Monday night Orioles game thread: at Blue Jays, 7:07

It’s been nearly two years since the Orioles last played in Canada, but they return tonight to take on a Blue Jays team that has been stuck in neutral for much of the season. Both their offense and pitching staff are in the top half of the league, but it hasn’t been quite enough to get them over the hump. They enter this series against the O’s 5.5 games back of the second wild card spot.

On paper it sure looks like a tough matchup for the O’s, but now that they have recalled Ryan McKenna and Zack Burdi, nothing can stop them! McKenna was crushing Triple-A pitching and gets inserted right into the starting lineup. Burdi was a first-round pick once upon a time. That means something.

OK, it’s gonna be difficult regardless. An off day for Cedric Mullins only reinforces those problems. But taking a breather against a tough lefty like Robbie Ray probably isn’t the worst scenario for the all-star.

For a more in-depth look at the series, check out the preview that Alex posted earlier today. I will be back with the totals, lovely or not, in the post-game recap.

Orioles’ Starting Lineup

1. Austin Hays, LF
2. Ryan Mountcastle, 1B
3. Trey Mancini, DH
4. Anthony Santander, RF
5. Pedro Severino, C
6. Ramón Urías, SS
7. Ryan McKenna, CF
8. Jorge Mateo, 2B
9. Kelvin Gutiérrez, 3B

RHP Chris Ellis (1-0, 3.86 ERA)

Blue Jays Starting Lineup

1. George Springer, DH
2. Marcus Semien, 2B
3. Vladimir Guerrero Jr., 1B
4. Bo Bichette, SS
5. Teoscar Hernández, RF
6. Alejandro Kirk, C
7. Corey Dickerson, LF
8. Kevin Smith, 3B
9. Jarrod Dyson, CF

LHP Robbie Ray (9-5, 2.72 ERA)