Struggling Orioles aim to stay the course, open set vs. Guardians

The Baltimore Orioles want to change the results, but they're not looking for a complete makeover.

The O's still haven't won consecutive games this season and now they turn their attention to the beginning of a three-game series against the visiting Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night.

"(Don't) overreact to wins and losses this early," Baltimore infielder Jordan Westburg said. "Yeah, it sucks losing, and obviously we wish we were winning more games. But I think when the tendency is to start changing, changing, changing, we might lose the identity we worked all spring to build."

The Orioles have lost three of their last four games after Sunday's 7-6, 10-inning setback to visiting Toronto.

The Orioles say there should be no finger-pointing, yet the frustration could be building. Manager Brandon Hyde was ejected from a game for the first time Sunday.

"Every loss is disappointing," Westburg said. "We have an off-day and look to bounce back."

The Guardians also lost Sunday, falling 4-2 to visiting Kansas City. But Cleveland had won five in a row prior to that.

"I'll sign up for 5-1 homestands any chance we can get," Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. "We're excited for the off-day (before) Baltimore."

Solid fielding has made a difference for Cleveland, something Vogt said is encouraging at this point in the season.

"We take pride in our defense," he said. "We work on it every day."

Left-hander Logan Allen (0-1, 3.60 ERA) draws the starting assignment for the Guardians in the series opener. Allen didn't allow an earned run in 4 2/3 innings last Wednesday against the Chicago White Sox.

In two career outings vs. Baltimore, Allen has had vastly different results. He threw seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in a 2023 game to gain a victory. Then last June, he was dinged for six runs and nine hits in three innings. Of the three players who belted home runs off Allen, only Gunnar Henderson remains on the Orioles' active roster.

Right-hander Charlie Morton (0-3, 8.78 ERA), who hasn't found a groove in his first season with the Orioles, heads to the mound for his fourth start of the season.

"He has a pretty good feel for what's working, what's not, what he needs to get better at," Hyde said. "... He's very open to looking into his outing and seeing what he can improve on."

In seven career starts vs. Cleveland, Morton is 4-2 with 2.53 ERA with 45 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings.

Baltimore should be in good shape with its bullpen. Hyde said the Orioles were able to operate differently during the weekend because of Monday's day off.

Still, Baltimore has played just two days during a five-day stretch. They were scheduled off last Thursday and then had Friday's game vs. Toronto postponed due to weather and rescheduled for July.

The Guardians won two of three games last year at Baltimore and claimed the 2024 series against the Orioles by a 4-3 count.

Cleveland will face a team from the American League East for the first time this season.

--Field Level Media