Orioles and Phillies lineups in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA – The Orioles have won 12 of their last 15 games, averaging six runs during that stretch, and return to interleague play tonight against the Phillies.

Gunnar Henderson is in the cleanup spot as the designated hitter. He’s batting .291/.375/.655 (16-for-55) with five home runs, 13 RBIs and 14 runs scored in his last 14 games.

Henderson’s 16 home runs this season are the fourth most among rookies behind Corbin Carroll (21), Francisco Alvarez (19) and Josh Jung (19). The Orioles are 12-3 in the 15 games when he’s homered.

James McCann is catching, with Adley Rutschman on the bench.

Austin Hays is leading off. Jordan Westburg is playing second base, Jorge Mateo is the shortstop and Ramón Urías is the third baseman.

Ryan Mountcastle is batting .329 (28-for-85) with seven home runs and a 1.014 OPS against left-handers this season. He’s the first baseman tonight.

Dean Kremer is making his first career start against the Phillies. He allowed five runs and walked four batters in 4 2/3 innings in his last outing against the Dodgers. Before that, he allowed a combined two earned runs in 13 innings versus the Yankees and Marlins.

Kremer was 0-7 in 2021 and is 10-4 this season. Per STATS, he’s the only pitcher in the modern era to register a 10-win season within two years after going winless in 10 or more starts. Stump Weidman did it in 1882 with a 25-20 record following an 0-9 season in 1880.

An 11^th win would tie Kremer with six other pitchers for the major league lead.

Félix Bautista and Yennier Cano probably aren’t available after pitching four of the last five days. Mike Baumann threw 38 pitches yesterday in 2 2/3 scoreless and hitless innings.

Rutschman has collected 97 hits in 95 games. He can become the third Orioles catcher with 100 hits in fewer than 100 games, per STATS. Javy López did it in 78 games in 2004 and 90 games in 2005, Matt Wieters reached 100 in 93 games in 2009, and Chris Hoiles did it in 100 games in 1993.

The Orioles are 31-18 on the road, tied with the Astros for most wins in the American League. Their road winning percentage since 2021 has improved by .324, the fifth-highest increase in the AL, also according to STATS.

The Orioles rank first in the majors with a 31-8 record when scoring first. The Phillies are third at 39-12. So, a fast start tonight could influence the outcome.

Kyle Gibson will be presented his 2022 National League championship ring before the game.

Phillies left-hander Cristopher Sánchez is 0-3 with a 3.06 ERA and 1.047 WHIP in seven starts. He’s walked only six batters in 35 1/3 innings.

Sánchez has allowed one earned run or fewer in four of his starts.  He’s never faced the Orioles.

Bryce Harper is batting .315/.390/.438 (23-for-73) in his last 20 games.

The Phillies are in second place in the National League East but trail the Braves by 11 ½ games.  They snapped a four-game losing streak yesterday in Cleveland.

This is a streaky team lately, winning four in a row, losing three straight, winning four in a row and losing four straight. They’ve gone 26-19 at home this season and 27-27 on the road.

The Orioles lost two of three games in Philadelphia in 2021. They won the opener 2-0, with John Means tossing 6 2/3 scoreless innings, and then lost 3-2 and 4-3.

Manager Brandon Hyde used Conner Greene as an opener in the second game, followed by Marcos Diplán, Thomas Eshelman, Dillon Tate, Fernando Abad, Eric Hanhold, Tyler Wells and César Valdez.

The Orioles swept a three-game set in Philadelphia in 2020 and were swept in a two-game series in 2018.

For the Orioles
Austin Hays LF
Anthony Santander RF
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Gunnar Henderson DH
Jordan Westburg 2B
Aaron Hicks CF
Ramón Urías 3B
James McCann C
Jorge Mateo SS

Dean Kremer RHP

For the Phillies
Kyle Schwarber LF
Trea Turner SS
Bryce Harper DH
Nick Castellanos RF
Bryson Stott 2B
Josh Harrison 3B
Jake Cave 1B
Garrett Stubbs C
Johan Rojas CF

Cristopher Sánchez LHP