The Baltimore Orioles would like to play in meaningful home games later this month.
In order for that to happen, they’ll need victories across the next week or so. Their next chance will come Wednesday night when they face the Cleveland Guardians to conclude a seven-game homestand.
“We win ballgames, we’re going to put ourselves right in it, right there,” Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson said. “We’re in it right now. But obviously, it comes down to winning ballgames, and that’s all we can do at this point. It’s pretty plain and simple.”
The Guardians (74-72) have won four of their last six games and trail the first-place Chicago White Sox by only two games in the American League Central.
Cleveland topped the Orioles 9-5 on Tuesday night to even the series and remain one game ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays in the battle for the league’s final wild-card berth.
“It’s one day at a time, but every one of these games gets our guys more and more confident with this experience,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
The Orioles (70-76), meanwhile, have lost seven of their last eight games as their bid for a wild card is fading.
Baltimore has scored more than one run in only three of the six games in this homestand.
The Orioles might have to wait until pregame work Wednesday to know the status of a couple of infielders. Henderson fouled a ball off his left knee in the eighth inning Tuesday and left for a pinch runner after reaching base on a walk. He’s batting .219 in a challenging season.
“We’ll see how it feels in the morning,” Henderson said after Tuesday’s game.
Baltimore infielder Blaze Alexander also left late in the contest with an ailing back. The result of losing two infielders during the game was backup catcher Carlos Narvaez playing second base to finish the game.
Cleveland has continued to play without rookie outfielder Chase DeLauter, who has missed the past four games because of a wrist injury. Still, he has appeared in 120 games this year.
“Very much still day to day,” Vogt said. “We’re optimistic he can be back in there soon.”
Left-hander Foster Griffin (15-4, 3.26 ERA) will start for the Guardians on Wednesday. He’ll make his seventh start for Cleveland since he was acquired from the Washington Nationals this summer amid his career-best season.
He’s 3-1 with a 4.06 ERA with Cleveland. While with the Nationals, he held the Orioles to one unearned run in seven innings of a no-decision June 27 in Baltimore. That’s the only time in his career that he has faced the Orioles.
Right-hander Shane Baz (5-15, 3.91 ERA) will start for the Orioles on Wednesday. He has recorded one victory since June 12, though he was the hard-luck loser Friday in a 1-0 decision to the Boston Red Sox after working 6 1/3 innings.
Baz absorbed the loss April 16 at Cleveland while allowing four runs in six innings. That was his third career start vs. the Guardians, leaving him 0-2 with a 4.76 ERA in 17 innings during those games.
–Field Level Media
