C
Ryan O’Hearn RF
Jordan Westburg DH
Cedric Mullins CF
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Heston Kjerstad LF
Ramón Urías 3B
Jackson Holliday 2B

Zach Efllin RHP

Brendan Mortensen is in Arizona to handle news, notes and game coverage.