The Baltimore Orioles are sluggish entering the playoffs after losing 10 of their last 14 games and five straight series after Detroit won two of three over the weekend.

Without a four-game lead in the AL wild card, the Orioles would be in danger of missing the postseason entirely.

Baltimore will end the regular season on the road. A series of three games begins in the Bronx on Tuesday evening. Dean Kremer starts for the visitors, while the Yankees counter with Clarke Schmidt.

Although Baltimore has won the right-hander’s last three games against New York, don’t expect Orioles manager Brandon Hyde to give Kremer much leeway if he gets into trouble.

Odds for Orioles vs. Yankees

Orioles outlook: “I’m just trying to get there”

It was quite a loss for the Orioles. Although they lead the season series 6-4, they look like a completely different team compared to the last time the two clubs met in mid-July.

Kremer started the Series finale on July 14, but lasted only 4 ⅔ innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits and two walks. It was the second time in his last three starts against the Yankees that he failed to make it past the fifth inning.

The Orioles’ four-game lead in the wild-card race all but guarantees them a playoff berth, but they’ll need a few more road wins to secure a spot.

Considering how poorly the Orioles have played down the stretch, there is a sense of anxiety setting in, and the likelihood is increasing that Hyde will play extremely cautiously if Baltimore takes an early lead.

Yankees outlook: Favorable duel for Schmidt

Although they have already secured a playoff spot, the Yankees have unfinished business as they still battle for home-field advantage in the American League and throughout the playoffs. There is no reason to believe they will take this game lightly.

The Yankees enter this game on a three-game winning streak, with 12 wins in their last 16 meetings.

Schmidt has pitched at least five innings in his last three games against the Orioles and scored three or fewer runs.

His pitching arsenal actually helps when facing Baltimore, as he throws a sinker 21.3% of the time and the Orioles score 17 runs below average against the pitch.

The Orioles are also below average against the slider (-0.8) and knuckle-curveball (-0.9) – Schmidt throws nearly 40% of the pitches. In addition, Schmidt’s first pitch strike rate of 63.1% should put him in an advantageous position to pitch in forward motion.

Orioles vs. Yankees tip

I would be particularly concerned about Kremer’s ability to pitch effectively on Tuesday. He doesn’t have a pitch in his arsenal that would suggest a subpar run score for the Yankees.

Additionally, if we use the Stuff+ metric, which measures the deceptiveness of his shots, his rating of 87 is the lowest of his five-year career.

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For someone who throws sinkers and splitters 33% of the time, Kremer should be more of a groundball pitcher, but his groundball-to-flyball ratio of 1.0 suggests he hasn’t been that successful.

In 135 batting appearances, this Yankees squad has a .273 batting average against Kremer, with a wOBA of .367 and an xSLG of .488. They’re exactly the kind of team that can cause Kremer all kinds of problems.

Best bet: Dean Kremer under 14.5 outs or better (-115, BetMGM)

Why you can bet on the New York Post

Michael Arinze handicaps most major sports for the New York Post. In his betting career, he has won two 15-leg teasers and a 12-leg parlay that covered eight games of the Little League World Series. More recently, he has accurately picked the finalists for the 2024 Euros and the Copa America.