It’s up to Eflin and a frustrated Orioles offense to keep their postseason dream alive for a bit longer.
Game time: 4:38pm ET
Where to watch: ESPN, espn.com
Where to listen: 98 Rock FM (97.9) WBAL News Radio AM (1090), ESPN Radio
Orioles lineup
- Gunnar Henderson (L) SS
- Jordan Westburg (R) 2B
- Anthony Santander (S) RF
- Colton Cowser (L) LF
- Adley Rutschman (S) C
- Ryan O’Hearn (L) DH
- Ryan Mountcastle (R) 1B
- Cedric Mullins (L) CF
- Ramón Urías (R) 3B
Starting pitcher: Zach Eflin (10-9, 3.59 ERA, 134 K)
Not much has changed between Game 1 and Game 2 for the Orioles. James McCann takes a seat while Rutschman is back behind the plate, and O’Hearn is DH’ing to face the right-handed Seth Lugo. Everyone else retains their place after failing to score a run in the opener. That isn’t necessarily the wrong decision, but it does mean that Jackson Holliday and Austin Slater will have to wait a bit longer for their playoff debuts.
The O’s entire current roster is 12-for-32 against Lugo all-time. Slater has faced him the most (3-for-6 with a double). Cowser has a home run and a walk off of him. Westburg has also gone deep off of him. Fingers crossed that things go better today!
Royals lineup
- Michael Massey (L) 2B
- Bobby Witt Jr. (R) SS
- Vinnie Pasquantino (L) DH
- Salvador Perez (R) C
- Yuli Gurriel (R) 1B
- MJ Melendez (L) LF
- Hunter Renfroe (R) RF
- Kyle Isbel (L) CF
- Maikel Garcia (R) 3B
Starting pitcher: RHP Seth Lugo (16-9, 3.00 ERA, 181 K)
This lineup is almost identical to the one they went with in Game 1 of the series. The only change is in right field, where Hunter Renfroe will step in for Tommy Pham. Renfroe has very good career numbers against Eflin (5-for-13, two doubles, home run), but the sample size is quite small.
Eflin faced these Royals back on the fourth of July as a member of the Rays. It did not go well for him! Over five innings he allowed six runs (five earned) on seven hits, one walk, and three strikeouts. Of course, this offense has sputtered since then, and nothing they did in Game 1 will strike fear into our hearts. But it could still be better than the Orioles’ bats can do.