Orioles-Giants Series Preview: The O's face their last opponent with a record below .500

I don't think it's technically possible for a series to end with three scoreless ties, but if there are two teams that can do it, it's the Orioles and the Giants.

The Birds' recent offensive woes are well documented. In their last ten games, they have scored just 21 runs, with three runs or less in eight of them. Aside from Gunnar Henderson and Cedric Mullins, pretty much every prominent hitter on the O's is in a deep slump that has lasted for months in some cases. The Orioles have consistently had abysmal at-bats with runners in scoring position.

It's hard to have any confidence in the Orioles' hitting ability right now. But hey, I'm sure they can turn things around in this series, as long as they're not playing, say, last year's NL Cy Young winner and runner-up. (checks pitching matchups) Oh, crap.

The Giants' offense has also been in poor shape of late. During their current four-game losing streak, they have gone three straight without conceding a goal, something they haven't done in 32 years. It continued a rough September for a disappointing Giants club that has fallen out of contention with a 4-9 record for the month.

San Francisco certainly expected more after an active offseason when they signed free agents Blake Snell, Matt Chapman, Jordan Hicks, Jung Hoo Lee and the now-traded Jorge Soler, not to mention bringing in three-time Manager of the Year Bob Melvin. But it just never worked out, and now they're playing all the time.

The Giants aren't all bad. The experienced Chapman has been a great addition to the hot corner and recently agreed to a six-year contract extension with San Francisco. Their bullpen has been solid, with Ryan Walker (1.79) stepping in as a capable closer after Camilo Doval struggled and the Rogers twins (Taylor and Tyler) handling setup duties. The lineup boasts some promising young hitters, including rookie shortstop Tyler Fitzgerald (.880 OPS) and strong All-Star outfielder Heliot Ramos, who last week the first right-hander ever to hit a home run into the opposite field at McCovey Cove.

Still, for an O's team that has quickly fallen out of the AL East race and is trying to hold onto the top wild-card spot, this series is the best chance to pick up a few more wins in the final two weeks. The 72-78 Giants are the only opponent with a sub-.500 record left on the Orioles' schedule, as the Birds' final three series are against the Tigers, Yankees and Twins.

Game 1: Tuesday, 18:35, MASN2

Left-hander Blake Snell (3-3, 3.52) against right-hander Albert Suárez (8-5, 3.39)

If there's a reigning Cy Young winner with a stranger follow-up season than Snell, I can't think of one. Snell thought he'd hit the jackpot after taking home his second Cy in his free-agent season for the Padres, but when he didn't get the long-term offers he was looking for, Snell opted to sign a one-year, $32 million deal with the Giants in mid-March, plus a $30 million player option for 2025.

Snell's lack of spring training torpedoed his early-season numbers — he had a 9.51 ERA after six starts, then landed on the IL for a month — but he's looked dominant since returning in July, with a sensational 1.45 ERA and .130 opposing batting average in 12 games, including a no-hitter on Aug. 2. Good luck, Orioles. Snell, a longtime Tampa Bay Ray, has faced the O's many times in his career, posting a 4.35 ERA in eight games. He also beat them last season with a good start in San Diego.

Meanwhile, Suárez, just finishing his remarkable come-from-nowhere comeback season, will face the only MLB team he ever pitched for before this year. The Giants were already Suárez's third organization, as he made his major league debut for them in 2016, posting a 4.51 ERA in 115.2 IP over parts of two seasons. No player from those 2016-2017 Giants is still with the club, and only a handful are still active in the major leagues. But here is Suárez, still hanging in there after years in Japan and Korea, and now one of the Orioles' most reliable starting pitchers. Baseball is a funny game.

Suárez isn't the only ex-Giant who will face his former club in this series. Outfielder Austin Slater, who spent the first eight years of his career with San Francisco before they traded him in July of this year, will almost certainly face the left-handed Snell. Slater has an OPS of .772 against left-handed pitchers since joining the Orioles.

Game 2: Wednesday, 18:35, MASN2

RHP Hayden Birdsong (3-5, 4.74) vs. RHP Dean Kremer (7-9, 4.10)

The Orioles can't let a guy whose name starts with “Birds” take them out, can they? What a cruel irony that would be. Birdsong might be the Orioles' best hope of bringing the bats to life for a night. The Giants have lost all of Birdsong's last seven starts, and only once in that time has he pitched even five innings. The rookie right-hander has struggled with his wildness, allowing an average of a brutal 5.7 walks per nine innings. Memo to the Orioles' offense: Take some pitches!

Kremer is coming off one of his best starts of the year, going seven innings for the first time since April and holding the Red Sox to just one earned run, but of course his offense let him down in the O's eventual loss. Five of Kremer's last six games have been good starts, and he has a 2.62 ERA over that span. Kremer faced the Giants for the first time last season and beat them with a strong six-inning, two-run performance, despite University of Maryland graduate LaMonte Wade Jr. slamming a home run into him.

Game 3: Thursday, 1:05 p.m., MASN, MLB Network (out of market)

RHP Logan Webb (12-10, 3.53) vs. RHP Zach Eflin (10-9, 3.55)

Eflin was another victim of the Orioles' offensive blackout in his last start, losing a 1-0 game in Detroit in which a first-inning home run was his only blemish in 6.2 strong innings. It's hard to overstate what a stellar addition he was at the trade deadline, going 5-2 with a 2.22 ERA since the O's acquired him from Tampa Bay. Eflin is a surefire starter in any postseason series the Orioles end up playing. The former Phillie has pitched eight games against the Giants, but none since 2021. He has a long history against outfielder Michael Conforto, a former Met, and it's not good for Eflin; the left-hander has three career home runs and a 1.094 OPS in 33 PAs against him.

The Giants will release their long-time star in the finale of the series, as an All-Star and Jesse Plemons Doppelganger Logan Webb faces the O's for the second time in his career. Last year, the Orioles were most successful with a seventh-inning home run off Gunnar Henderson, although Webb pitched pretty well in that game. The 27-year-old is as tough as they come; he currently leads the majors in starts (31) and innings pitched (193.2). He also leads in hits allowed (194), averaging exactly one hit per inning, and his walk and strikeout rates are a bit worse than last year's stellar pace. Still, Webb is a tough nut to crack, and it's a pretty safe bet he'll handle the O's offense as easily as most pitchers.