Baltimore Orioles: Implications for Mike Wright’s start
By Brian Pinter
The Baltimore Orioles have a decision to make when it comes to which starter gets removed from the rotation.
During Spring Training, the Baltimore Orioles signed right-hander Alex Cobb to a four-year contract, solidifying their rotation. Cobb had accepted an option to the minors to start the season, but we knew he would be a part of the big-league rotation. The question though is, when?
It’s evident that Cobb will probably join the Orioles on April 14, while the team is in Boston. If the rotation stays in the same order, that would be Mike Wright‘s third scheduled start. However, the team’s second off-day of the month on April 12 could potentially mean Wright is the odd-man out.
The scenario from that point would mean that Cobb could start on April 14 – if all goes as planned – in the rotations number one spot, then turning it over to Dylan Bundy, Andrew Cashner, Kevin Gausman and Chris Tillman.
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But, with Tillman’s most recent outing only slightly better than his first, is it fair to assume that Wright will be the starter that’s bumped from the rotation?
His next outing is key
Wright will make his second career start against the New York Yankees tomorrow afternoon. Lifetime versus the Yankees though, he’s appeared in seven games, pitching 15.2 innings.
Having been tagged pretty well against New York, he’s currently sporting a 8.04 ERA and a 1.596 WHIP against them. His only start came on June 14, 2015, going four innings and giving up five runs on six hits.
With Tillman’s most recent outing again, not panning out exactly how he’d like, undoubtedly, Wright’s start will be observed very carefully.
He will, however, be facing a Yankees lineup that has scored 48 runs this season, and rank within the top-five in the American League in that category.
In order of most plate appearances, Didi Gregorius is 1-for-6 against him, but Brett Gardner is 3-for-4 with a double. Aaron Judge, who seemingly hits a home run against everyone, is 3-for-5, indeed with a homer off Wright. Gary Sanchez is 1-for-4 with a homer as well. Ronald Torreyes is 1-for-3, and both Austin Romine and Giancarlo Stanton are 0-for-3 and 0-for-2, respectively.
Next: Tillman's chance to continue a good trend
Giving up five runs today, Tillman took the loss. He wasn’t able to extend the streak of starters not allowing more than three runs. If Wright can manage to mimic his first start of the season, there’s a good chance it could be him remaining in the rotation when Cobb joins the Baltimore Orioles in a few days.