In what could be a World Series preview, the Orioles are on the road to face baseball’s best team (record-wise), the Los Angeles Dodgers. Let’s check this series out!!!
Dodger IL/Other Updates:
- Down on the farm, Jackson Ferris, along with the Tulsa Drillers, is quickly making a name for himself. If you didn’t know, Ferris was one of the key prospects the Dodgers acquired when they traded Michael Busch and Yency Almonte. In his four games with the Tulsa Drillers, he’s pitched 17.2 innings with three earned runs, 16 strikeouts, and a 1.53 ERA. While he probably won’t be called up to the majors this year, if 2025 becomes another injury-prone year, could we see him up at the major league level?
- Shohei Ohtani got HBP in the eighth inning versus the Rays on Sunday. They went to do x-rays and the tests came out negative.
- Ohtani threw off a mound for the first time. He threw exactly 10 pitches.
Series Preview: Baltimore Orioles vs LA Dodgers:
The Orioles have fallen off in August, going 11-12. Why? Not just because of bad play, but because of injuries. Let’s take a tour into the Orioles injured list which contains players like Kyle Bradish, Jorge Mateo, John Means, Nate Webb, Heston Kjerstad, Grayson Rodriguez, Felix Bautista, Jordan Westburg, Zach Eflin, Cedric Mullins (Day-to-day), and Ryan Mountcastle (Day-to-day).
The fact that the Orioles are even winning after all of these injuries is mindblowing. Unfortunately, the Orioles have dropped to second in the AL East, giving the Yankees the throne. They’re currently sitting at the top wild card position in the AL.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, are on the opposite side of things, basically getting everyone back from injuries! Yamamoto and Graterol are beginning rehab assignments, and Connor Brogdon is continuing his rehab assignment. While they have lost River Ryan for the rest of the season and Glasnow for an extended time, pieces like Clayton Kershaw are back and many of the starters are performing as they should (Gavin Stone). From pitching to hitting, Max Muncy and Tommy Edman are off the injured list and just sometime back, Mookie Betts came back. The Dodgers could finally be at full strength!
Just because the Orioles are missing so many pieces, does not mean that they can’t play well. Here is their probable lineup.
- Colton Cowser
- Adley Rutschman
- Gunnar Henderson
- Anthony Santander
- Ryan O’Hearn
- Austin Slater/Cedric Mullins
- Ramon Urias
- Jackson Holliday
- James McCann
That’s still a World Series-caliber team. Rutschman is fantastic, Henderson is amazing, and Ryan O’Hearn is definitely an amazing fill-in for Mouncastle.
This could be a World Series preview because of how good both these teams are. Each has amazing players and while the competition is definitely crazy good, if/when both of these are at their top with no injuries and stuff like that, no one can beat them.
Let’s look at the Dodgers lineup.
- Shohei Ohtani
- Mookie Betts
- Freddie Freeman
- Teoscar Hernandez
- Gavin Lux
- Will Smith
- Max Muncy
- Miguel Rojas
- Tommy Edman
This lineup has absolutely no flaws. Shohei Ohtani just became a 40/40 player. Mookie Betts is just a star. We saw that with his two-run homer that was the difference versus the Rays on Sunday. Freddie Freeman is a hit machine. Teoscar Hernandez comes up clutch whenever you need him. Gavin Lux has been the hottest hitter since the all-star break. Will Smith is finally coming around with a three-game hit streak. Max Muncy has already supplied two big-time homers since his comeback from injury. Miguel Rojas has been on a tear since the all-star break. Tommy Edman is doing exactly what the Dodgers need him to do.
You see? Absolutely no flaws.
I’m using something called the Outcome Oracle to predict MLB series winners. Let’s predict who’s winning this series.
The Oracle favors the Dodgers with an EI rating of 11. Any rating below 10 means that the series/game will be too close to decide and the Oracle should not be trusted. Any rating above 20 means that the most probable winner will be that team and it’s an outcome that will most likely take place, barring any miracle. In the middle means that the Oracle is most likely right, but things could change.
In this case, the Oracle predicts that the Dodgers will win this series. The main thing that impacted the rating was injuries. The Oracle uses advanced MLB statistics that you probably don’t use in your day-to-day life.
In Other News:
- The Little League team from Lake Mary, FL are LLWS champions!
- Jackson Merrill cannot stop mashing. He hit his second walk-off homer of the season versus the Mets.
- Aaron Judge hits his 50th and 51st homer and is now on record pace.
Main Image: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
