It doesn’t matter to Baltimore Orioles designated hitter Ryan O’Hearn who the opponent is if he hits a home run. They all feel good.
“Hitting home runs are fun,” O’Hearn said after he belted a two-run homer in the seventh inning in Baltimore’s 3-0 victory on Friday. “It doesn’t mean any more for me hitting it against the Royals.”
But doing so against Kansas City is notable for O’Hearn, who’s a former Royal. He’ll look to flex his muscles again on Saturday in the second contest of the teams’ three-game series Saturday night in Baltimore.
O’Hearn’s bat is a key part of the Orioles’ attack.
“He’s trying to win so bad,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said.
The Orioles have won four of their last 11 games. Conversely, the Royals lost for just the second time in 11 games in the series opener.
For Baltimore, moving on from April is important.
“Turn the page,” O’Hearn said. “I have a feeling we’re about to get hot. It’s going to be a fun month and a fun summer.”
The Royals managed only four hits Friday night, with two each from Michael Massey and Freddy Fermin. Dean Kremer’s pitching was superb for the Orioles.
“When we get a really good start (on the mound), we play good baseball,” Hyde said.
Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. will try to start another hitting streak on Saturday. His career-best 22-game streak ended with Friday night’s 0-for-4 outing.
The Royals have hit dry stretches offensively, averaging the fewest runs per game (3.2) in the majors. Yet there’s confidence among the players.
“There’s no doubt that this thing is going to get rolling,” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said.
Kansas City’s lineup is bound to be impacted by the status of catcher Salvador Perez, who didn’t play Friday because of a sore hip. Fermin did his part by filling in.
Perez is accustomed to dealing with ailments.
“Not that big of a deal,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said, not expecting Perez to miss much time.
Kansas City batters will take another crack at right-hander Tomoyuki Sugano (3-1, 3.00 ERA), who held them to one run in 5 1/3 innings last month in what turned out to be the Japanese rookie’s first victory in the major leagues.
The Orioles are feeling better about their bullpen with Felix Bautista rounding into form. He pitched a perfect ninth inning on Friday.
“I feel like the command is just getting better,” Hyde said. “The stuff’s ticking up a little bit, the fastball velo is ticking up.”
The Royals have lefty Kris Bubic (2-2, 2.25 ERA) lined up as their starting pitcher for Saturday’s game. He’s coming off his roughest outing of the season when he gave up four runs on five hits across five innings in Sunday’s loss to the visiting Houston Astros.
Bubic tossed 6 2/3 innings against visiting Baltimore on April 6, when he gave up one unearned run in his latest victory. That pushed his career ERA versus the Orioles to 2.82 in four appearances.
The Orioles will wait on the availability of infielder Ramon Urias, who was a late scratch from Friday’s lineup with a sore hamstring.
–Field Level Media
