BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
ADLEY CLUTCHMAN PART DEUX: Adley Rutschman hit a go-ahead three-run double on an 0-2 pitch with two outs in the seventh inning last night as the Orioles rallied to beat the White Sox, 6-3, in the series opener at Guaranteed Rate Field…Baltimore tied a season high by walking nine times, joining Opening Day on March 30 at Boston.
The O’s have won all five series openers this season.
AGAINST THE WHITE SOX: The O’s and White Sox continue their first series this season with two more games at Guaranteed Rate Field…Baltimore and Chicago-AL will play six times in 2023 with the Orioles hosting the Sox from August 28-30…The O’s went 5-2 against the White Sox in 2022, taking three of four games in Chicago from June 23-26 and two of three at Oriole Park from August 23-25.
LOOKING AHEAD: The Orioles have a scheduled off day on Monday before traveling to Washington, D.C. for two games against the Nationals from April 18-19…Following another off day on Thursday, the O’s open a six-game homestand with the Tigers from April 21-23 and Red Sox from April 24-26.
ON THE ATTACK: Baltimore is batting .253/.343/.447 (117-for-463) with 30 doubles, 20 homers, 80 runs scored, 78 RBI, and 61 walks in 14 games to start the season…The O’s rank second in the AL and third in MLB in runs scored after finishing 10th in the AL and 20th in MLB with 674 runs scored in 2022…The team is also third in the AL and fifth in MLB in doubles and third in the AL and sixth in MLB in total bases (207) this season.
NEED FOR SPEED: The O’s 21 stolen bases are tied with the Guardians for the most in MLB…Baltimore and Cleveland are the first MLB teams since 2000 with 21 steals in the first 14 games to begin a season…The 21 stolen bases by the Orioles through their first 14 games of the year are the most in O’s history (since 1954) to open a campaign… The O’s have only been caught stealing once for a 95.5 percent success rate…Jorge Mateo and Cedric Mullins are tied for the MLB lead with Chicago-NL’s Nico Hoerner with seven steals…The seven steals are more than eight MLB teams this season and the duo’s 14 combined stolen bases are more than 24 MLB teams to start 2023.
BIG TIME RUTSCH: Adley Rutschman notched his sixth career go-ahead plate appearance in the seventh inning or later last night with his three-run double with both of his such plate appearances this season coming in the last two days…He tallied his first career walk-off as a professional on Thursday, homering in the ninth inning…Rutschman has tallied a hit in a career-high eight consecutive games since April 7, the longest streak by an O’s batter this season, while slashing .462/.611/.885 (12-for-26) with two doubles, three home runs, seven runs scored, eight RBI, and 10 walks during that stretch…He’s also reached base safely in 11 straight games, tied for the secondlongest of his career and one shy of his career high, since April 3 with a .510 on-base percentage in that span.
Rutschman ranks among AL leaders in walks (T-1st, 12), on-base percentage (2nd, .492), batting average (4th, .377), OPS (4th, 1.134), hits (5th, 20), slugging percentage (7th, .642), and total bases (T-7th, 34).
His 32 times reaching base safely this season lead MLB; he is the only MLB player this season to reach safely at least four times in four different games.
Since the start of 2022, he ranks third in MLB with a .308 batting average (12- for-39) on 0-2 pitches (min. 40 PA).
He has hit four home runs this season, tied with Los Angeles-AL’s Logan O’Hoppe for the most among primary catchers; last year, Rutschman didn’t hit his fourth homer until his 38th game on July 7.
Homered in back-to-back games (4/9-10) for the first time in his career.
Rutschman is batting .412/.524/.588 (7-for-17) against lefties this season after slashing .173/.287/.265 (17-for-98) against southpaws in his rookie year.
MOUNT UP: On Tuesday, Ryan Mountcastle became the third player in Orioles history with nine RBI in a game, tying Jim Gentile (5/9/61 at MIN) and Eddie Murray (8/26/85 at CAL) for the team record…Mountcastle leads MLB with 19 RBI, is tied for the MLB lead with six home runs (see chart at right), and is tied for third in MLB with 10 extra-base hits and 37 total bases.
