Sa; has 2 homers and 6 RBI in limited sample size against Cole Irvin, who is only in the O's rotation due to injuries to John Means and Kyle Bradish. Irvin got sent to AAA after 3 starts last April with a 10.66 ERA and tons of hard contact. Sal has a career slug of .512 at Camden Yards, homered again last night and has 15 XBH in 31 games there. Righties will have no problem seeing Irvin, whose gains in velo dipped as spring went on and who was blasted in final 3 outings, constantly pitching from behind and walking guys. I like Sal in the middle of this lineup to do damage tonight.

This is a prime matchup for the Os who are so dangerous at home. Roll with the birds against pitching that is built for their bats

I might actually not play Baltimore today because the O's surely are without top reliever Yennier Cano (leaving the gas can Craig Kimbrel out on an island) and I'm not a huge Cole Irvin guy ... but that Orioles lineup is so much better than Kansas City's so I'll just wait and see where it closes and maybe if anyone is ruled out. It very well may be rained out. Wouldn't shock me if Henderson led the AL in runs scored this year atop that lineup. He has scored at least one in three of four games.

I wish Alec Marsh was a thing. As someone who bought a fair amount of his cards back in '20/'21, it would be nice (I have a 2019 Marsh Bowman 1st /5 if anyone wants it). But he hasn't panned out and probably belongs in the middle of the pen. The O's see velo very well and destroy fastballs and will see a bunch here. Cole Irvin will give plenty of those runs right back (hence me only playing the ML), but Baltimore has better overall depth and quality and tend to take care of business at home. Orioles Magic and all

The O's and Royals are swinging the bats, especially in the middle of the order. Ball is already carrying well in Baltimore and both of these starters tend to find themselves pitching from behind, and stuck in fastball counts, where they give up heard contact. Not sure they are going to get this game in, given the weather report, but if they do there will be plenty of runs. Probably starting in the early inning. Go check Cole Irvin's April stats from 2023. Dare you. And Check out Alec Marsh's minor league numbers. Ouch.