Right-hander Landen Roupp will try to build on a 20-inning scoreless streak for San Francisco’s pitching staff as the Giants open a nine-game road trip at Baltimore on Friday night.
San Francisco, which won just three times in its first 11 games under first-year manager Tony Vitello, bounced back to post back-to-back shutout wins over the Philadelphia Phillies before departing on the 11-day eastern trip, which also includes three-game stops at Cincinnati and Washington.
Roupp (1-1, 4.22 ERA), who has never faced the Orioles in his career, was brilliant in his season debut on March 30 at San Diego, allowing just two hits and striking out seven over six shutout innings in a 3-2 victory over the Padres. However, he followed that up by allowing seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings in a 9-0 loss to the visiting New York Mets on Saturday.
Roupp didn’t get much help from his defense, which committed three errors in that loss. He struck out seven, including the first four batters he faced on 22 pitches.
“I definitely think Landen threw better than what the box score says,” Vitello said afterward. “On defense, we can certainly do better.”
The Giants take a two-game winning streak into the contest after a 5-0 win over the Phillies on Wednesday. Right-hander Tyler Mahle allowed three hits over 5 2/3 innings while Rafael Devers, batting just .196 entering the contest, went 2-for-4 with four RBIs, including a 411-foot, three-run homer to center that broke a 0-0 tie in the sixth inning.
“It’d be awesome to be in a better situation, but I think we found some things out about ourselves that can be valuable in the long run,” Vitello said of his team’s disappointing 5-8 start. “We’re playing pretty decent ball right now.”
Baltimore will start right-hander Shane Baz (0-0, 4.09 ERA), who will be making his first career appearance against the Giants.
The Orioles return home for a six-game homestand following a topsy-turvy 3-3 road trip that began with getting swept in three contests at Pittsburgh. Baltimore then bounced back to sweep a three-game series with the White Sox in Chicago to get back to .500 (6-6) for the season.
“It’s a long season. It’s a marathon,” Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said. “There’s going to be ups and downs. No need to panic after a tough series in Pittsburgh. Our guys are keeping their heads down with a one-day approach and every single day show up at the field and continue to get better and compete.”
One big bright spot so far for Baltimore has been the play of outfielder Taylor Ward.
Ward, obtained in an offseason trade with the Los Angeles Angels for pitcher Grayson Rodriguez, went 4-for-5 with three doubles and two RBIs in Wednesday’s 5-3 victory. He leads the league in doubles with nine and is second with a .383 batting average.
Ward, who never had a four-hit game in eight seasons with the Angels, has had two in his last eight games.
“I guess it’s something in the water,” Ward joked. “It feels good. I’m seeing it well. I think the biggest thing is just trusting my work in the cage and really working on my (bat) path, and make sure I’m behind the ball as long as possible.”
“Just great at-bats,” Albernaz said of Ward’s hot start. “He grinds out at-bats. He makes pitchers work, forces them into the strike zone. Lays off pitches out of the strike zone, and he gets his swing off. It’s been fun to watch.”
–Field Level Media
