With key right-handed bats getting healthy, the Baltimore Orioles might be all right against left-handed pitching going forward.
Mired in a miserable campaign after rising from the depths with three straight winning seasons, the Orioles will visit the Sunshine State to open a four-game series Monday night against the soaring Tampa Bay Rays.
The return of righty-swinging catcher Gary Sanchez has given a power boost to interim manager Tony Mansolino, whose club has won three straight games and 11 of its last 15.
Sidelined since April 28 with a right wrist ailment, the 32-year-old Sanchez started poorly this season by hitting .100 through 12 games before the stint on the injured list.
The backstop showed off his pop by blasting three homers in his recent seven-game rehab with the Triple-A Norfolk Tides.
Sanchez homered for the first time as an Orioles player in Saturday’s 6-5 win over the Los Angeles Angels. He then closed the six-game homestand (4-2) with a grand slam in Sunday’s 11-2 rout in the series finale.
“Nobody wants to be hurt and not being able to help the team. I’m happy to be back now,” Sanchez said through an interpreter. “I feel a lot better now than I did in April when I was trying to battle through it.”
Zach Eflin (6-2, 4.08 ERA) will make his 10th start overall this season and fourth in five appearances against his former club.
The right-hander is 1-2 with a 3.15 ERA versus the Rays, with whom he pitched in 2023 and 2024.
The Rays have won three of the past four matchups against Baltimore, but the Orioles, who have appeared in the postseason the past two years, have claimed 17 of the 26 contests since 2023.
Yet the Rays are 18-6 in the past 24 games overall.
Manager Kevin Cash’s club arrived in New York and swept three games from a Mets team that entered that series with the National League’s best record.
However, Rays starter Shane Baz fired 6 2/3 innings of three-hit scoreless ball, Junior Caminero slugged a three-run homer and the visitors walloped the Mets 9-0 in Sunday’s finale.
“We’re playing good baseball, very encouraged with the way we’ve played,” Cash said. “Offense, defense, pitching … certainly to (sweep) this quality Mets team, everything’s got to go right. I feel like we did that for the most part.”
Right-hander Ryan Pepiot had overpowering stuff against the Red Sox on Tuesday, but it was not good enough in a 3-1 defeat.
Pepiot (3-6, 3.31) took the loss, striking out nine in 5 2/3 innings but yielding three runs on five hits.
Over two career starts against Baltimore, Pepiot is 1-1 with a 3.97 ERA. The Orioles have hit .313 against the Indianapolis native.
Right-handed reliever Forrest Whitley, acquired Friday from the Houston Astros for cash considerations, is expected to join the Rays on Monday after the organization makes a corresponding roster move.
–Field Level Media
