Home Series Preview: Baltimore Orioles in KC for series with AL Central cellar-dwellars
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Series Preview: Baltimore Orioles in KC for series with AL Central cellar-dwellars

Chris Graham
baltimore orioles
Photo: © Andreas Prott/stock.adobe.com

The Baltimore Orioles, a preseason AL playoff favorite, has limped out to a 10-12 start, with the offense scoring 4.14 runs per game, ranking 19th in MLB, the pitching staff posting a 4.00 ERA, ranking 14th.

What’s up with the O’s?

The stats and the won-loss record match up, unfortunately.

Pete Alonso, the big free-agent acquisition in the offseason, has two homers, a .207 batting average and a .664 OPS.

Gunnar Henderson is tied for sixth in MLB in homers (7), but he’s hitting .204 with a .763 OPS.

The team MVP right now would probably be second baseman Jeremiah Jackson (.303 BA/.879 OPS, 5 HRs, 17 RBIs), a 26-year-old in his second MLB season, who was never among the star-studded O’s farm system’s Top 30 prospects, and is only in the lineup because of the preseason injury to former top overall draft pick Jackson Holliday.

The O’s are in Kansas City (7-15) for three this week before returning home, with the Boston Red Sox in town for a weekend set starting on Friday.

KC superstar Bobby Witt Jr. is also off to a slow start – a .280 batting average and .715 OPS, no homers and eight RBIs through 93 plate appearances.

Witt averaged 26.3 homers and 93.3 RBIs in his first four MLB seasons.


Game 1: Monday, 7:40 p.m. (MASN)

  • BAL: Kyle Bradish (1-2, 5.49 ERA, 1.63 WHIP)
  • KC: Seth Lugo (1-1, 1.48 ERA, 0.99 WHIP)

Game 2: Tuesday, 7:40 p.m. (MASN)

  • BAL: Shane Baz (0-2, 4.91 ERA, 1.55 WHIP)
  • KC: Kris Bubic (2-1, 3.97 ERA, 1.06 WHIP)

Game 3: Wednesday, 2:10 p.m. (MASN)

  • BAL: Chris Bassitt (0-2, 6.19 ERA, 2.13 WHIP)
  • KC: Michael Wacha (2-0, 1.00 ERA, 0.78 WHIP)

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].