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Wednesday afternoon Orioles game thread: vs. Blue Jays, 1:05

The Orioles have lost three straight and are looking to avoid a sweep at the hands of the Blue Jays on Wednesday afternoon.

By Mark Brown
Washington Nationals v Baltimore Orioles Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

The fun of the 2020 Orioles season has come to a screeching halt over the last few days as the Orioles have lost three straight, two of which included great comebacks that were ultimately rendered meaningless by bad late-inning plays. One result is that the O’s come into Wednesday afternoon’s game looking to avoid being swept.

If there’s any good news to be had, it’s that the offense is proving itself capable of putting up runs against some good pitchers, even when they face an early deficit. That is a level of resilience that I think even people who might have expressed some vague optimism about the 2020 season did not expect. The bad news is that the pitching has been leaving them more early deficits in this poor stretch.

Even with these three losses in a row, the O’s remain in a postseason spot. They are 12-11, which makes them the #8 seed in the AL. They have a little cushion over a couple of teams chasing them. This is not a place anyone expected to find the Orioles. I don’t really know how long it’ll last, but for now it’s still fun.

Here is the starting lineup for the Orioles that will try to get things back in a fun direction again:

  1. Chance Sisco - C
  2. Anthony Santander - RF
  3. Renato Núñez - DH
  4. Rio Ruiz - 3B
  5. Hanser Alberto - 2B
  6. Dwight Smith Jr. - LF
  7. Pat Valaika - SS
  8. Chris Davis - 1B
  9. Cedric Mullins - CF

Tommy Milone, who’s been surprisingly decent since a poor Opening Day start, will try to play the role of stopper. Santander brings a 13-game hitting streak into this contest. That is a career high. Núñez has hits in seven straight.

MASN’s Roch Kubatko noted that Sisco as catcher in the leadoff spot makes him the first Orioles catcher to bat leadoff since 1985, when Floyd Rayford led off on June 26. There were also three games where Curt Blefary led off early in the 1968 season. It’s good to see the .465 OBP guy at the top of the lineup for as long as he’s hot.

The Blue Jays lineup:

  1. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. - DH
  2. Teoscar Hernandez - RF
  3. Travis Shaw - 3B
  4. Randal Grichuk - CF
  5. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. - 1B
  6. Brandon Drury - 2B
  7. Santiago Espinal - SS
  8. Anthony Alford - LF
  9. Reese McGuire - C

Tanner Roark is the Blue Jays starting pitcher.

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