The Orioles vs Dodgers opened Friday night with Trey Gibson on the mound for Baltimore in the first game of a three-game road series. The matchup came against MLB’s two-time defending champions and the club with the best record in baseball.
That setup gave the Orioles a steep test from the first pitch. They had already struggled against winning teams this season, and they still had not put together a run longer than three wins in a row.
Gibson Opposes Roki Sasaki
Gibson drew Roki Sasaki, the Dodgers' 24-year-old right-handed starter, in the opener. Sasaki had a 4.76 ERA for the season, a number that fit the wider volatility around a pitcher who has moved between sharp outings and rough ones.
For Baltimore, the start handed Gibson a direct assignment against a lineup built to punish mistakes. On the other side, the Dodgers entered with the best record in baseball, which left the Orioles trying to keep a road series alive against the most difficult opponent in the league’s current form.
Rutschman Gets A Day Off
Manager Craig Albernaz said the Orioles were giving Adley Rutschman a full day off after he took a thrown baseball in his ear while running to first base in Sunday’s game against the Mariners. The Orioles planned to re-evaluate him the next day.
That left Baltimore to manage the lineup without one of its main regulars while trying to take the series one game at a time. Trevor Rogers was on the mound as the Orioles hoped to wrap up the weekend with a series win, and after this trip they were headed to Seattle for seven games in eleven games against the Mariners.
Orioles Face A Tight Window
The larger issue is the one the Orioles have been carrying for weeks: there are about six weeks left for them to decide what they are. Friday night was another chance to do it against a top opponent, on the road, with the lineup missing Rutschman and the rotation already lined up for the rest of the weekend.
Yoshinobu Yamamoto was scheduled to pitch for the Dodgers the next day, so the Orioles had to take the opener if they wanted the series to tilt their way. A Saturday morning recap would follow after the game, but the first task was already clear on Friday night — survive the opener and keep the series within reach.
