The importance of getting off to a strong start is something the Houston Astros and host Baltimore Orioles are well aware of entering Tuesday night’s series opener.
“It just sets a different tone to your day (when) you score first,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “The momentum, you want to keep that on your side. … When we do that, we put ourselves in a really good spot to win games.”
The Astros have gone 3-7 in their last 10 games, but they beat the visiting New York Yankees 7-4 on Sunday to avoid being swept.
The Orioles have lost three of their last five games, including two in a row to visiting Boston. They fell behind in the last two games and weren’t able to recover.
The Astros and Orioles both had Monday off.
Right-hander Shane Baz (0-2, 5.08 ERA) will head to the mound Tuesday for the Orioles looking for his first victory in a Baltimore uniform in his sixth start. Baz has worked at least five innings in every outing, but he has been tagged for four runs in each of his last two starts.
In two home games, Baz has given up a total of seven runs in 10 1/3 innings. He has faced the Astros three times in his career, going 0-1 with a 4.00 ERA across 18 innings.
An injury-riddled rotation is forcing the Astros to move right-hander Kai-Wai Teng (1-1, 2.16) from the bullpen to start Tuesday’s game as an opener. Teng, who spent the last two seasons with San Francisco and started seven games last season, has thrown 16 2/3 innings over 11 relief appearances, striking out 16 and walking six.
This will be his first appearance against Baltimore.
Christian Walker had a home run and a double for the Astros on Sunday. He has homered in back-to-back games and in three of his last six. By the end, Houston had scored seven runs to match their second-highest total in the last three weeks.
“Really good at-bats from the very beginning,” Espada said.
Baltimore scored a total of four runs in its last two games combined.
“We know we can put up as many runs as the best teams,” Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson said. “I know we’re one of the best teams at doing it. We just got to go out and do it. It’s just a matter of going out there and proving it.”
Henderson has smashed nine home runs this season. Catcher Samuel Basallo has homered in two of the last three games for Baltimore.
The Orioles have lost three of their four last home series, dropping two of three games in each case.
This will be the second consecutive opponent to visit Baltimore holding last place in its respective division. The Astros are 11-18, while Boston was 11-17 when it departed.
By the end of the Boston series, the Orioles had made roster moves that included designating right-hander Albert Suarez, who threw four innings Saturday, for assignment. Baltimore brought back reliever Ryan Helsley from the family emergency medical list.
–Field Level Media
