- When: Tuesday, August 27st at 1:10 PM ET
- Who: Baltimore Orioles vs Los Angeles Dodgers
- Starting Pitchers: Cole Irvin and Jack Flaherty
- Where: Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, CA
The Baltimore Orioles take on the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday in what could be a preview of the World Series. The game will kick off at 7:10 p.m. PT at Dodger Stadium.
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In the first game of this series, the Orioles will be starting Cole Irvin instead of their best pitcher due to injuries in their starting rotation.
Irvin, who has an ERA of 4.82 this season, made one start in the month, allowing two runs in 4.1 innings on the 21st. However, the Dodgers have one of the best lineups in the league, averaging the fourth most runs per game (4.95).
Game Preview
The Los Angeles Dodgers have regained their footing after a rough stretch that allowed the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres to close in on them in the National League West.
Not long ago, their lead had dwindled to just two games. However, the Dodgers have since done the necessary work to reestablish their position, extending their lead to three games over the Diamondbacks and four over the Padres.
A key factor in their recent stability has been the return of Max Muncy and Mookie Betts, who were both sidelined for a significant period.
Even with stars like Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman in the lineup, the Dodgers' absence of Muncy and Betts made them more vulnerable, allowing opposing pitchers to navigate around their top hitters.
Mookie Betts speaks with @kirsten_watson about his go-ahead 2-run homer in the eighth. pic.twitter.com/313yxRY9an
— SportsNet LA (@SportsNetLA) August 25, 2024
With Muncy and Betts back, the Dodgers' lineup is more formidable, creating more scoring opportunities and making it difficult for teams to pitch around their big bats.
As a result, the Dodgers are once again looking like the first-place team they've been in recent years.
Now, the Dodgers face a new challenge from the Baltimore Orioles, an American League pennant contender.
Both teams can relate to each other in dealing with significant injuries to their starting rotations, forcing them to rely on makeshift solutions.
While both hope to have their rotations back to full strength by October, they are also focused on winning their respective division races.
The key difference is that the Dodgers have a small cushion in the NL West, while the Orioles are chasing the New York Yankees in the AL East. This late-August series promises to be an exciting matchup.
The Orioles recently played a challenging four-game series against the Houston Astros that felt like playoff baseball. This test should have prepared the Orioles well for their upcoming series against the Dodgers.
In contrast, the Dodgers' recent series against the Rays may not have provided the same level of competition that the Orioles just experienced. As a result, the Orioles are likely to be sharper and better prepared than the Dodgers for this upcoming game.
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Total Runs
Next, let's discuss the total in this one.
The Orioles rely on their back-end rotation starters to provide innings, and so far, Irvin has been fairly reliable in this role. Unfortunately, he fell short of reaching the fifth inning in his last start.
After that, he literally did his big one up there. That was like a movie. And he stood up there and said, “Now you’re sending three home.” pic.twitter.com/vQ7vb0tSAO
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 26, 2024
Baltimore is hoping for a solid five- or 5 1/3-inning performance against the Dodgers, although it won't be easy given the formidable Los Angeles batting order.
While this feels like a tall task for the Orioles, the Dodgers will be turning to Jack Flaherty.
He will be an essential part of the Dodgers' postseason plans. This matchup could serve as a good indicator of Flaherty's performance against top-quality opponents as the postseason approaches.
Despite both lineups getting most of the attention in this matchup, I think the pitchers shine and limit the offensive output of both teams.
I'll take Under 8.5 runs at +100 odds in this one.
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