Orioles-Yankees series preview: Bronx Bombers in Baltimore

The Orioles have not exactly instilled confidence through the first two series of 2022. Their 1-5 start has already sent them to the bottom of the AL East standings; in fact, no other team in all of baseball has fewer than two wins.

This weekend, the O’s welcome the New York Yankees to Camden Yards for a three-game set. It is a less-than-ideal matchup for the Birds, who have scored just 12 runs across six games while the Yankees have allowed only 20 runs over seven games.

New York enters the series with a 4-3 record after taking two of three to begin the year against Boston and then splitting a four-game set with the powerful Blue Jays.

Anthony Rizzo is the hottest hitter for the Yankees at the moment. His three home runs leads the team, as does his .667 slugging percentage. Meanwhile, Joey Gallo and Josh Donaldson have scuffled out of the gate with an OPS of .491 and .463, respectively.

The Orioles will miss Yankees staff ace Gerrit Cole in this series, which may actually be unfortunate as he has been bit by the homer bug a bit early on and owns a 5.59 ERA through two starts. But they won’t be able to skip the Bombers’ bullpen.

New York’s 1.30 ERA out of the ‘pen is the second-best mark in baseball, and they have achieved it while throwing 34.2 innings, the third-most in the sport. Aroldis Chapman appears dominant again (15.00 K/9) and Lucas Luetge has been even better (18.00 K/9). But what makes the reliever group tough is how deep it is. Aaron Boone has handed the ball to 11 different pitchers, each one seemingly more effective than the last.

Game 1: Friday, April 15th, 7:05 p.m., MASN

Jordan Lyles (0-1, 9.00 ERA) vs. Jordan Montgomery (0-1, 8.10 ERA)

It’s a battle of Jordans that had underwhelming season debuts.

Lyles started in Tampa, and succeeded in giving the O’s some length, five innings to be exact. That’s why they signed him to an Elias-era record deal, although they would be hoping for better than allowing a run per inning, and maybe striking out more batters than you walk, if it isn’t too much trouble.

Montgomery lasted only 3.1 innings before he was lifted from his start against Boston. But he pitched better than his ERA indicates, striking out four and walking just one. The southpaw had a rock solid season in 2021 (3.83 ERA, 111 ERA+ over 157.1 innings), but is never asked to go particularly deep into a game.

Game 2: Saturday, April 16th, 7:05 p.m., MASN

Tyler Wells (0-1, 21.60 ERA) vs. Jameson Taillon (0-1, 3.60 ERA)

The Tyler Wells starting experiment had a rough launch. As he is still getting fully stretched out, his pitch limit was extremely curtailed compared to his fellow starters. Brandon Hyde only let him got 1.2 innings after tossing 54 intense pitches. It feels like he can only improve from there. Fingers crossed.

It is kind of amazing that Taillon is pitching in games right now. His 2021 season ended early due to an ankle injury, and he did not even start throwing again in any capacity until January. That didn’t stop him from tossing five effective innings against a strong Blue Jays lineup last time out.

Game 3: Sunday, August 15th, 1:10 p.m., MASN

Bruce Zimmermann (0-0, 0.00 ERA) vs. Nestor Cortes (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

Zimmermann may be the only current Orioles starter that the fanbase can have some level of confidence in. The lefty was wonderful in the home opener against the Brewers, going four scoreless frames. His changeup was especially difficult for the opposing hitters to square up.

On the rubber for the Yanks is former Oriole Nestor Cortes. The wonky southpaw has become a fan favorite in the Bronx for his unique approach to his work on the mound. That was elevated even further when he adopted a pet turtle named Bronxie last year and made it into the team mascot. The Orioles are likely going to have tons of trouble hitting Cortes hard, and it will be extremely frustrating. Although that is true of most pitchers.