Sunday afternoon Orioles game thread: vs Red Sox, 1:05

It took some shenanigans, but the Orioles broke their losing streak on Saturday night to beat the Red Sox 2-1, their first win in nearly a week. Now they just need a couple of things to break their way, and suddenly they have a series win.

The O’s ended April with a 7-14 record. That puts them on pace to be about a 54-win team, which is a two-win improvement from a season ago, but would represent less progress than I was hoping for. Mike Elias needs to put a more interesting team on the field moving forward.

To be fair, that seems to be the plan. Kyle Bradish coming up this week is one small step there. Adley Rutschman and DL Hall are ramping themselves up. Grayson Rodriguez is crushing it at Triple-A. And it’s likely that Rylan Bannon, Terrin Vavra, and Kyle Stowers all make their way to Baltimore sometime this year. It’s tough to see a scenario where that batch of players is any worse than what the Orioles currently have going on.

But for now, we need to deal with the hand we have been dealt. At least the rosters reducing in size today will make it harder for the team to justify roster spots for some of the less-productive members of the club.

Orioles Starting Lineup

1. Cedric Mullins, CF
2. Anthony Santander, RF
3. Ryan Mountcastle, DH
4. Austin Hays, LF
5. Rougned Odor, 2B
6. Ramón Urías, 3B
7. Tyler Nevin, 1B
8. Anthony Bemboom, C
9. Jorge Mateo, SS

Jordan Lyles, RHP (1-2, 5.40 ERA)

Red Sox Starting Lineup

1. Trevor Story, 2B
2. Rafael Devers, 3B
3. Xander Bogaerts, SS
4. J.D. Martinez, DH
5. Franchy Cordero, 1B
6. Enrique Hernandez, CF
7. Jackie Bradley Jr., RF
8. Christian Vázquez, C
9. Jaylin Davis, LF

Nick Pivetta, RHP (0-3, 8.27 ERA)