The Orioles’ penultimate home series ends this afternoon with Heston Kjerstad starting in right field and Jackson Holliday starting at second base for the second consecutive night.
Coby Mayo sits on the bench.
Zach Eflin is making his eighth start with the Orioles. In 44 2/3 innings, he posted an ERA of 2.22 and a WHIP of 1.030.
Eflin made eight appearances against the Giants (six starts), posting a 4.79 ERA and a 1.402 WHIP in 35 2/3 innings.
The Orioles are five games behind the Yankees in the division, but still have a 2 1/2 lead over the Royals in the battle for the first wild card.
Giants right-hander Logan Webb is 12-10 with a 3.53 ERA and a 1.244 WHIP in 31 starts. He is tied with Patrick Corbin for the best player in the major leagues with 194 hits allowed.
In Webb’s only career start against the Orioles, he allowed three runs and four hits in seven innings in San Francisco.
According to STATS, right-handed hitters have hit six home runs with Webb’s changeup this season and two with his other pitches.
For the Orioles
Gunnar Henderson SS
Cedric Mullins CF
Anthony Santander DH
Colton Cowser LF
Adley Rutschman C
Ryan O’Hearn 1B
Heston Kjerstad RF
Jackson Holiday 2B
Emmanuel Rivera 3B
Zach Eflin, RHP
Notes: Manager Brandon Hyde said reliever Danny Coulombe will remain at Triple-A Norfolk today to prepare for play, and the club is evaluating him.
“We’ll make a decision on him,” Hyde said. “We had him throw to three batters last night. That was intentional. He did it on eight pitches.”
Hyde also said Ramón Urías and Jordan Westburg will need “at least a couple of games” with Norfolk before the Orioles would consider using them again. Westburg is the first batter today and plays second base, and Urías bats second base and plays third base.
“Ramón has missed less time than Westy,” Hyde said. “Westy is in great physical shape. For me, it’s really about the at-bats with Westy. And with Ramón, it’s important to see how his ankle recovers, which he’s doing great. Whether they come back together or one before the other … I would maybe assume Ramón comes back before Westy, just maybe he doesn’t need as many at-bats just because Jordan missed almost the entire second half. So we’ll see how their games go, but they’ll be in the mix the next two nights in Norfolk.”
Hyde hopes Ryan Mountcastle will join Norfolk by the weekend.
“They could soon be in a good position in Norfolk,” Hyde said. “Not that they aren’t already.”
Corbin Burnes, Cade Povich and Albert Suárez start the weekend series against the Tigers.
