Baltimore Orioles vs Boston Red Sox: 5 players to watch

The Baltimore Orioles are playing better of late, but they’ll need their A-game to have a chance against the Boston Red Sox.

With a 5-3 record over their recent home stand, the Baltimore Orioles did well to pick up some momentum at Camden Yards. Their next opponent is one of the best, most complete teams in the majors: the Boston Red Sox.

The Red Sox rocketed out of the gate this season, posting a 17-2 record through April 20. They’ve basically been a .500 team since then, going 12-12, but that’s still much better than the Orioles, who remain near the bottom of the American League.

Yes, the Birds have experienced some incredible highs over the past week — did you already forget about Sunday’s 17-run performance? — but they were back to their old tricks against the Phillies on Wednesday, losing 4-1. They managed just four hits, including an Adam Jones home run that provided their only offense of the game.

Even with their recent uptick, an Orioles rebuild doesn’t appear to be any less inevitable than it was three weeks ago. Manny Machado and Adam Jones are playing on expiring contracts, while Chris Davis ranks ahead of just three AL hitters in adjusted OPS: Jackie Bradley, Jason Kipnis and Kole Calhoun. Consider the trade stock of the Birds’ halfway decent players to be an ongoing storyline for the rest of the season.

Until the sell-off begins, all we can do is appreciate their better moments. The Orioles and Red Sox will get underway on Thursday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Here are five players who could tilt the balance of the series.

Manny Machado, SS

The Orioles delivered some terrific offensive performances over their home stand, but they may need to dig a little deeper against the Red Sox. Boston’s rotation is underachieving this year, but even so, no lineup wants to go up against the likes of David Price and Rick Porcello.

That’s where Machado comes in. While the Birds are slashing .234/.299/.403 as a unit — 14th in the AL after adjusting for park effects — the 25-year-old shortstop has a .342/.422/.652 line and leads the AL in both home runs and RBIs. If the Orioles are to have a good showing at Fenway, they’ll need their superstar to rise to the occasion.

Fortunately, Machado is no stranger to success against quality pitching. He has homered off several star pitchers this year, including reigning Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, whom he took deep on two occasions.

Take a look:

There’s also the matter of Machado’s trade stock, which has remained high as ever over the past few weeks. The Orioles front office is likely loathe to break up the band, but at 13-29, the team is going nowhere. In a recent post, I argued that the Birds should look to get a higher price for Machado by trading him earlier in the season — and if they do take that route, it’s all the more reason to admire his incredible play while we still can.

Dylan Bundy, RHP

Bundy was off to a great start this year, but after a red-hot first month, he appeared to have hit the skids. In three starts between April 26 and May 8, he posted a 19.00 ERA across just nine innings.

But just when it looked like Bundy had completely forgotten how to pitch, the righty delivered last Sunday, making one of the best starts of his young career: seven strikeouts and just two hits over seven scoreless innings. Take a look at some of the highlights:

The Orioles’ banner day at the plate — they scored 17 runs — overshadowed Bundy’s strong performance, but a Fenway follow-up would be hard to ignore. The Red Sox have scored 232 runs this year, making them the second-most productive offense in all of baseball. They’re a steady team that rarely slumps, and six of their qualified batters are having above-average seasons according to adjusted OPS.

All of that should provide an ideal litmus test for a pitcher who has been wildly inconsistent this year. Another strong start would bring Bundy out of the doghouse once and for all, but a poor showing would burn Orioles fans who already have little to be optimistic about. Either way, he’s one to keep an eye on.

Jonathan Schoop, 2B

Schoop’s absence due to an oblique strain was a big setback for the O’s in the second half of April, especially with Luis Sardinas and Engelb Vielma left to man the keystone. Since returning on May 8, the Curacaoan has posted a .763 OPS, more than a hundred points higher than his mark from before he went down.

The bad news: that .763 figure is still well short of his breakout performance from last season, when he smashed 67 extra-base hits for a .293/.338/.503 line. Put simply, if Schoop doesn’t improve, the Birds will feel foolish for not trading him over the offseason.

The room for that improvement is certainly there. Schoop has never had a good eye, but his walk rate has plummeted this year, falling from 5.2% in 2017 to just 2.0% in 2018. That’s the lowest clip of his career, even worse than his 2014 season, when he slashed .209/.244/.354.

Schoop may never be a truly complete hitter, but at least he was getting better with each year. Given that he’ll be eligible for free agency after the 2019 season, the Birds must make a tough decision — they can either trade him this year before he sinks his value any further, or wait until next year and hope for a rebound. Expect his performance over the next few weeks to figure heavily into that decision.

J.D. Martinez, DH/OF

Martinez and the Red Sox seemed to be a match made in free agency heaven from the very start, but that didn’t prevent the late-blooming slugger from lingering on the market until February 26. With a five-year, $110 million contract, the Florida native was one of just three players to pull in nine figures over the offseason, and he’s wasted little time proving that it was a good deal for both sides.

After slashing .302/.366/.741 with the Diamondbacks in the second half of 2017, Martinez has kept it going in Boston, posting a .344/.395/.644 line through 44 games. He’s not hitting for quite as much power, but taking into account the favorable conditions at Chase Field, he’s actually performing better this year, with his 171 OPS+ just edging his 170 mark from last summer.

There are no signs that the barrage will stop any time soon. Martinez has batted .356 with seven home runs since the calendar turned to May, including this go-ahead bomb off of Dellin Betances:

Suffice it to say that the Orioles pitchers will have their work cut out this weekend. Martinez may not be able to sustain a .344 average all season, but with his power, every one of his at bats is worth watching.