With Tuesday’s trade deadline quickly approaching, the visiting Baltimore Orioles and Cincinnati Reds will each try to make a statement in Sunday’s rubber game of their three-game interleague series.
The Orioles claimed Friday’s contest 6-2, while the Reds, behind three home runs and strong starting pitching from Tyler Mahle, grabbed Saturday’s game 8-2.
Right-hander Austin Voth (1-1, 6.15 ERA) will make his seventh start for Baltimore after being claimed off waivers from the Washington Nationals on June 7.
Voth did not factor into the decision in Baltimore’s 5-1 win over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays last Monday, allowing one run and four hits over three innings while matching a career high with three walks.
Voth is 1-1 with a 3.43 ERA in six starts, and has no decisions with an 8.51 ERA in 23 relief appearances this season for both clubs.
The Reds will counter with lefty Nick Lodolo (3-3, 4.73 ERA), who is making the eighth start of his rookie season. Sunday will mark his fifth start since returning from a 69-day stint on the injured list with a strained lower back.
Lodolo is coming off the first quality start of his career, holding the Miami Marlins to a pair of unearned runs and five hits over six innings in Cincinnati’s 11-2 win on Monday night.
Ryan Mountcastle, who went 0-for-4 with a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning on Friday night, was given Saturday off to rest, with the hope he can bounce back on Sunday.
“He’s banged up,” said Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde before Saturday’s game. “We’re getting to that point now where, he’s got lot of at-bats, lot of games under these guys’ belts, and he’s pretty banged up.”
Entering Saturday, Mountcastle had two hits in his last 33 at-bats. He has gone 19 games without a home run and is batting .191 in 22 games in July.
Terrin Vavra, just promoted on Tuesday, made his first major league start Saturday, batting eighth as the designated hitter and going 0-for-3. Vavra made his big-league debut Friday as a pinch-runner in the ninth inning. In 45 games this year at Norfolk, Vavra batted .324 with 14 doubles, one triple, two homers, five steals and 18 RBIs.
Baltimore starting pitcher Tyler Wells, who is 7-6 with a 3.90 ERA in 20 starts, is dealing with an oblique strain. Wells went on the injured list after his last start Wednesday against Tampa Bay, when he gave up four runs over 4 1/3 innings.
“He has a Grade I oblique strain,” Hyde said. “So, it’s not, fortunately it’s not too serious, but it’s going to take some time. Not sure about the timetable. But he’s going to miss some time. We have to wait and see. I don’t have a timetable at this point. We have to let it heal and go from there.”
Following the trade of Luis Castillo to the Seattle Mariners late Friday night, the Reds selected the contract of right-hander Ryan Hendrix from Triple-A Louisville before Saturday’s game.
Meanwhile, Reds manager David Bell indicated that right-hander reliever Luis Cessa is nearing a return from a strained left side and likely won’t require a rehab assignment. Cessa will use live batting practice sessions to get ready.
“Cessa is getting close. He might be active at the beginning of the trip,” said Bell, whose club begins a nine-game trip on Monday.
–Field Level Media
