Wednesday night Orioles game thread: vs. Red Sox, 7:05

There was a time when the mere prospect of facing Chris Sale was enough to send shivers down a team’s spine.

This year, Sale has lost his aura of dominance and invincibility. The Red Sox lefty enters tonight’s matchup against the Orioles with a 1-5 record and 5.25 ERA, and has been getting booed at Fenway Park. Ya hate to see that.

But don’t look now — Sale might be getting his groove back. In his last three starts, he has a 2.00 ERA and has struck out at least eight batters each game. He’s coming off his best outing of the year, six scoreless innings against his old team, the White Sox, that earned him his first win. So the Orioles may have their work cut out for them after all.

Brandon Hyde is changing up the lineup against the lefty-destroying Sale. Chris Davis and Rio Ruiz are on the bench, and Dwight Smith Jr. drops to sixth for the first time this year. On the mound, Andrew Cashner will go for his team-leading fifth win, which would surpass his total from all last season.

Orioles lineup:

2B Jonathan Villar
RF Joey Rickard
1B Trey Mancini
DH Renato Nunez
3B Hanser Alberto
LF Dwight Smith Jr.
CF Stevie Wilkerson
C Pedro Severino
SS Richie Martin

RHP Andrew Cashner