The Baltimore Orioles will look to right-hander Zach Eflin to try to get them in some semblance of a groove when he makes his first appearance in more than a month on Sunday afternoon.
The Orioles will wrap up a rough road trip when they face the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
Baltimore is 1-4 against the Angels and Minnesota Twins on this swing.
Questions about Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde’s job security have started to circulate as the Orioles — a playoff team the past two seasons — languish with the second-worst record in the American League. He said he is focused on trying to get the Orioles through rough stretches.
“Losing is hard,” Hyde said. “Watching guys that you feel like that you’ve been grinding with for years not having the success that you think they normally should have … and to not play the way we should be playing, that’s tough on a nightly basis. But I feel like we can turn this thing around.”
The Angels evened the three-game series with Saturday night’s 5-2 victory after Baltimore won the opener 4-1 on Friday.
“Even though that team over there isn’t what they have been, they still have the potential to do something real good,” Angels manager Ron Washington said of Baltimore.
The Orioles hope that Eflin (2-1, 3.00 ERA), who was the Opening Day starter, can provide a much-needed boost. Because of a lat strain, he hasn’t pitched – other than a rehab stint with High-A Aberdeen – since April 7 at Arizona, where he made his third start of the season. He has worked six innings in every big-league start this year.
The absence of Eflin and others on the injured list is the reason that Hyde said the Orioles need to navigate the schedule with some success until they have more of the expected pieces in place. That’s why Hyde said general manager Mike Elias has been so supportive.
“Him understanding of where we are roster-wise, I appreciate that very much,” Hyde said.
A turnaround at the end of the road trip could be a boost in the right direction.
“I feel good and proud of what we’ve built here,” Hyde said. “We’ve got off to a slow start. We have a lot of players on the injured list, and some things haven’t worked out. … I am really focused on this team and trying to figure out how to win games with the roster that we have right now and try to play better baseball.”
The Angels are expected to send left-hander Tyler Anderson (2-0, 2.68 ERA) to the mound on Sunday. He struck out a season-high seven batters in his most recent outing Tuesday against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Angels won 8-3 though Anderson didn’t figure into the decision.
Los Angeles has won in six of the seven games in which Anderson has pitched this year. His glitches have come with giving up long balls as opponents have drilled seven homers off him, including four across the past three games.
The Angels like that they got an RBI triple from Matthew Lugo for his first career hit on Saturday night. He made his major league debut on Friday as a pinch runner and defensive replacement but didn’t get to the plate.
“Now he’s got his feet at in the major leagues, and his first hit is a triple,” Washington said.
Los Angeles is 4-5 with one game left in a 10-game homestand. The Angels will embark on an all-California road trip with 10 games at the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Dodgers and Athletics beginning Monday.
The Orioles will head home for three games each with the Twins and Washington Nationals, beginning Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
