Friday late night Orioles game thread: at Giants, 10:15 ET

The Orioles are 14 games under .500 and have lost seven of their last eight games. Who’s ready to stay up until 1 in the morning to watch them on Apple TV+ tonight?

…Oh, nobody? Just me? Ah. Fair enough.

After a truly disastrous homestand against two postseason-bound AL clubs, the O’s will hope for better luck on the road against a mediocre NL team, the Giants. It’s the Orioles’ first visit to Oracle Park since June 2023, when they took two out of three. One of those wins came courtesy of tonight’s starter, Dean Kremer, who twirled a quality start in a 3-2 O’s victory that June 2. (Only one Birds hitter from that game, Gunnar Henderson, is still active with the team.)

The Orioles sure could use the return of Good Dean, who was torched by the Astros in his most recent outing and had a notable on-field exchange with his first-time catcher, Samuel Basallo. It’s worth mentioning that Basallo is not catching Kremer tonight, instead getting his second consecutive day off against a tough lefty, Robbie Ray. I know the O’s are trying to make sure Basallo stays under the 130 at-bat mark so that he remains rookie eligible for next season, but I hope that benching him against lefties isn’t going to become a common occurrence.

Two badly struggling Orioles hitters — Jackson Holliday and Ryan Mountcastle — remain in key spots in the lineup at leadoff and cleanup, respectively. Those decisions don’t really make any sense but probably aren’t worth arguing about in a lost season. Just pull names out of a hat to make the lineup for all I care. But also, make sure Basallo is in it, thanks.

Ray, the former AL Cy Young winner, has been so-so against the Orioles over the years, going 2-3 with a 4.34 ERA in seven starts. In 2021 he memorably got into a shouting match with then-O’s manager Brandon Hyde after he apparently accused the Orioles of stealing signs. Trust me, my dude, the 2021 Orioles were not stealing anyone’s signs. If they were, they would’ve finished with a better record than 52-110.

Will the Orioles make this a game worth staying up late for? Probably not. But let’s find out together.

Orioles lineup:

2B Jackson Holliday
RF Jeremiah Jackson
SS Gunnar Henderson
1B Ryan Mountcastle
3B Emmanuel Rivera
CF Colton Cowser
DH Coby Mayo
LF Dylan Beavers
C Alex Jackson

RHP Dean Kremer

Giants lineup:

CF Jung Hoo Lee
SS Willy Adames
DH Rafael Devers
3B Matt Chapman
1B Dominic Smith
2B Casey Schmitt
LF Luis Matos
C Patrick Bailey
RF Drew Gilbert

LHP Robbie Ray

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