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Tuesday night Orioles game thread: vs Astros, 7:05

The defending World Series champs are in town for a big three-game set. Grayson takes on Framber in game one.

By Tyler Young
/ new
Grayson Rodriguez of the Baltimore Orioles throws a pitch Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Orioles will play a baseball game tonight, a welcome distraction from the off day shenanigans in which we learned that MASN play-by-play announcer Kevin Brown was suspended for the dumbest reason ever. Brown should be part of this legitimately big series, but instead he won’t be back until Friday.

But we will attempt to separate the Orioles from their jerky owner and tune in for this game anyway because that’s what we do as fans. It’s about the players and team, not the out-of-touch guy in the luxury suite with the ill-fitting suit and an inferiority complex.

Grayson Rodriguez is on the bump for the Birds. He pitched quite well in Toronto his last time out, but ran out of gas late to spoil his final line. His FIP for the season is down to 4.80. That feels about right, and it has come down from 5.92 when he was recalled from Norfolk in mid-July. This Houston lineup is another huge test for the rookie.

The same goes for the lineup in facing Framber Valdez. The southpaw has been one of the AL’s best starters for several years now, and 2023 is no different. July was a bad month for him (7.29 ERA over 21 innings), but he followed that up with a no-hitter against the Guardians in his most recent start.

Let’s go O’s!

Orioles Starting Lineup

  1. Adley Rutschman, DH
  2. Ryan Mountcastle, 1B
  3. Anthony Santander, RF
  4. Austin Hays, LF
  5. Gunnar Henderson, SS
  6. Jordan Westburg, 2B
  7. Ramón Urías, 3B
  8. James McCann, C
  9. Jorge Mateo, CF

Grayson Rodriguez, RHP (2-3, 6.09 ERA)

It’s interesting that Rutschman is DH’ing again, the third time in four games, despite an off day on Monday. It seems like it was a decision made to get McCann’s right-handed bat in the lineup rather than Ryan McKenna’s. Mateo gets time in centerfield for the third straight game.

Astros Starting Lineup

  1. Jose Altuve, 2B
  2. Alex Bregman, 3B
  3. Yordan Alvarez, LF
  4. Kyle Tucker, RF
  5. Yainer Diaz, DH
  6. José Abreu, 1B
  7. Jeremy Peña, SS
  8. Jake Meyers, CF
  9. Martín Maldonado, C

Framber Valdez, LHP (9-7, 3.07 ERA)

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