Orioles duo showing why they should be everyday players

The calendar just flipped to May, but for the Baltimore Orioles, it may as well have flipped to September.

This early in the season, a team with lofty expectations seldom manages games as "must-wins." But for the Orioles, who sit at just 13-20, a new month may bring a newfound sense of urgency, one that a winning team isn't accustomed to feeling this early.

The O's starting rotation struggles have been well documented. Ahead of tomorrow's new series against the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore's starting pitchers have combined for the worst ERA in the American League. Baltimore hopes that with Zach Eflin on the road back to the bigs, highlighted by Sunday's rehab start in Aberdeen, Tomoyuki Sugano and Cade Povich providing some consistency, and Dean Kremer putting a rough month behind him to toss a gem against the Kansas City Royals, brighter days could be ahead.

The rotation is far from the only pain point of April, however.

One major point of concern for the O's has been the lineup's struggles against left-handed pitching. Against southpaws, Orioles hitters have posted a .179/.261/.240/.501 slash line. That batting average, slugging percentage, and on-base plus slugging are all the worst in baseball.

A key reason why is that the middle of their right-handed-hitting order hasn't produced. Tyler O'Neill, whose career OPS against lefties is close to .900, has just two hits in 21 plate appearances against left-handers this year, and both knocks were singles. Ryan Mountcastle, who has hit close to .280 against lefties in his career, is only hitting .177 this season against left-handed pitching. O'Neill, Jordan Westburg, and Gary Sanchez are all on the mend, and Ramon Laureano and Jorge Mateo both have averages under .200 on the season.

That doesn't leave Brandon Hyde with many options to choose from. But if the O's are finding themselves in "win-now" mode, he may just have to ride the hot hand, regardless of which hand is dominant.

Jackson Holliday and Ryan O'Hearn are among Baltimore's hottest hitters lately

Jackson Holliday and Ryan O'Hearn didn't figure to be huge pieces of the left-handed hitting puzzle. However, both have caught too much fire to keep out of the lineup, regardless of who is on the mound.

Over his last 15 games, Holliday is hitting .341 with an on-base percentage of nearly .450 and an OPS over 1.000. And while he only has an OPS of .529 against left-handed pitching, his recent surge in production is just too good not to be an everyday player.

The same can be said for O'Hearn, who has thrived in a platoon role over the last few seasons. His recent stretch suggests that he should be much more. Over his last 20 games, O'Hearn has mashed to the tune of a .652 slugging percentage and 1.030 OPS. While his numbers have taken a hit against lefties, his .708 OPS on the season against southpaws is respectable.

The plan may not have been for Holliday and O'Hearn to be in the lineup against a left-handed starter. But the O's need to climb out of a hole, and they just might have to lean on their hottest hitters to do it.

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