The Athletics have something to build on as they go into the next phase of their road trip.
They will meet the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series.
The A’s have won only two of their last six games, but they salvaged the finale of a three-game series in Philadelphia on Thursday with a 12-1 victory. They hammered four home runs, including the 11th of the season from Shea Langeliers, who was reinstated from the paternity list earlier in the day.
“Pretty remarkable night for him to come back and just jump right back in to where he left off really,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “The at-bats were great. Obviously, he has been a big part of our offense.”
The Orioles are returning from a 2-5 road trip, which ended with a 4-3 loss at Miami on Thursday when the Marlins scored the winning run with two outs in the ninth.
In Baltimore’s last six defeats, the Orioles averaged three runs per game.
“Hitting is hard,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “Big-league pitching is extremely tough every single night, and our guys have the ability to not give in. Some nights you string hits together, some nights you don’t.”
The Orioles will send right-hander Kyle Bradish (1-4, 5.03 ERA) to the mound on Friday. He has gone 0-2 across his past four starts, including giving up two homers and five runs in four innings during a 9-4 loss to the New York Yankees on Saturday.
In his lone previous matchup vs. the A’s, he got a win after striking out eight in six scoreless innings back in 2023.
Left-hander Jacob Lopez (2-2, 6.60 ERA) will get the call for the Athletics. He was charged with six runs in 5 1/3 innings in a 14-6 defeat against the visiting Cleveland Guardians on Saturday. He has worked at least five innings in each of his past four starts.
Lopez has faced Baltimore just once, pitching four innings and yielding only one run, which was unearned, during a no-decision in a home game last June.
The Orioles hope the return home can spark a offensive resurgence for shortstop Gunnar Henderson, who remains in the leadoff spot despite a .201 batting average. Albernaz continues to express confidence that Henderson isn’t far from breaking out.
“With Gunnar, he’s trying to do too much,” Albernaz said. “When he’s trying to do too much, it’s kind of overcompensating with his body a little bit. Now he has to make his decision earlier (at the plate). I firmly believe here in the next few more games he’s going to be back to himself.”
Albernaz gave Adley Rutschman the night off Thursday in an effort to keep the catcher fresh. Rutschman spent time on the injured list last month due to an ankle ailment, so the coaching staff remains cognizant of his workload.
“He has played a lot,” Albernaz said, “so recover and be ready to go when we get back home. That’s always the balance of this schedule, playing 162 games, picking the spots where guys get their days (off). … We just want to be smart about it. This is just me being overly cautious.”
The Orioles are finding ways to mix up their outfield combinations. Much of that involves Colton Cowser because of his versatility.
“We’re definitely excited about his ability to play elite defense at all three (spots in the outfield),” Albernaz said.
–Field Level Media
