After their May 22 game against the Baltimore Orioles was postponed, the Boston Red Sox announced that Brayan Bello would start the first game of the following day's doubleheader, and Lucas Giolito would start the second.
The Red Sox don't have two arms more desperate for a run-in with the Orioles. The division rival has posted a 16-31 record so far and lost eight of its last nine games. Baltimore is slashing .232/.299/.387 with a .686 OPS as a team, its average is the sixth-lowest in the league.
If you asked the Red Sox in the offseason what they thought their record would be by now, they wouldn't say it'd be a game below .500. Boston needs a few more series wins under its belt as soon as possible, and Bello and Giolito could start on a high note with the Orioles, despite their rocky seasons so far.
Bello is fresh off his worst start of the year against the Braves, when he let up seven runs in 4.1 innings. He only landed three strikeouts, walked five batters, and only 52 of his 92 pitches went for strikes. Bello's 4.02 ERA on the season doesn't look too bad, but his peripherals tell a different story. His 5.59 expected ERA ranks in the 11th percentile and his .302 expected batting average ranks in the seventh.
Struggling Red Sox pitchers Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito have key chance to bounce back against Orioles
Giolito has struggled, in general, since his return from the internal brace procedure in April. On May 11, he posted a one-run, 6.2-inning start against the Royals, but he's clocked a 7.08 ERA in 20.1 innings this season. His xERA and xBA rank in the 13th percentile.
The Red Sox can't collect a series win on good pitching alone, though. Boston's bats will face off against Cade Povich in the series opener. Povich, a 25-year-old lefty, has logged a 5.23 ERA with 38 strikeouts and 14 walks in 41.1 innings. Boston will throw all its righties at him, and hopefully, they can capitalize on right-handers' .304 batting average against Povich.
Kristian Campbell has been in a fierce slump at the plate, with a .191/.273/.304 slash line in his last 30 games, and the Red Sox need him to rebound soon. Trevor Story has had a similarly rough stretch, slashing .183/.240/.258 in the last month. The Sox's struggling righties need to use
Boston needs an all-around breakout performance against Baltimore. The Red Sox have a tough stretch of games coming up in June when they'll face the Braves again and the Yankees twice in one week — getting ahead of that schedule with a series win against the Orioles could be critical to their standing in the American League East.