Baltimore Orioles: Lopez Struggles Again in 8-2 Loss

The Baltimore Orioles sent Jorge Lopez to the mound Saturday night in hopes of forcing a rubber game on Sunday. The 28-year old struggled in this start and threw 70 pitches in the first two innings and did not make it into the third inning.

Lopez’s first inning consisted of loading the bases with no outs and allowing one run to score on a passed ball before Gary Sanchez knocked in two runs on single to centerfield to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the second, Aaron Judge hit a two-run home run to left field to put the Yankees up 5-0. It was Judge’s 11th home run of the season and the third of this series. Six of those home runs have come against the Orioles. This was Lopez’s last run he would give up.

Baltimore had many opportunities to score, including the third when they had the bases loaded with one out. Austin Hays grounded into a double play to end the inning, stranding all the runners. Freddy Galvis also grounded into a double play to end the fourth inning.

The Orioles managed to get a run in the bottom of the ninth, but Pedro Severino grounded into another double play to end the game. Baltimore has lost their last four and sits seven games under .500 at 16-23.

In hopes of avoiding a sweep, Baltimore will send John Means to the mound, who comes in with a 4-0 record and a 1.21 ERA in 52 innings of work. Fellow southpaw Jordan Montgomery will take the mound for the Yankees, who is 2-1 with a 3.96 ERA in 38.2 innings.

Means has pitched well against the Yankees this season, so the Orioles will need to come out and score some runs early on. That will be their key to success.

The Sunday matchup is set for a 1:05 p.m. EST first pitch from Camden Yards in Baltimore, Md.