Baltimore is 58-63. Tampa Bay is 74-46. The Orioles open a four-game series at Tropicana Field on Friday night having lost consecutive series to two of the AL wild-card teams they're chasing, and now face a Rays club that's running away with the American League's best record.
It hasn't gone the way Baltimore needed over the last week and a half. The Orioles dropped two of three to the Rangers, then lost two of three to the Twins as well, capped by Wednesday's 7-5 defeat in the series finale at Minnesota. Shane Baz took a 4-1 lead into the bottom of the third before allowing four runs on six hits in that inning alone, finishing with his shortest and worst start of the season — three innings, nine hits, five runs, his fastball sitting roughly two miles per hour below his usual velocity. Dylan Beavers homered for the first time since April 24 and Leody Taveras added one of his own, but it wasn't enough.
Friday's opener brings some real reinforcement, though. Chris Bassitt is back from the 60-day injured list to start against Tampa Bay left-hander Steven Matz, rejoining the rotation for the first time since June 8. Bassitt landed on the IL with back discomfort that turned out to require surgery to remove bone spurs, and worked his way through multiple rehab starts at Triple-A Norfolk before getting the green light to return.
The Orioles activated Bassitt on Friday just ahead of the game, and optioned reliever Yaramil Hiraldo to Norfolk to make room.
Bassitt was 4-4 with a 5.27 ERA over 56.1 innings before the injury, numbers he'll look to build on against a Tampa Bay lineup that hasn't given many pitchers an easy night this year. Matz (5-4, 5.46 ERA) has been considerably more hittable, but Tampa Bay's lineup and bullpen have carried this team to the best record in the league regardless of who's on the mound.
The gap in the standings is real — 16 games separates these two clubs — but that doesn't make this series meaningless for Baltimore. With the toughest remaining schedule in the American League and a wild-card race that hasn't gotten any easier, every series left on the calendar matters, including the ones the Orioles aren't favored to win. A series against a team this good is as much a measuring stick as anything else: how competitive Baltimore looks against the class of the league will say something about whether this roster, reshaped since the trade deadline, is actually trending anywhere.
Probable Starters
Tampa Bay Rays: LHP Steven Matz (5-4, 5.46 ERA)
Baltimore Orioles: RHP Chris Bassitt (4-4, 5.27 ERA)
Where to Watch/Listen
First pitch: 7:10 PM ET at Tropicana Field, St. Petersburg, Florida
TV: MASN
Radio: 98 Rock (97.9 FM) and WBAL NewsRadio (AM 1090 / FM 101.5)
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