Jackson Holliday moves up to sixth in the order for tonight’s series opener against the Royals at Camden Yards.

Heston Kjerstad is in right field and Ramón Laureano is in left. They occupy the last two spots in the lineup.

Dean Kremer is trying to lower a 7.04 ERA and 1.565 WHIP over six starts. He’s surrendered 40 hits in 30 2/3 innings.

Kremer faced the Royals on April 4 and allowed two earned runs (three total) and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings. He owns a 3.98 ERA in four career starts against them.

Bobby Witt Jr. is 4-for-11 with a home run. Salvador Perez is 3-for-11 with a double and homer.

Witt is bringing a 22-game hitting streak to Camden Yards.

The Orioles are 33-21 in May since 2023. They went 17-9 last season.

The Orioles haven’t lost a home series to the Royals in their last nine sets.

Per STATS: The Orioles have 11 different players with multiple home runs this season, most in the majors and their most ever before May.

Kansas City right-hander Michael Wacha has a 3.38 ERA in six starts and he’s surrendered only one home run in 32 innings. He faced the Orioles on April 5 and allowed four runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He shut out the Astros over six innings in his last start.

Wacha has a 4.34 ERA in six career starts against the Orioles. Ryan Mountcastle is 10-for-22 with a triple and three home runs. Cedric Mullins is 9-for-23 with two doubles, a triple and two home runs. Ramón Urías is 5-for-16 with a double, triple and home run.

Gunnar Henderson is 1-for-14 with five strikeouts.

The Royals won two of three games against the Orioles last month in Kansas City. Left-hander Kris Bubic and right-hander Michael Lorenzen also will start this weekend.

The Royals are back in Baltimore for the first time since sweeping the Wild Card Series. They’ve won nine of their last 10 games after losing eight of nine.

Kansas City’s 15 home runs this season are the fewest in the majors.

For the Orioles

Cedric Mullins CF
Gunnar Henderson SS
Adley Rutschman C
Ryan O’Hearn DH
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Jackson Holliday 2B
Ramón Urías 3B
Heston Kjerstad RF
Ramón Laureano LF

Dean Kremer RHP

Former Orioles minor league pitcher Trey McGough (Mount St. Mary's) has retired. The Orioles traded McGough to White Sox last year at the deadline for Eloy Jiménez and he posted a 1.98 ERA in 14 games at Triple-A Charlotte but didn't get to the majors.

McGough allowed 15 runs and walked 15 batters in 15 innings with Charlotte this season. The Orioles acquired him in the Triple-A phase of the 2022 Rule 5 Draft.