Orioles come to town playing .500 ball since the break

The Padres start a 2 game set against the Baltimore Orioles Monday night having lost 5 consecutive series. The team is still in a version of buy mode despite being 7 games out of the wild card. The Orioles come in playing for 2022 and looking to sell a few pieces. Only the Tigers have a worse record.

Pitching matchups:

David Hess (1-9 7.15 ERA) vs. Chris Paddack(6-5, 2.84 ERA)

TBD vs. Dinelson Lamet (0-2, 5.00 ERA)

Hitters to watch:

Fernando Tatis Jr. 13/13 1 HR 7 RBI .433 BA .469 OBP last 7 games

Wil Myers 3/17 1 HR 3 RBI .176 BA last 7 games (Hit the ball hard of late. Opportunity to continue to break out of funk)

Trey Mancini 6/34 3 HR 6 RBI .176 BA last 7 games (Could be traded during the series)

Jonathan Villar 10/33 2 HR 5 RBI 5 SB .303 BA last 7 games

What to expect:

The Orioles have actually played decent ball over the last few weeks. Though, they’re still 35-70. They’re getting ready to unload their most productive player in Trey Mancini. It’ll be interesting to see who the highest bidder is.

David Hess vs. Chris Paddack **should** heavily favor the Padres. Paddack was fired up after being pulled in his last outing. The home run ball came back to haunt him again. Look for him to bounce back.

Hess makes his 1st start since being optioned to AAA Norfolk a few weeks ago. With their best pitcher John Means on the DL, they’ll have to rely on arms like his. He’s been outstanding at giving up runs. His best start ironically came on April fools day, throwing 6 ¹⁄₃ shutout innings.

Dinelson Lamet takes the bump in game 2 hoping to improve upon his 1st 4 starts. He’s looked very much like the pitcher he was 2 years ago. At times, dominant with pin point control. Other times incredibly wild and missing spots by 2 feet. He still racks up the strikeouts as we’ve become accustomed to seeing. Still, he’s only started 4 games since missing a year and a half due to Tommy John Surgery, so he gets a little leeway. The team needs him to perform if they have any hope at a wild cars berth.

This series gives the team a very good chance to grab a few wins and get back on track. Who knows, we may have a new arm by then as well.