O's game blog: Bruce Zimmermann faces Brewers in home opener

After losing three games at Tropicana Field to begin the 2022 season, the Orioles (0-3) begin their home schedule this afternoon on opening day in Baltimore as they host the Milwaukee Brewers (1-2) at 3:05 p.m. at Oriole Park.

Milwaukee lost 5-4 in Chicago versus the Cubs on Thursday and the Friday game was rained out before they fell to 0-2 with a 9-0 loss on Saturday. Yesterday, the Brewers fell behind 3-0 in the opening inning, but rallied to win 5-4 at Wrigley Field.

The Brewers went 95-67 last season, winning the National League Central for the second time in four years. They won the division with 96 wins in 2018.

The O’s began the year losing by scores of 2-1, 5-3 and 8-0 to the Rays to begin a season 0-3 for the first time since 2017. They have lost 15 straight to Tampa Bay.

The Baltimore offense produced just four runs in that series as O’s batters had 21 hits in three games, going 2-for-24 with runners in scoring position. O’s hitters fanned 14 times on opening day, 10 more on Saturday and 13 in yesterday’s shutout loss.

They will send local product Bruce Zimmermann (4-5, 5.04 ERA in 2021) to the mound in today’s Oriole Park opener. Zimmermann was solid in home games last summer, going 3-2 with a 3.89 ERA and 1.327 WHIP in seven game.

For the season, he threw 64 1/3 innings, allowing 75 hits, and posted a 1.508 WHIP with a 3.1 walk rate and 7.8 strikeout rate. He made 13 starts and the Orioles went 4-9 in those games.

Zimmermann used his fastball 42 percent of the time last season with an average velocity of 91.5 mph and threw his changeup 26 percent, slider 19 percent and curveball 13 percent.

Right-hander Adrian Houser, 29, gets the start for Milwaukee. He went 10-6 with a 3.22 ERA in 28 games last season and the Brewers went 18-8 in his 26 starts. He threw 142 1/3 innings, pitching to a 1.279 WHIP with a 4.0 walk rate and 6.6 strikeouts per nine. His ERA+ was 132, or 32 percent above NL average in 2021.

Lefty batters hit .273 with an OPS of .762 against him for the season and right-handers batted .192/.584. He had a strong second half when he went 5-1 with a 2.43 ERA and 1.114 WHIP in 11 games.

The O’s have gone 44-24 in home openers in club history, but have dropped the last three since 2019.

The Orioles own a 1,155-1,186 (.493) all-time record in 2,343 games at Oriole Park since 1992. The Birds have hit 2,933 home runs at home since the ballpark opened, including 53 longballs that have landed on the iconic Eutaw Street promenade that separates the ballpark and the historic B&O Warehouse.

The O’s Ryan Mountcastle has hit safely in each of the first three games of the season, slashing .417/.417/.667 (5-for-12) with one home run, one run scored and a pair of RBIs. Mountcastle led all rookies with 33 home runs last season, while ranking among rookie leaders in RBIs (second, 89),total bases (second, 260), extra-base hits (tied for second, 57), runs (tied for fourth, 77), slugging percentage (fourth, .487), hits (fifth, 136) and doubles (sixth, 23). He finished sixth in the American League Rookie of the Year voting.