Baltimore Orioles Match Up With NL Central For Interleague Play

The Baltimore Orioles will take on the National League Central this season in interleague play.

Watching the Baltimore Orioles play teams you haven’t seen in a few years is always exciting. Fans get to see new faces and the players have the challenge of hitting/pitching against an unfamiliar opponent. This season the Orioles, along with the rest of the American League East, will take on the National League Central in Interleague play.

As always, the NL Central is sure to be a competitive division and feature plenty of elite talent deserving of intrigue. Here’s when the Orioles will play each NL Central opponent and what happened the last time they matched up, three years ago.

St. Louis Cardinals

Don’t look too far ahead because the Orioles will be taking on the Cardinals in St. Louis for their home opener. On Thursday, April 2nd, it is likely the O’s will face either Jack Flaherty or Dakota Hudson at some point in this three game set. The Cardinal’s two young hurlers are coming off seasons which guided the team to the National League Championship Series. After a 4 pm EST Thursday game, both teams will enjoy Friday off before finishing the series with back-to-back 2 pm EST games over the weekend. Of course, the Orioles franchise is familiar with the city as the former St. Louis Browns.

Last time out: June 16-18, 2017. The Orioles took two of three from St. Louis at Camden Yards. 

Pittsburgh Pirates

The following week, the Orioles will welcome the Pittsburgh Pirates to Baltimore. The Bucs will head south to take on a fellow rebuilding team in the O’s. The weekend series begins on Friday, April 10th. The two teams have what are considered two of the top ballparks in baseball, but talent is another question. The Pirates just traded former All-Star Starling Marte to the Arizona Diamondbacks this week which is sure to shake up their roster.

Last time out: June 6-7, 2017 and September 26-27. The Orioles won both games at Camden Yards in June, but dropped both contests in Pittsburgh at the end of the season. 

Chicago Cubs

The Orioles have an off day following the Pittsburgh series and then the 2016 World Series Champion Chicago Cubs come into town. The two-game set will begin on Tuesday, April 14th and conclude on the 15th before they meet again at Wrigley on June 1st and 2nd. The Cubs have made some small splashes in the offseason adding veteran outfielder Steven Souza Jr. after the departure of Nick Castellanos to the Reds. The Cubs also added relief pitcher Jeremy Jeffress for a frugal 800k one-year deal.

Last time out: July 14-16, 2017. Baltimore dropped all three games at Wrigely Field, dropping their first two games to familiar foes in Koji Uehara and Jake Arrieta. 

Cincinnati Reds

The Orioles will have a month’s break before revisiting an NL Central team. The O’s will visit the Reds for a three-game series beginning August 31st. The Reds are widely considered one of the most revamped teams in baseball coming into the 2020 season. Some signings include Nick Martini, Travis Jankowski, Mike Moustakas, Wade Miley, Nick Castellanos, and former Oriole Pedro Strop.

Last Game time out: April 18-20, 2017. The Orioles were outscored 7-10 in three games, but took two of three from the Reds in Cincinnati. 

Milwaukee Brewers

The final NL Central team the Orioles will play in the 2020 regular season is the Milwaukee Brewers, who come in for a weekend series beginning September 11th and concluding on the 13th at Camden Yards. The Brew Crew have had a busy off-season adding Luis Urias, Eric Lauer, Omar Narvaez, Avisail Garcia, Brett Anderson, Justin Smoak, and Eric Sogard. The main draw is sure to be 2018 MVP and 2019 MVP Runner-Up Christian Yelich, who has 80 home runs over the last two seasons.

Last time out: July 3-5, 2017. Baltimore dropped all three games at Milwaukee, scoring just three runs in the process.