The Baltimore Orioles look to extend their winning streak to a season-high five games on Thursday when they open a four-game series against the visiting Los Angeles Angels.
The Orioles recorded their first series sweep in nearly a calendar year on Wednesday with a 2-1 victory over the reeling Texas Rangers.
Baltimore, which had won four in a row from June 22-25, matched that streak despite mustering just four hits on Wednesday in the finale of a three-game set. The Orioles had erupted for 17 runs on 26 hits in the previous two contests.
“Good teams win in different ways, and we’ve won some close games as of late,” Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said after the Wednesday triumph. “Last two games have been shootouts, and then tonight we win 2-1. I think we have gotten better. Our pitching has really, really improved.”
Orioles right-hander Jordan Lyles (4-7, 4.70 ERA) will look to continue that trend on Thursday despite seeing his winless stretch extend to three starts in his last outing. He received a no-decision after allowing one run on four hits in 6 1/3 innings at Minnesota on Saturday.
Lyles owns a 3-4 record with a 7.17 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP in nine career appearances (eight starts) against the Angels.
Mike Trout has enjoyed considerable success in his career versus Lyles, going 8-for-18 with five extra-base hits (three doubles, two homers) and five RBIs. Trout, a three-time AL MVP, went 6-for-12 with a pair of solo homers against Baltimore on April 22-24, but the Angels dropped two of three in the series in Anaheim, Calif.
Trout has cooled down considerably of late. He is mired in a 1-for-18 stretch with 13 strikeouts in his past five games.
Signed to a 12-year, $426.5 million contract in 2019, Trout shot down trade speculation despite his team’s troubles this season.
“I signed the contract, and this is where I want to be,” Trout said, per the Orange County Register. “A lot of people are like, ‘Oh, he wants to be traded. Do this. Do that.’ I want to win. Everybody knows that. Going into the year, this isn’t where we wanted to be, obviously. Everybody knows that. We’ve still got time to turn this around.”
The Angels took a step in the right direction on Wednesday by snapping a four-game skid with a 5-2 victory over the host Miami Marlins.
Los Angeles rookie right-hander Chase Silseth (1-2, 5.23 ERA) will get the nod on Thursday as the team begins the final leg of its nine-game road trip.
Silseth, 22, breezed through the first four innings of his fifth career start on June 28 before it unraveled in a hurry against the Chicago White Sox. He exited after permitting three runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings during a no-decision.
Silseth has yet to face the Orioles in his young career. It’s uncertain if he’ll pitch against Ryan Mountcastle, who has been out of the starting lineup for the last two games due to sinus infection.
“The bat feels way heavier than it normally does, and the ball seems a little faster,” Mountcastle said, per the Baltimore Sun.
Mountcastle collected four hits and as many RBIs in the Orioles’ three-game series against the Angels in April.
–Field Level Media
