Saturday afternoon Orioles game thread: at Twins, 2:10 ET

Friday night’s loss in the series opener proved two things: closer Jorge Lopez is in fact human, and Byron Buxton might not be. It also put a little more pressure on the Orioles heading into Saturday afternoon’s matchup. The Os will need a win Saturday if they want to finish their 10-game road trip with a winning record (they are currently 4-4). However, this Orioles team has been defying odds and expectations all season, and Saturday provides them with another opportunity to do so. On the road, against a first-place team, needing a win for a successful road trip. Past versions of the Os would have certainly folded, but we have come to expect more from the Birds in 2022.

Standing in the Orioles' way Saturday is Minnesota’s de facto ace, Sonny Gray. The veteran righty leads the Twins’ starters with a 2.17 ERA and a strikeout rate of 8.9 Ks per nine innings. Last time out Gray threw seven scoreless innings in an 11-1 Twins win over the Guardians in Cleveland. Gray has been a little bit more vulnerable at Target Field this season, posting a higher ERA, WHIP and batting average against in the Twin Cities. Still, Gray will almost undoubtedly make Orioles hitters earn the win today—in a way they came just short of on Friday.

The Orioles will counter Gray with their own ace, Jordan Lyles. The 12-year vet will look to overcome his struggles so far this season on the road and match the performance Baltimore got out of Spenser Watkins in the opener. So far in his Orioles career, Lyles is 3-5 with a 6.47 ERA on the road. The long ball has been his biggest bugaboo, as all 11 of Lyles HRs allowed this year have come away from Camden Yards. Lyles is coming off one of his stronger away showings of the season after he rebounded from a rough start to throw seven innings against the White Sox on 6/26.

Orioles Lineup:

CF Cedric Mullins

RF Trey Mancini

LF Anthony Santander

DH Austin Hays

1B Ryan Mountcastle

2B Rougned Odor

C Robinson Chirinos

3B Tyler Nevin

SS Jorge Mateo

Twins Lineup:

1B Luis Arraez

DH Byron Buxton

SS Carlos Correa

RF Max Kepler

2B Jorge Polanco

CF Nick Gordon

LF Alex Kiriloff

C Gary Sanchez

3B Gio Urshela