There’s less gloom and doom around the Baltimore Orioles these days.
They’ll look to make their situation even brighter when they host the Los Angeles Angels in Sunday afternoon’s series finale.
The Orioles will aim for their third sweep in their last five series. Baltimore beat Los Angeles 6-5 on Saturday following Friday’s late-night, rain-interrupted 2-0 decision.
“We won the series,” Orioles catcher Gary Sanchez said. “That’s important. It’s important for us to get these wins going forward.”
On Sunday, the Orioles will seek their third winning streak of three or more games during the past month.
“We continue to try for good stretches, put a couple streaks on the board and see where we’re at,” center fielder Cedric Mullins said.
The Angels will try to avoid a sweep and have Mike Trout available to help. He has been the designated hitter since returning on May 30 from a stint on the injury list because of a bone bruise in his left knee. Trout homered on Saturday.
He said he doesn’t want to rush into playing in the outfield.
“We’re just trying to be smart about keeping me in the lineup,” he said.
Los Angeles manager Ron Washington said Trout’s bat has given the team a bump.
“As long as he’s healthy and he’s able to step into that batter’s box, he’s going to give us something,” Washington said.
The Orioles will have to contend with Los Angeles left-hander Yusei Kikuchi (2-5, 2.92 ERA), who is scheduled to start in the series finale. He’s coming off a victory in a one-hit performance over 7 1/3 scoreless innings against the Athletics on Monday. The Angels won 7-4.
Even though Kikuchi is just 2-1 across his last seven starts, the Angels have won six of those games. He last faced the Orioles on Aug. 25 of last season, with a no-decision in the team’s 6-3 victory at Baltimore.
In his career against Baltimore, he’s 5-5 with a 4.80 ERA in 15 outings, including 12 starts. That matches his most decisions against any big-league opponent.
It’s left-hander Cade Povich’s turn again in Baltimore’s rotation. Povich (1-5, 5.46 ERA) has struggled significantly in two of his last three outings, giving up five runs in 4 2/3 innings in each of those (against St. Louis and Detroit) sandwiched around a solid 5 1/3-inning stint in Seattle.
The Orioles have lost in five of Povich’s last five appearances. He made his big-league debut slightly more than a calendar year ago but has yet to face the Angels.
Orioles first baseman Ryan O’Hearn was scratched from Saturday’s lineup because of a sore foot. It’s considered a minor problem, interim manager Tony Mansolino said.
“My guess is that if this is September and we’re trying to win the pennant, he’s probably playing (Saturday),” Mansolino said. “But I think with the idea that it’s still pretty early in the season, we want to take care of it.”
The Angels announced this weekend that left-handed pitcher Garrett McDaniels, who has been selected in December’s Rule 5 draft, has been returned to the Los Angeles Dodgers. He made 10 relief appearances without a decision for the Angels. He hadn’t pitched since May 1.
–Field Level Media
