The Tuesday late night Orioles game thread: at Athletics, 10:05

"Who the hell is Chris Bassitt?" I asked myself as I looked at tonight's lineups and starting pitchers, and it was then I realized the Orioles would lose. This is unfortunate, because the Orioles could really stand to win instead of lose - which is true every day, of course. Bassitt, it turns out, was one of the pieces that the Athletics received in the trade that sent Jeff Samardzija to the White Sox, but, being as he's 26, I don't think he was included because of being a hot prospect.

It's a shame the Orioles are going to lose tonight, because what they're putting on the field actually looks kind of like a major league lineup. The struggling Travis Snider is finally banished to the bottom of the order, where he belongs until he gets his act together. The outfielders are all real outfielders. Chris Davis is playing first base, as he should be.

They have won many games lately. They need to win many more if they want to get themselves into the postseason. That's all there is to it. A relative nobody in Bassitt is pitching tonight and they need to get a good outing from Gonzalez and find a way to beat Bassitt. They are capable of doing so. Whether or not they actually do is another story.