Reliever Andrew Kittredge is on the verge of finally making his Orioles debut.
The Orioles reinstated Kittredge from the 15-day injured list this morning and optioned Chayce McDermott to Triple-A Norfolk.
Kittredge made only one appearance in spring training before undergoing surgery to repair cartilage in his left knee. He signed for $10 million over the winter.
McDermott allowed three runs and walked five batters in 4 2/3 innings in his third career major league appearance and was optioned after the game.
The bullpen has an extra reliever today as the Orioles try to snap an eight-game losing streak and avoid a third consecutive sweep. They’ve fallen 17 games below .500.
Ramón Laureano, their hottest hitter, is out of the lineup after injuring his left ankle last night in the fourth inning. Interim manager Tony Mansolino told the media that Laureano could miss a few days.
Laureano appeared to get his spikes caught in the grass while chasing a fly ball and took a nasty tumble. He exited an inning later but got lucky that he didn’t sustain a more serious injury. It looked bad.
The timing is unfortunate. Laureano is batting .348/.423/.630 with four doubles and three home runs in 15 games this month and has 11 hits in his last 21 at-bats.
Heston Kjerstad is in left field and Dylan Carlson is in right after getting his first Orioles hit last night. He’s 1-for-20.
Emmanuel Rivera is at third base. Jackson Holliday stays atop the order.
Adley Rutschman is catching and Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter.
Tomoyuki Sugano has a 3.08 ERA and 1.025 WHIP in nine starts.
Opponents are batting .043 against Sugano’s splitter this month after posting a .265 average in April.
The Orioles haven’t won a series against Milwaukee since 2003.
They haven’t won any series since May 9-11 in Anaheim and are 3-11-2 in series this year.
“I don’t think anyone in this clubhouse expected to be sitting right here,” Jackson Holliday told the media last night. “I know we have all really high expectations of what we can do, so it’s definitely been, I guess, testy, but we’re all in this together and we’re gonna keep pushing.”
The Orioles are 4-23 when the opponent scores first.
Brewers rookie Chad Patrick has a 3.35 ERA and 1.283 WHIP in 10 games (nine starts). Right-handers are hitting .240 with a .693 OPS and left-handers are hitting .282 with a .713 OPS.
For the Orioles
Jackson Holliday 2B
Adley Rutschman C
Gunnar Henderson SS
Ryan Mountcastle DH
Ryan O’Hearn 1B
Cedric Mullins CF
Emmanuel Rivera 3B
Heston Kjerstad LF
Dylan Carlson RF
Tomoyuki Sugano RHP
For the Brewers
Brice Turang 2B
Jackson Chourio CF
Christian Yelich DH
Rhys Hoskins 1B
Sal Frelick RF
Eric Haase C
Jake Bauers LF
Caleb Durbin 3B
Joey Ortiz SS
Chad Patrick RHP
Here are the starters for the series in Boston:
Thursday: LHP Cade Povich vs. RHP Lucas Giolito
Friday: RHP Charlie Morton vs. RHP Brayan Bello
Saturday: RHP Zach Eflin vs. RHP Hunter Dobbins
Sunday: RHP Dean Kremer vs. RHP Walker Buehler