The Baltimore Orioles and the Philadelphia Phillies are going in two different directions as the mid-way point of the MLB season slowly approaches. As the two teams continue a four-game series, the Orioles continue to surge forward while the Phillies are struggling to keep their heads above water. As the series shifts to Citizens Bank Park, the results are expected to be much of the same.
Baltimore has been inconsistent, but is still finding ways to win. On Tuesday, the team exploded for a 19-3 win while getting a 6-4 victory on Wednesday. It has been much of the same for Baltimore as the team is winners of nine of their last 10 matchups. Chris Parmelee, Travis Snider and David Lough have come up big for the club in recent days as their bats get more and more productive. During the 10-game span, the team is hitting .302 with 21 home runs and 7.1 runs per game.
In hopes of keeping momentum in their favor, the Orioles will start Bud Norris who is 2-4 with an 8.29 ERA. He got off to a rough start to the season, posting a 0-2 record with a 17.42 ERA. However, he has bounced back well going 2-2 with a 4.88 ERA in his last five starts. He recently gave up four runs and eight hits over five innings as the Orioles need him to start going later into game to help the bullpen.
Norris should have it easy against the Phillies who are currently averaging just 2.0 runs per game while in the middle of a nine-game losing streak. They currently rank last in runs and home runs while having the worst record in all of baseball. Sean O'Sullivan will take the mound to get the team out of their recent funk. He is 0-3 with a 6.14 ERA in his last five starts with just one win on the season. He is only averaging 3.51 strike outs per nine innings which is a league worst. That will not help him against this Baltimore lineup. He has some experience facing the Orioles as a relief pitcher posting 8.64 ERA in three appearances.
