Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has seen his club bounce back from hard losses to keep its season moving forward. The next challenge comes this afternoon.
It won’t be easy following last night’s 11-10 loss to the Astros, who are trying to salvage a split of the four-game series.
The defeat pushed the Orioles four games behind the Mariners for the last wild card. The tie-breaker belongs to Seattle, which scored in the ninth inning last night to beat the Royals.
Eleven games remain and the Orioles still need two wins to assure a no-losing season.
The left-handed lineup turns with Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Stowers and Terrin Vavra. Adley Rutschman is catching.
Henderson is the third baseman, Stowers is in right field and Vavra is in left. Austin Hays is on the bench.
So, too, is Ramón Urías, whose neck appeared to be bothering him again last night before he came out of the game.
Austin Voth has registered a 2.84 ERA and 1.219 WHIP in 20 games with the Orioles. Today is his 16th start.
Voth has faced the Astros twice this season, including once in relief with the Nationals when he allowed two runs and three hits in the seventh inning. He started on Aug. 28 in Houston and held them to one run and one hit in six innings in a 3-1 loss.
The Orioles fell to 58-2 when leading after six innings. They hadn’t lost a game while collecting 17 hits since Aug. 10, 2018 against the Red Sox.
The Astros settled on right-hander Cristian Javier for today’s start after listing the spot as TBD. He’s 10-9 with a 2.77 ERA and 0.995 WHIP in 28 games (23 starts) and is averaging 11.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
Javier has made three starts this month and allowed only one earned run (three total) in 16 1/3 innings. The last two have been scoreless, with three hits in 11 innings.
Javier made a relief appearance against the Orioles on Aug. 26 and took the loss by allowing the game’s only two runs on Urías’ homer in the sixth. He worked three innings.
The Astros are 100-53 overall and 50-30 on the road. They’re the first team in American League history to reach 100 wins four times in five full seasons per the Elias Sports Bureau.
Dusty Baker is one of four managers to win 100 games in both leagues, joining Sparky Anderson, Whitey Herzog and Tony La Russa.
For the Orioles
Cedric Mullins CF
Adley Rutschman C
Gunnar Henderson 3B
Anthony Santander DH
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Terrin Vavra LF
Rougned Odor 2B
Kyle Stowers RF
Jorge Mateo SS
Austin Voth RHP
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