The Baltimore Orioles will try to record their fifth straight victory on Wednesday when they vie for a series sweep of the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
And Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde needs to see some fresh arms in his bullpen. The Orioles recorded a 5-4 win in 10 innings on Tuesday over the Angels, but it took everything Hyde could coax from eight pitchers.
With elite closer Felix Bautista possibly out for the season with an ulnar collateral ligament injury, and high-leverage relievers Yennier Cano and Jorge Lopez unavailable due to heavy usage, the Orioles (87-51) blew a pair of leads.
When Tuesday's game went into extra innings, it was right-hander Shintaro Fujinami who was throwing 100-mph fastballs in the 10th for the Orioles.
Fujinami, a converted starter, struck out the last two hitters to notch his second career save. Hyde will now be able to turn to Cano and Lopez thanks to the work of Fujinami.
"Our man ‘Fuji' — that's the stuff we're looking for right there," Hyde said. "That was unbelievable pitching there in the 10th, and we need that. People that have seen us a lot know we play a lot of close games."
Shohei Ohtani may return to the Angels lineup Wednesday after sitting out due to oblique tightness. Angels manager Phil Nevin said Ohtani wanted to play Tuesday's game but kept him out because he thought "he needed another day."
"I think we dodged a bullet there, as far as injury goes," Nevin said. "We'll see how it is tomorrow. When he comes in, we'll have a conversation."
Ohtani has 44 homers this season, one short of the MLB lead of 45 by the Atlanta Braves' Matt Olson, who went deep on Tuesday against the St. Louis Cardinals.
If Ohtani is in the lineup, he'll be facing veteran right-hander Kyle Gibson (13-8, 5.15 ERA).
Gibson, who has won three of his last five starts overall, is 3-5 with a 5.94 ERA lifetime against the Angels in 14 career starts. He owns a 1-3 record with a 7.85 ERA in six starts in Anaheim.
The Angels will counter with hard-luck left-hander Patrick Sandoval (7-11, 4.19). Los Angeles has lost 13 of Sandoval's past 17 starts.
Sandoval is 0-1 with a 2.38 ERA in two career starts against the Orioles, striking out 17 over 11 1/3 innings without allowing a homer. He fanned 10 Orioles in 6 1/3 innings in his most recent start against the Orioles, taking the loss in a 1-0 setback in Baltimore on July 9, 2022.
The Angels (64-75) have lost five in a row and eight of their last nine games to fall a season-worst 11 games below .500.
Baltimore is 4-2 against the Angels this season, and the Orioles have the best road record in the AL at 45-25.
—Field Level Media