The Toronto Blue Jays host the Baltimore Orioles Friday in the first game of a three game series. The Blue Jays are 81-62 and are second in the AL East and first in the wildcard rankings. The Orioles are 75-67, fourth in the AL East and fourth in the AL wildcard race. The Orioles lead the season series 7-6.
The Baltimore Orioles sit in fourth place in the AL East at 75-67, and they are also fourth in the AL wildcard race. As only 3 wildcard teams make the playoffs, they are on the outside looking in. But they are only 4 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays for the third spot, so they can't afford to lose too many games. The Orioles are coming off a two game sweep of the Nationals, which they badly needed as they lost two consecutive series to the Blue Jays and Red Sox. The Blue Jays took 3 of 4 from the Orioles last week. This is a huge opportunity to gain back some ground.
New inning, new Henderson highlight ?? pic.twitter.com/jsghzU7TFC
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) September 15, 2022
Jordan Lyles gets the start for the Orioles on Friday. Lyles is 10-10 on the season with an ERA of 4.62 in 26 starts. He has 124 strikeouts and 49 walks in 156 innings. Lyles is coming off an outing he'd rather forget as he got bombed for 8 runs on 7 hits in just 3.2 innings. Lyles is 2-0 with an ERA of 4.91 and 8 strikeouts in 2 appearances against the Blue Jays this season. In his career against Toronto, he is 3-1 with an ERA of 6.67 and 15 strikeouts in 6 appearances. The Orioles have a team ERA of 3.88, which ranks 14th in baseball. The bullpen has an ERA of 3.23, which is 6th in the league.