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The Baltimore Orioles will carry some rare momentum into their next series, a three-game set against the visiting Cincinnati Reds that begins Friday.

The Orioles have their first winning streak of the season after claiming the final two games of three against the visiting Cleveland Guardians this week. A 6-2 victory on Thursday came with lots of reasons for optimism.

“Just got to keep it rolling,” said Baltimore’s Ryan O’Hearn, who homered in the victory. “We finally got that first series win, so that feels good.”

The Reds have lost two in a row on the heels of a four-game winning streak. They fell to the visiting Seattle Mariners 11-7 in 10 innings on Thursday, having fought back to take a two-run lead in the eighth before giving up back-to-back solo home runs in the ninth.

The Reds don’t want to let any frustration linger.

“I say it over and over. This is a long season,” said Cincinnati outfielder Jake Fraley, whose grand slam in the eighth gave his team a short-lived 7-5 lead. “I feel if you let one game get too much of you, that’s when that spirals.”

The Reds are beginning a nine-game road trip, with later stops in Miami and Colorado. Cincinnati went 3-4 on its only previous road stretch this season.

Cincinnati also committed four errors on Thursday, and only five of Seattle’s 11 runs were earned.

“We played with a lot of heart, which is good,” Reds manager Terry Francona said. “But we made too many mistakes to win a game like that.”

Reds outfielder Austin Hays came off the injured list earlier this week for his season debut, and he homered in two of his first three games. Hays played seven major league seasons for Baltimore until he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies last summer.

Cincinnati left-hander Andrew Abbott (1-0, 1.80 ERA) will make his second start of the season on Friday. He made his season debut Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and he allowed one run and two hits in five innings, striking out five and walking two.

Last year, Abbott took a loss against the Orioles in Cincinnati after giving up two runs in five innings. But in 2023 in Baltimore, he got the win by holding the Orioles to one run on two hits in six innings with eight strikeouts. Those are his only two matchups with Baltimore.

Left-hander Cade Povich (0-1, 3.60 ERA) heads to the mound for the Orioles. He has pitched into the fifth inning in each of his three starts this season, though he has yielded 24 hits in 15 innings. He will be facing the Reds for the first time.

Orioles starter Tomoyuki Sugano worked seven innings on Thursday after Dean Kremer worked into the sixth inning on Wednesday, setting up Baltimore well going into the weekend.

“It allows guys to get a little breather down in the bullpen,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.

The Reds had player movement in advance of the road trip. On Thursday, infielder Christian Encarnacion-Strand went on the injured list because of a back ailment, with Noelvi Marte called up from Triple-A Louisville to take his place.

“I’m confident in myself,” said Marte, who had been optioned to Louisville earlier in the week.

–Field Level Media