Baltimore will play the second game of its weekend series at Cincinnati on Saturday night. The Orioles took three out of four against Tampa Bay earlier this week, wrapping up a seven-game homestand. Cincinnati split a four-game series with Miami and is amid a 10-game homestand to open the second half of the season—this story was published prior to Friday night’s series opener.
Baltimore continues to be one of the top stories in the majors following its 10-game winning streak earlier this month. The Orioles dropped two out of three against the Yankees last weekend, but they bounced back with three wins in a four-game series against Tampa Bay earlier this week. They wrapped up the series with a 3-0 win in Thursday’s series finale. Baltimore is now on a six-game road trip that concludes with three games against Texas next week. The Orioles are in fourth place in the American League East, trailing New York by 16.5 games. They are only three games back of the final AL Wild Card spot, though.
Friday Mood ?? pic.twitter.com/Awiejkcjub
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 29, 2022
The Orioles have not been a good offensive team this season, ranked No. 24 in batting average (.234). Center fielder Cedric Mullins leads Baltimore with 100 hits, while designated hitter Trey Mancini added 93 base knocks. Right fielder Anthony Santander has hit a team-high 17 home runs. They will be facing a Cincinnati pitching staff that is dead-last in the majors with an ERA of 5.17. Rookie right-hander Dean Kremer is expected to start for Baltimore on Saturday. He allowed four runs on five hits while striking out six across 5.1 innings against the Yankees his last time out. Kremer finished June with a 1.29 ERA, but he now has 12 earned runs in 19 innings this month.