A needed victory over the Cleveland Guardians has the Baltimore Orioles in position to split this key four-game series. And the Orioles have a chance to remain undefeated in post All-Star Game starts by Corbin Burnes as he looks to match his career high for victories Sunday afternoon at Cleveland.
Baltimore, tied with the New York Yankees atop the American League East, totaled nine hits while being outscored 18-7 in losing the first two games of this set against the AL-leading Guardians. However, the Orioles broke out for 15 hits during Saturday’s 7-4 victory to end Cleveland’s five-game winning streak.
Gunnar Henderson had three hits with an RBI, Jackson Holliday had two hits and an RBI, and Adley Rutschman’s pinch-hit, two-run triple highlighted a four-run eighth inning for Baltimore. The Orioles are 9-13 since July 9. “Everybody’s got a buy-in mentally,” Henderson, 7-for-17 in his past four games, told Fox Sports. “That’s what we’re gonna need down the stretch and in the playoffs, as well.”
The Orioles haven’t had any trouble scoring runs during Burnes’ three starts since he started the All-Star Game for the American League on July 16. They’ve scored 22 runs in winning all three of those games. Burnes (11-4, 2.47 ERA) has been his usual solid self while going 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA in his last three starts.
The right-hander, who won 12 games for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022, overcame allowing four hits, three walks and hitting two batters to yield two runs over 6 2/3 innings of Tuesday’s 6-2 home victory against Toronto. “You have to continue to do your job,” Burnes said. “Continue to get outs.”
Burnes didn’t allow an earned run over 14 innings while winning his first two career starts vs. Cleveland in 2020 and ‘21. However, last season he yielded four runs and eight hits over 5 2/3 innings in a no-decision against the Guardians. While Josh Naylor homered off Burnes in 2023, another Cleveland All-Star, Jose Ramirez, is 0-for-8 against him.
Ramirez hit a two-run homer Saturday for his 29th home run of the season and is 7-for-18 with five home runs and 11 RBIs in the past five games for the Guardians.
“He’s the epitome of a professional and the epitome of a baseball player,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said of Ramirez, who ranks second in club history with 245 home runs behind Jim Thome (337).
Scheduled Cleveland starter Gavin Williams (1-3, 3.72 ERA) on Sunday will look to build on his most recent strong outing, when he allowed two hits with a walk and struck out eight in five innings of the Guardians’ 5-0 victory at Detroit on Tuesday.
The right-hander had given up six runs, 12 hits and four walks over 9 2/3 innings over his previous two starts, both losses. Williams has never opposed Baltimore.
He’ll face prized Baltimore prospect Holliday, who is 5-for-14 with six RBIs in four games since being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk. He was 2-for-34 with one RBI in 10 games during his first major league stint in April. Meanwhile, fellow Orioles rookie Colton Cowser is riding a 16-game hitting streak.
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