Monday night Orioles game thread: at Red Sox, 7:10

Sep 26, 2022 - 10:40 PM

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We are down to the final 10 games of the Orioles’ 2022 season, and boy do we need some magic to happen in the next week and a half of baseball.

As a reminder, the Orioles are (technically) within striking distance of all three AL wild card teams: 6.5 back of the Blue Jays, 4.5 back of the Rays, and 4.0 back of the Mariners. However, when factoring in that they have already lost the season series to both the Rays and Mariners, things do get a bit trickier.

The bottom line is the Orioles likely need to play flawless baseball from here on out to even have a sniff of a playoff spot. That isn’t an exaggeration. Anything less than a 10-0 record may not be good enough as the Mariners finish up the season with a cushy 10-game home stand against the Rangers, Athletics, and Tigers, three of the four worst teams in baseball.

But before any of that matters, the O’s have to handle their own business. On paper, tonight’s matchup looks promising. Jordan Lyles returns to the mound for the first time since tossing the second complete game of his career last week. That performance salvaged the series against the Tigers, and it also gave Lyles a decent shot to hit a new career high in innings pitched.

Lyles currently has 170 frames on the year. With this likely to be the second-to-last outing of his season, you can be sure he wants to throw more than 10 total innings to beat his previous career high of 180, which he set last year with the Rangers.

A non-MLB game worth watching is down in Norfolk, where Grayson Rodriguez is making another start. Although the numbers weren’t good, the 22-year-old did throw 83 pitches in his most recent start on the 21st. If he comes out of this start feeling strong it sure seems like an MLB debut in the final week of the season would be the next step.

Orioles Starting Lineup

1. Cedric Mullins, CF
2. Adley Rutschman, C
3. Anthony Santander, DH
4. Ryan Mountcastle, 1B
5. Gunnar Henderson, 3B
6. Austin Hays, RF
7. Rougned Odor, 2B
8. Kyle Stowers
9. Jorge Mateo, SS

Jordan Lyles, RHP (11-11, 4.50 ERA)

Red Sox Starting Lineup

1. Enrique Hernández, 2B
2. Rafael Devers, 3B
3. Xander Bogaerts, SS
4. Alex Verdugo, RF
5. J.D. Martinez, DH
6. Triston Casas, 1B
7. Rob Refsnyder, LF
8. Reese McGuire, C
9. Abraham Almonte, CF

Connor Seabold, RHP (0-3, 10.47 ERA)