Baltimore Orioles vs Oakland Athletics series preview

Apr 5, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez throws a pitch in his MLB debut against the Texas Rangers
Apr 5, 2023; Arlington, Texas, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Grayson Rodriguez throws a pitch in his MLB debut against the Texas Rangers | Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

After losing their second series of the season to an AL East opponent, the Baltimore Orioles look to rebound with four games at home against the lowly Oakland Athletics from Monday through Thursday.

Baltimore Orioles continue first homestand with four game series against the Oakland Athletics

KNOW YOUR OPPONENT

The Athletics enter this series as a predictably terrible team to start the season, having lost four in a row and five of six, having just been swept by the Tampa Bay Rays. Ramón Laureano and Ryan Noda lead the team in homers with two each, while Jace Peterson paces the team with five RBI's.

SEASON SERIES

Despite the Orioles emergence last season, it was actually the Athletics who won the season series, with Baltimore winning just three games to Oakland's four. In Oakland in April of 2022, the Athletics captured three of four games. In the start of September in Baltimore, it was the Orioles who took two of three.

PITCHING PROBABLES

Monday, 4/10: JP Sears vs Kyle Gibson

The series opener pits the youngster Sears against the veteran Gibson. Sears has made one start this season, allowing three runs on eight hits, lasting 4 2/3 innings to give him a 5.79 ERA after his start.

Gibson enters this game with two starts under his belt. He delivered a strong outing in his second start, allowing two runs on six hits and five strikeouts over seven innings against his old team, the Rangers. He has 12 innings pitched this season, allowing six runs.

Tuesday, 4/11: Kyle Muller vs Grayson Rodriguez

Game two of the set has two youngsters squaring off. Muller received the nod for the Athletics on opening day, and he's set to make his third start of the season. Muller has allowed three runs and eight hits in two starts, pitching 10 2/3 innings to give him a 2.53 ERA so far.

Rodriguez made his major league debut in his home state of Texas as he enters his second start. He allowed two runs on four hits and one walk, striking out five hitters in five innings of work for the heralded pitching prospect.

Wednesday, 4/12: Ken Waldichuk vs Dean Kremer

Waldichuk and Sears were two prospects the Athletics received for Frankie Montas at the trade deadline in 2022. Waldichuk enters this game with two starts under his belt, having allowed a whopping 14 runs on 17 hits and 4 walks in just 8 2/3 innings. In a word, yikes.

After a rough first start to the season, Kremer looked a little better against the Yankees in the series opener. He allowed four runs on five hits and three walks in five innings. On the season, he's allowed nine runs in eight innings pitched.

Thursday, 4/13: Adam Oller vs Cole Irvin

Oller has not been announced as the starter, but FanGraphs projects it to be him, so we'll go with his starts. He's appeared in two games out of the bullpen this season, allowing six runs on eight hits and five walks in 9 2/3 innings, giving him a 4.66 ERA out of the gate.

Meanwhile, Irvin will start against his old team in his third start of the season. After a shaky outing to start the year, he did slightly better against the Yankees. He was tagged for three runs on four hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings, once again failing to pitch five innings. He'll need to pick things up in this start.

With that, let's play some ball and get the Orioles over .500 with a series win!

Schedule