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Tuesday night Orioles game thread: vs. Twins, 7:05

The Orioles pitching staff feels like a daily disaster waiting to happen. Today, it's Dylan Bundy, who hasn't been a disaster except in his last start. The O's will face Ervin Santana, who's been very good so far this year.

Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

Everything is terrible in Birdland right now, or at least as terrible as it can be when the team is presently only 1.5 games out of the division lead and set to be the home wild card team. Perhaps we might more accurately say that their trajectory appears to be taking them to a terrible place, if it doesn't change. They have now lost seven of ten games.

Although their best starting pitcher, Dylan Bundy, is pitching tonight, the chances don't look so great for the Orioles because they're also going up against a good Twins starting pitcher. Yes, somehow Ervin Santana is one of the best pitchers by ERA in the league so far this year, with a 2.07 ERA through nine starts. Santana is doing this because batters have a .143 BABIP against him, a number that is absurdly almost half of his career BABIP.

Friends, when people talk about how BABIP luck is unsustainable, that's what they're talking about. A .143 BABIP is unheard of for just about any pitcher. If he kept that up over a whole season, it would be a feat worth writing about forever. This dude is overdue to get pasted.

Are the Orioles hitters going to be able to square him up enough to do it, one day after destroying Kyle Gibson then deflating entirely after the Ubaldo Jimenez/Tyler Wilson meltdowns? Let's hope so.

Today's Lineups

MINNESOTA TWINS BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Brian Dozier - 2B Seth Smith - RF
Robbie Grossman - LF Adam Jones - CF
Joe Mauer - 1B Manny Machado - 3B
Miguel Sano - 3B Mark Trumbo - DH
Max Kepler - RF Chris Davis - 1B
Kennys Vargas - DH Welington Castillo - C
Jorge Polanco - SS Trey Mancini - LF
Jason Castro - C Jonathan Schoop - 2B
Byron Buxton - CF J.J. Hardy - SS
Ervin Santana - RHP Dylan Bundy - RHP