He drove in 12 runs in the Oakland series to become the first O’s player with 12 RBI in one series since Rafael Palmerio from August 15-18, 1996 at Oakland (5G) and the first to do so in a four-game series since Dan Graham had 13 RBI from July 21-23, 1980 at Minnesota.
His grand slam in the seventh inning on Tuesday was the second of his career (5/22/21 at WSH) and the first by an O’s batter in 2023; the blast traveled 456 feet, the farthest home run by an Oriole this season and the farthest of his career.
His 10 barrels this season rank tied for third in MLB, per Statcast; his 23 batted balls of 95+ mph are tied for eighth-most.
HAYS OF OUR LIVES: Austin Hays is tied for second in MLB with 13 runs scored… Among AL leaders, he is tied for fourth in doubles (6), tied for fifth in extra-base hits (9), tied for ninth in total bases (32), and 10th in batting average (.333) and slugging percentage (.627)…Hays, Ryan Mountcastle, and Adley Rutschman all rank in the top 10 in the AL in slugging this season.
Hays’ double off Jimmy Lambert in the eighth inning last night was 110.5 mph, the hardest-hit ball of his career, per Statcast; four of his five hardest-hit balls and eight of his hardest-hit 13 balls in 2023 have come in the last five days.
Hays scored eight runs in the Oakland series, becoming the first Oriole to score eight runs in one series since Jonathan Villar scored nine times from July 25-28, 2019 at Los Angeles-AL.
He scored a career-high four runs on April 11 vs. Oakland.
Tuesday marked his second game this year with at least four hits, joining a five-hit effort on April 1 at Boston; he and Adley Rutschman are two of the four MLB players with two games of at least four hits this season; since the start of 2022, Hays and Los Angeles-NL’s Freddie Freeman both have six games with 4+ hits, most in the majors.
He homered in back-to-back games from April 10-11 for the third time in his career.
STARTING PITCHER – #48 KYLE GIBSON RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his fourth start of the 2023 campaign this afternoon against Chicago-AL…In 270 career appearances (264 GS), Gibson owns a 92-91 record with a 4.50 ERA (762 ER/1522.1 IP)..The O’s signed Gibson to a one-year contract on December 5, 2022…He has also spent time with the Twins, Phillies, and Rangers across 10 Major League seasons.
LAST TIME OUT: Earned his third straight win to start the season on April 10 vs. Oakland, allowing one run on fi ve hits with three walks and four strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work…Became the first O’s pitcher in club history (since 1954) to start and win each of his three first appearances with the team…His teams have scored at least four runs in each of his last eight starts, tied for the longest-active streak in MLB with Colorado’s Ryan Feltner…Has won each of his first three starts to begin a season for the second time in his career (2014)…Marked his second straight quality start…Threw 92 pitches, 57 strikes.
CAREER AGAINST THE WHITE SOX: Making his 19th career start against the White Sox…Owns a 9-5 record with a 2.91 ERA (38 ER/117.2 IP) in his first 18 career starts against Chicago-AL…With the Rangers, he did not factor into the decision in his last start against the White Sox on April 24, 2021, allowing one run on six hits with two walks and five punchouts in 6.0 innings at Guaranteed Rate Field…Has logged 12 career quality starts against Chicago-AL.
CAREER AGAINST THE AL CENTRAL: Making his 92nd career appearance (88 GS) against the AL Central…Owns a 32-31 record with a 4.49 ERA (253 ER/506.2 IP) and 39 quality starts through his first 91 appearances…With the Rangers, he was dealt the loss in his last start against the AL Central on July 19, 2021 at Detroit, surrendering eight runs on 10 hits (1 HR) with two walks and two strikeouts in 5.0+ innings at Comerica Park.
