Saturday afternoon Orioles game thread: at Blue Jays, 1:37 ET

The Orioles needed wins against the Toronto Blue Jays, and so far they haven’t gotten them. They needed runs against Blue Jays starters, and they haven’t done that, either. José Berríos gave up just two in six innings, and [Eclectic Bullpen Cast] only allowed two, too.

It’s a bummer. Because Alek Manoah (14-7, 2.43 ERA) has been kryptonite for this Orioles offense this season. His last start against the O’s he went eight innings while allowing only three hits and one run. The Birds are hitting a lowly .180 and OPS’ing .534 against Manoah. That includes Ryan Mountcastle (.182, .546 OPS), Cedric Mullins (.182, .705 OPS), and Rougned Odor (.200, .473 OPS). Two bright spots, though: Adley Rutschman (.300, 1.064 OPS) and Anthony Santander (.429, .985 OPS).

Dean Kremer (7-5, 3.34 ERA), is holding Toronto to a .271 average and .668 OPS in 2022. That includes three Jays hitters with OPS’s north of 1.000 against him (Vlad Guerrero Jr., Lourdes Gurriel, Santiago Espinal), but plenty of effectiveness against Matt Chapman, Bo Bichette, George Springer and Whit Merrifield.

It won’t matter if Kremer is solid if the Orioles can’t score any runs for him. Let’s hope Adley continues to be a gifted hacker of the Manoah code.

Orioles lineup

1. Cedric Mullins CF
2. Adley Rutschman DH
3. Anthony Santander RF
4. Gunnar Henderson 3B
5. Jesús Aguilar 1B~
6. Terrin Vavra 2B
7. Austin Hays LF
8. Jorge Mateo SS
9. Robinson Chirinos C

Blue Jays lineup

1. George Springer DH
2. Vladimir Guerrero 1B
3. Bo Bichette SS
4. Matt Chapman 3B
5. Teoscar Hernández RF
6. Raimel Tapia CF
7. Danny Jensen C
8. Santiago Espinal 2B
9. Whit Merrifield LF