Baltimore Orioles vs Texas Rangers: July 28 Game preview

After a much needed day off, the Baltimore Orioles face the Texas Rangers in the first of a three-game series.

In their previous meeting, the Baltimore Orioles swept the Rangers in four games at Camden Yards.

Now, the two teams meet in Arlington at 8:05. Chris Tillman will toe the mound against Andrew Cashner.

As expected, Cashner’s ERA of 3.64 is significantly better than Tillman’s 7.05. Despite the lower ERA, the Orioles have teed off on Cashner in the past.

Several O’s have high batting averages. Most batters have fewer than 10 at-bats against Cashner and many have averages over .300. The most notable average belongs to Manny Machado, who has a career average of .600 with five at-bats. Seth Smith has batted .500 against Cashner. Welington Castillo, Ruben Tejada, and Trey Mancini have averages that top .300 versus Cashner.

But, on the flipside, the Rangers have performed well against Tillman. Andrian Beltre has 17 at-bats against Tillman and has an average of .471 with one home run. The other Rangers to watch against Tillman include Nomar Mazara and Delino DeShields. Tillman has held the rest to averages under .300.

This game could prove to be a hit-fest with two hittable right-handed pitchers with losing records. Jonathan Schoop was red hot against the Rangers in the previous series scoring nine runs in the four games. But, the young All-Star has yet to record a hit off of Cashner. Today could be the day.

Both teams are chasing records and have a bit of a chance of achieving them in this series. Adrian Beltre is four hits away from reaching the 3,000 hits milestone. And, the O’s are getting close to reaching that 10,000th home run. With 12 left, the odds are against them achieving it in this series – but the O’s did hit four dingers against the Rangers in the win on July 18. Chris Davis hit two that day.

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Since his return from the DL, Tillman has a better ERA than his current numbers show. In his two starts in July, he’s pitched 11.1 innings and given up earned runs. His ERA in July is a respectable 3.18. One of the starts was against the Rangers and the other against the tough Houston Astros. Despite the team getting the win against the Rangers, Tillman did not get a decision in the game.

The Rangers are coming off of an off-day, too. But, in their previous two series, they swept the Rays in three games and they took one against the Miami Marlins in their three-game series. The last game of the series was an explosion of hits and runs scored, but the Rangers lost 10-22.

Next: After the trade deadline, wil the O's be contenders?

The Rangers could be looking for some redemption, but the O’s are looking to win. And, the numbers point in O’s direction.