ON THE ROAD: Went 3-4 with a 5.79 ERA (42 ER/65.1 IP) and a .271 opponent average (70-for-258) in 13 road starts with the Phillies in 2022…In 136 career road appearances (132 GS), he owns a 45-43 record with a 4.50 ERA (382 ER/763.2 IP)…Will be his 12th career road start against the White Sox; has gone 6-2 with a 2.72 ERA (22 ER/72.2 IP) through his first 11 starts at Chicago-AL.
2022 HIGHLIGHTS: Went 10-8 with a 5.05 ERA (94 ER/167.2 IP) in 31 starts with the Phillies, the fifth time in his career making at least 30 starts in a season… Made his Phillies debut on April 9 vs. Oakland (W, 7.0 IP, 2 H, 10 K)…Made his 250th career start on July 27 vs. Atlanta…Retired the first 18 batters he faced on August 5 vs. Washington over 8.0 innings, the longest perfect game bid of his career…Struck out 11 batters on August 16 at Cincinnati, his second double-digit strikeout game of the season, the most in his career…Gibson’s final nine starts averaged 10.37 K/9… Had a career-best 3.00 K/BB ratio (144 K/48 BB).
POSTSEASON EXPERIENCE: Appeared on his fifth career Postseason roster in 2022 with the Phillies and made his World Series debut in Game 3 at Citizens Bank Park, working 1.0 scoreless inning out of the bullpen with one hit and one strikeout in Philadelphia’s 7-0 loss to the Houston Astros…In two relief appearances during the 2022 Postseason, he worked 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing two hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
CHICAGO WHITE SOX NOTES:
WHITE SOX AT A GLANCE
The Chicago White Sox have lost three straight games and six of their last eight as they continue a six-game homestand this afternoon against Baltimore.
RHP Michael Kopech is scheduled to start for the White Sox, who are in third place in the American League Central, a season-high 5.0 games behind the Twins and 3.0 behind Cleveland. l The Sox opened the homestand last night with a 6-3 loss to the Orioles after carrying a 3-0 lead into the seventh inning.
Following this series, the White Sox continue the homestand with three games vs. Philadelphia (4/17-19) … after an off day on Thursday, they take a six-game trip to Tampa Bay (4/21-23) and Toronto (4/24-26).
The Sox went 2-4 trip on their last trip to Pittsburgh (1-2) and Minnesota (1-2) from 4/7-12 and 1-2 on their first homestand vs. San Francisco from 4/3-6.
TODAY’S STORYLINES
The White Sox are a season-high four games below .500.
Sox starting pitchers own a 1.86 ERA (6 ER/29.0 IP) with 33 strikeouts and a .171 (18-105) opponents average over the last five games.
Through four home games, the White Sox have posted a 9.25 ERA (37 ER/36.0 IP) with 31 walks allowed (7.8 per 9.0 IP).
The White Sox are hitting .182/.229/.297 (30-165) with 11 runs scored over the last five games.
The Sox have issued eight-plus walks three times in 14 games this season.
Baltimore-area native Gavin Sheets is 12-20 (.600) with one home run and five RBI over his last six games against Baltimore.
Andrew Vaughn has reached base safely in all 13 of his games this season, hitting safely in 10.
LAST NIGHT’S RECAP
Adley Rutschman hit a three-run double off Reynaldo López with two outs and two strikes in the seventh inning to cap a four-run rally, and Baltimore went on to defeat the White Sox, 6-3.
Jake Burger hit a solo home run off Tyler Wells in the second, and the Sox extended the lead to 3-0 in the sixth on RBI singles by Andrew Benintendi and Eloy Jiménez, but the Orioles answered with four in the seventh and two in the eighth.
Mike Clevinger posted a ND in his Sox home debut despite allowing one hit with five walks and five strikeouts over 6.0 scoreless IP … Clevinger threw 6.0-plus scoreless IP while allowing only one hit for the third time in his career.
Jake Diekman (0.1 IP), López (0.2) and Jimmy Lambert (1.0) each gave up two runs in relief.
White Sox pitchers limited the Orioles to six hits but issued a season-high tying nine walks.
