Los Angeles @ Baltimore preview
Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Last Meeting ( Aug 25, 2021 ) LA Angels 6, Baltimore 10
The Baltimore Orioles barely have time to savor the flavor of winning a game before finding themselves taxed with attempting to win a series.
Mere hours after snapping a 19-game skid, the Orioles will aim to capture their first series victory in over one month on Thursday afternoon when they host the Los Angeles Angels.
Los Angeles extended Baltimore's considerable woes with a 14-8 victory in the opener of the three-game series on Tuesday. The Orioles, however, staged a late rally in a 10-6 decision on Wednesday night for the team's first win since a 7-1 romp over the New York Yankees on Aug. 2.
"There was tension in our dugout; there was pressure. Everybody was on the top step. Our guys just really wanted this one," Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde said after Wednesday's win. "We're tired of hearing, tired of seeing it on TV. Everybody's tired of it."
Trey Mancini brought sage into the Orioles' clubhouse on Wednesday afternoon and rubbed it inside the dugout in an attempt to change his team's fortunes. It worked, but now Hyde instructed Mancini to bring it again while also telling him that he can't shave because the team is "on a winning streak."
Anthony Santander followed a four-hit performance on Tuesday with three more hits on Wednesday, including his fourth homer in his last four games.
Baltimore is bidding for its first series victory since it swept the Washington Nationals on July 23-25.
Shohei Ohtani surrendered three homers in five innings but was in line for the win before the late uprising sent Los Angeles to its fourth loss in five games. The two-way phenom is just 1-for-8 with five strikeouts in the series.
"He's playing again (Thursday)," Angels manager Joe Maddon said of Ohtani. "And I didn't see any need to push him at this time of year under the circumstances."
The Angels' Brandon Marsh hit his first career homer to highlight his five-RBI performance on Wednesday. He is 7-for-10 with seven RBIs in the series and 21-for-49 in his last 13 games.
"What you're seeing is what we thought he's capable of," Maddon said of the 23-year-old Marsh, "and this is just scratching the surface."
Angels right-hander Jaime Barria (2-2, 5.87 ERA) will look to bounce back from consecutive losses when he takes the mound on Thursday afternoon.
Barria allowed three runs in as many innings in an 8-2 setback to the Houston Astros on Aug. 14 before getting blitzed for five runs in two frames six days later in a 9-1 loss to the Cleveland Indians.
Barria won his lone career start against Baltimore on May 3, 2018. He permitted two runs on four hits in six innings.
Orioles left-hander Keegan Akin (0-8, 7.92) will take the mound Thursday afternoon looking to snap a three-start skid.
Akin surrendered two homers and three runs in five innings of a 3-0 setback to the Atlanta Braves last Friday.
Akin received a no-decision in his lone career appearance against Los Angeles despite yielding four runs on seven hits -- including two homers -- in three innings on July 2.
--Field Level Media