Thursday’s Orioles-Yankees game postponed

Update: Never mind any of the below. The Orioles and Yankees have been rained out on Thursday night. There will be a doubleheader on Friday, starting at 4:05. In accordance with 2020’s special rules, each of the games in the doubleheader will have seven innings as the regulation length.

**

The Yankees have been a familiar opponent as of recently for the Orioles and tonight marks the start of another series against the Bronx Bombers, this time a four-game tilt taking place in New York. The pitching matchup features Keegan Akin for the Orioles and Gerrit Cole for the Yankees.

After 3.1 innings pitched as a reliever to begin his major league career, young left-hander Keegan Akin had an ERA of 8.10. Two starts since then, that number has come all the way down to 2.08. He threw 4.1 innings against the Blue Jays with two unearned runs, two walks and six strikeouts; and more recently, 5.1 scoreless innings with four walks and eight strikeouts against the Yankees.

The O’s have faced Gerrit Cole twice this season. The first time, he gave up three runs over 6.2 innings. This past Saturday at Camden Yards he allowed five runs (one earned) over six innings. That was an especially strange game because Cole struck out nine Orioles and allowed only one hit through the first five innings, but then things unraveled in the sixth when he was largely undone by an error and a couple of walks.

In his first year with the Yankees, Cole is averaging 2.3 HR/9 over the course of 52 innings. That’s way up from his career mark of 0.9 HR/9.

Speaking of career stats, Jose Iglesias is hitting only .176 in 17 total at-bats against Cole. Rio Ruiz is 2-for-10 with four RBI and Hanser Alberto is hitless in nine career at-bats. Matchup stats come courtesy of Orioles.com.

Orioles lineup

1. Cedric Mullins CF
2. Jose Iglesias SS
3. DJ Stewart RF
4. Ryan Mountcastle LF
5. Pedro Severino C
6. Renato Nunez DH
7. Rio Ruiz 3B
8. Hanser Alberto 2B
9. Pat Valaika 1B

Keegan Akin LHP