Elvis Andrus hit a pair of doubles.
NO RISP, NO REWARD
The White Sox rank fourth in the American League with a .287 (37-129) average with runners in scoring position … they ranks second in the AL in hits with RISP.
The Sox are hitting .185/.290/.333 (5-27) with RISP over the last five games.
WHITE SOX VS. BALTIMORE ORIOLES
Baltimore leads the season series, 1-0, and has won four of the last five games in Chicago.
The Orioles won the 2022 season series, 5-2, taking three of four games in Chicago from 6/23-26 and two of three at Camden Yards from 8/23-25.
Chicago’s 7-0 record against Baltimore in 2021 marked the first time in franchise history it swept a season series of seven-plus games.
Sox pitchers own a 3.00 ERA (44 ER/132.0 IP) and 159 strikeouts against Baltimore since the start of the 2021 season.
BALTIMORE COLT
Gavin Sheets grew up 15 miles north of Baltimore in Lutherville, Md. … Sheets is a career .389/.463/.611 (14-36) hitter with two home runs and six RBI in 11 games against the Orioles … his father, Larry, played six seasons (1984-89) for Baltimore, hitting 31 homers in 1987.
SEARCHING FOR HOME-FIELD ADVANTAGE
The White Sox are 1-3 at home this season after going 37-44 (.457) in 2022, the 12th-best winning percentage in the American League … by comparison, the Sox were 53-28 (.654) at home in 2021, the best record in the AL and their best mark since 2008 (54-28).
Through four home games this season, the White Sox have been outscored, 37-19, and outhomered, 13-2.
FROM THE TRAINING ROOM
All-Star SS Tim Anderson (sprained left knee), LHP Garrett Crochet (Tommy John recovery), RHPs Matt Foster (right flexor strain) Liam Hendriks (Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma treatment) and Joe Kelly (right groin strain) and 3B Yoán Moncada (lower back soreness) are on the injured list.
CEASE AND DESTROY
Dylan Cease, who finished second in the American League Cy Young Award voting last season, has gone 12-6 with a 1.52 ERA (26 ER/153.2 IP) and 180 strikeouts over his last 26 starts dating to 5/29/22.
During that stretch, Cease leads MLB in ERA and opponents average (.166) … he has allowed one or no earned runs in 21 of the 26 starts.
SOUTHPAW SUCCESS
The White Sox are batting .275/.340/.445 vs. left-handed pitching since the start of the 2019 season … during that span, the Sox lead MLB in average, rank second in on-base percentage and OPS (.785) and fifth in slugging.
Tim Anderson owns a .353/.383/.564 (141-399) slash line vs. LHP since 2019, while Hanser Alberto is hitting .343/.362/.483 (170-495) … during that span, Anderson and Alberto rank 1-2 in MLB in average vs. LHP.
Luis Robert Jr. is a career .357/.407/.633 (70-196) hitter vs. lefties … Jake Burger owns a .617 slugging percentage vs. LHP.
ELVIS BECOMES MR. 2,000
Elvis Andrus became the 290th player in MLB history to reach 2,000 career hits on 4/5 vs. San Francisco with a fifth-inning single off Logan Webb.
Andrus ranks fourth among active players with 2,006 hits, trailing only Miguel Cabrera (3,094), Joey Votto (2,093) and Nelson Cruz (2,028) … he has recorded 1,743 hits with Texas, 205 with Oakland and 58 with the White Sox.
STARTING PITCHER – #34 STARTER MICHAEL KOPECH RHP
KOPECH AT A GLANCE
Is scheduled to make his third start of the season, second at home and first against the Baltimore Orioles.
Has gone 7-12 with 3.75 ERA (66 ER/158.1 IP), .211 (122-579) opponents average and 153 strikeouts in 35 career starts … is 3-3 with 3.90 ERA (24 ER/55.1 IP), .225 (47-209) opponents average and 80 strikeouts in 40 career relief appearances.
Has recorded 100-plus strikeouts in each of his last two seasons (2021-22).
