This Saturday the (65-59) Baltimore Orioles and the (81-45) Houston Astros will play their second game of this three-game series. The first pitch will be thrown out at 7:10 PM EST inside Minute Maid Park. This is also the first time that these two teams will match up this regular season.
The Baltimore Orioles are coming into this one after a grueling series with the Chicago White Sox. Baltimore ended up taking two of three games, as they came back and won game three in extra innings. This team has a ton of fight and they are never out of the game.
The Houston Astros are entering this one after sweeping the Minnesota Twins in their last series. The Astros had it working at the plate and on the mound, as they made it very difficult for Minnesota. The Astros bats will need to stay hot if they want to take care of business against the Orioles in this one.
This game was written /published before last night's results.
The Baltimore Orioles have been on a tear since returning from the All-Star break and they are now 2.5 games back from the Seattle Mariners for the third and final AL Wild Card spot. The Orioles are also still in fourth place in the AL East, as they are 12.5 games back from the first-place New York Yankees. At the plate, the Orioles are scoring 4.36 runs per game and they are hitting .238 as a team. This is the 18th most runs scored per game and the 21st highest overall team batting average. They have struggled to consistently reach base, which has made it more difficult to score. Luckily, they have a ton of home run power hidden inside their batting lineup. They are hitting 1.06 home runs per game, which is the 15th highest average in the MLB. They can score multiple different ways, as they can string together hits or clear the bases with a moonshot over the outfield walls. Baltimore is also very aggressive once they have reached base safe ly, as they have already taken 73 bases this season. This is the 11th most stolen bases recorded this regular season, as they have a ton of speed inside their lineup, as well.
According to MLB.com, the Orioles will be starting Dean Kremer on the mound. Kremer has been decent this season, as he is 5-4 with a 3.45 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. In his last start he pitched for 5.1 innings, but only gave up five hits and one earned run. He gave the Red Sox a run for their money, as he made it very difficult to consistently reach base. He has also been decent on the road this season, as he is 3-2 with a 3.72 ERA. Luckily, the Baltimore bullpen is one of the best in the MLB. They are allowing 3.19 runs per game, which is the fourth least in the league. They have made it difficult for their opponents to score late in these games all season.