Red Sox Series Preview: Red Is The New Orange Vs. Orioles

The Boston Red Sox (68-74) have seven wins in the last 10 games. They have won their last two games. Their hot streak comes against tough competition in teams like the New York Mets and the Toronto Blue Jays. They sit just one game back of third place in the American League East division. The team in front of them is the Baltimore Orioles (69-73), whom have gone 6-4 in their last 10 games.

At home, the Orioles have posted a 40-28 record, while the Red Sox have posted a 29-39 in away games. It would, at first, appear that the Orioles would have the advantage, based on those records. However, the Red Sox have been playing incredible baseball for the entire month of August as well as the first few weeks of September, which has kept the Sox close and ready to overtake the Orioles in this series.

Pitching Matchups @ Oriole Park at Camden Yards:

Monday, Sept. 14th @ 7:05 PM ET

Eduardo Rodriguez (9-5, 4.05 ERA) vs. Kevin Gausman (2-6, 4.43 ERA)

Tuesday, Sept. 15th @ 7:05 PM ET

Joe Kelly (10-6, 4.70 ERA) vs. Ubaldo Jimenez (11-9, 4.22 ERA)

Wednesday, Sept. 16th @ 7:05 PM ET

Henry Owens (2-2, 5.25 ERA) vs. Mike Wright (2-4, 5.45 ERA)

Lineups for Monday:

Red Sox

Mookie Betts – CF
Josh Rutledge – 2B
Xander Bogaerts – SS
David Ortiz – DH
Travis Shaw – 1B
Pablo Sandoval – 3B
Rusney Castillo – LF
Blake Swihart – C
Jackie Bradley – RF

Orioles

Nolan Reimold – DH
Manny Machado – 3B
Chris Davis – 1B
Adam Jones – CF
Steve Pearce – LF
Jonathan Schoop – 2B
Caleb Joseph – C
J.J. Hardy – SS
Dariel Alvarez – RF

Key Hitters:

Red Sox – David Ortiz

Winner of this week’s Red Sox Strut award, Ortiz has been an absolute beast. He’s hitting .444 for the last seven games and has three home runs and nine RBIs. His slugging percentage is beyond a thousand, making him one of the most deadly hitters right now in all of Major League Baseball.

Orioles – Chris Davis

This orange crush of a man is equally as on fire as his counterpart, Ortiz. Both players are designated hitter who play first base, and Davis is hitting .471 in the last seven games, helping his team win ballgames. As much as Davis is known for striking out, his two home runs and six RBIs in that stretch came with eight walks and a .679 on-base percentage. He’s doing anything that he can to get on base and help his team. When a player like Davis can do that consistently, opposing pitchers need to beware.

Predictions:

Game One Winner – Boston Red Sox

Game Two Winner – Boston Red Sox

Game Three Winner – Boston Red Sox

When the Red Sox are hot, they can be scorching hot. And, right now, the Red Sox have five players in the last seven games with four or more RBIs. The Orioles have six players in the same position, which will make this series a close affair in every game.

However, the Red Sox will have the advantage in every pitching matchup. Kelly may have a season ERA that’s bigger than his opponent, but it’s based on his terrible start to the year. Kelly has won eight starts in a row, with an ERA below 2.00, while Jimenez has been hot and cold throughout the season. Kelly’s performances have looked like a world-beater on the loose, so don’t bet that the winning streak will end any time soon. Owens has been pretty lights out, himself, and Rodriguez has been much more consistent than Gausman has shown, this season. If these trends continue, it will take the Orioles coming back late in games, taking advantage of the weakened Red Sox bullpen, for them to take a victory from Boston’s red-hot team.

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