The Texas Rangers play host to the Baltimore Orioles in the opening games of their mid-week series on Monday night from Globe Life Field. The Orioles come in, continuing to show plenty of signs of life as they fight in the AL East towards a Wild Card spot. For the Rangers, it has been a disappointing season but they know they still have time to try to turn things around. The Orioles swept the three-game series that was almost nearly a month ago and will be looking to set the tone on Monday as well, even as they hit the road.
The Orioles have been the talk of baseball for much of the season but even as they continue to find success, there's no doubt that many are simply awaiting them to fail. They come into this one having gone 5-5 over their last ten games, helping them stay alive in the Wild Card race. The main issue is how they'll handle being on the road, as they put their 22-31 record on the line and know that massive improvements are needed if they want to continue to work their way up the standings. Having just swept the Rangers the last time they met is likely to give this team seem confidence in this one but they'll need to start strong on Monday night.
One of Baltimore's biggest advantages has been its ability to stay healthy throughout the season. Jonathan Arauz (finger) remains the only position player out, while two other relievers and three starts will continue to miss time as well.
Early and often ?? pic.twitter.com/edrUFKKx44
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) July 30, 2022
According to MLB.com, it'll be Spenser Watkins who will be tasked with getting things started on the road on Monday night. The righty has had a strong but far from the elite, season thus far, as he looks to continue to find success. He enters this one with a 3-1 record and 4.03 ERA and has only allowed six earned runs across his last 23 innings of work. In his previous start this season against the Rangers, he allowed one run across 6.2 innings of work and is looking to replicate that in this one.
Major questions remain when it comes to the offense though, especially as the season wears along. The Orioles rank in the bottom third of baseball in nearly every offensive category and while they rank 15th in home runs, it hasn't seemed to be enough to prop up this lineup. Trey Mancini (.268 average) leads the way, though Anthony Santander (19 HRs, 56 RBI) has the ability to provide quite a bit of run production in the middle of the lineup.