Spent his first full season in the major leagues in 2021, pitching out of the bullpen (40 games) while making four starts … opted out of the 2020 season for personal reasons … missed the entire 2019 season recovering from Tommy John surgery (performed on 9/18/18 by Dr. Neal ElAttrache).
Was acquired by the White Sox from Boston with OF Luis Basabe, RHP Víctor Díaz and INF Yoán Moncada in exchange for LHP Chris Sale on 12/6/16.
LAST START
Suffered the loss on 4/9 at Pittsburgh despite recording his first quality start of the season … allowed one run on two hits over 6.0 IP … struck out five and walked three … threw 102 pitches (68 strikes).
Surrendered a sacrifice fly to Jack Suwinski after Canaan Smith-Njigba tripled in the second inning.
Departed the game in the seventh with the White Sox trailing, 1-0 … Chicago’s offense was held scoreless.
Owned a 60.9 first-strike percentage and 12.5 swingstrike percentage (13 swing and misses) vs. 23 batters … threw 51 fastballs (95.9 mph avg; 98.0 mph max), 43 sliders (85.3 avg; 87.8 max), seven changeups (89.0 avg; 90.2 max) and one curveball (80.9 avg).
2022 SEASON RECAP
Made 25 starts in his first full season as a member of the White Sox starting rotation … his 25 starts were the most of his professional career, and his 119.1 IP tied for the second-most (126.1 in 2018 with Class AAA Charlotte).
Allowed one hit or less in 5.0-plus IP five times, including 6.0 hitless IP on 8/12 vs. Detroit … the five such starts tied the Yankees’ Néstor Cortés and Houston’s Cristián Javier for the most in MLB, and tied Carlos Rodón (2021) for the most by a White Sox pitcher since 1920.
Limited right-handers to a .186/.269/.328 (46-247) slash line with 43 strikeouts … ranked among the American League leaders vs. righties in average (4th), OPS (9th, .597), slugging percentage (10th) and on-base percentage (12th).
Had two stints on the injury list, the first time from 8/23-9/7 with a left knee strain, and the second time from 9/17 to the remainder of the season with right shoulder inflammation.
Was on the Paternity List from 5/17-20 … welcomed his second son, Vander, on 5/20.
CHANCES ARE SLIM
Has limited the opposition to a .196 (28-143) average with RISP and .176 (13-74) mark with RISP/two outs in his career.
Opponents batted .149 (10-67) against him with RISP and .125 (5-40) with RISP/two outs in 2022.
HEATER ON AND RELIABLE
His four-seam fastball held the opposition to a .189 (64-243) batting average, the sixth lowest in Major League Baseball in 2022 among all pitchers with at least 250 plate appearances.
Had the highest four-seam fastball usage (61.6%) last season among MLB starting pitchers (min. 2000 pitches).
COMFORTS OF HOME
Has gone 3-7 with a 3.87 ERA (39 ER/90.2 IP), .196 (64-326) opponents average and 87 strikeouts over 19 career starts at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Went 2-5 with a 3.01 ERA (23 ER/68.2 IP), .157 (37- 235) opponents average and 52 strikeouts in 13 home starts (seven quality) in 2022 … allowed two runs or less eight times and one or fewer five times.
VS. BALTIMORE ORIOLES || A.L. EAST
Is scheduled to make his second career start (fourth appearance) against Baltimore and second at Guaranteed Rate Field.
Suffered the loss in his last start vs. the Orioles on 6/24/22 in Chicago, allowing three runs on three hits with four walks and two strikeouts over 6.0 IP.
Tossed 2.0 perfect IP over two relief appearances against Baltimore in 2021.
Has gone 1-3 with a 3.27 ERA (12 ER/33.0 IP), .127 (14-110) opponents average and 25 strikeouts over seven career starts against the American League East … is 1-3 with 3.89 ERA (18 ER/41.2 IP), .170 (25-147) opponents average and 44 strikeouts in 15 games lifetime.
