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Blue Jays and Orioles series should not disappoint

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As the trade deadline approached, no team seemed in more desperate need of pitching than the Baltimore Orioles.

Armed with one of the most explosive offences in the game, as well as one of the game’s best bullpens, the same can’t be said of the Orioles’ starting pitching.

Baltimore starters have pitched to a 5.01 ERA this season, which leaves them 14th out of 15 teams in that category. As a group, the Oriole starters have logged 695.2 innings, lowest total in the AL and second lowest in the majors.

The fact that they were unable to make a significant upgrade could very well come back and haunt the O’s as the calendar flips from August to September and the race to the wire in the American League East heats up. In fact, it already is haunting them.

In August, the Baltimore starters have a horrible 5.29 ERA and are averaging barely five innings per start. The strain is starting to show on the club’s superior bullpen, which has been ravaged for a 6.72 ERA this month. In total, excluding Sunday’s game, the Orioles have allowed 113 runs over their last 16 games, an average of more than seven runs per game.

If you believe the pre-deadline scuttlebut, the Orioles were in on just about every starting pitcher that changed hands, from Rich Hill, to Drew Pomeranz, to Andrew Cashner. Before that, they had been kicking the tires on James Shields before he went to the White Sox.

They did make a deal with the Seattle Mariners to obtain Wade Miley, who has been a disaster in his five starts, pitching to an 8.18 ERA, averaging just four innings per start.

Kevin Gausman and Chris Tillman, who went on the DL this past week, are the only Baltimore starters with an ERA under 4.00. Ubaldo Jimenez, Yovani Gallardo, Miley, Mike Wright, Tyler Wilson, Vance Worley and Dylan Bundy have combined for a 5.85 ERA.

If Tillman needs to stay more than the requisite 15 days on the DL, Baltimore’s playoff hopes are going to be in peril because they just don’t have any competent depth.

If that isn’t concerning enough, Darren O’Day, one of their most reliable and effective relief pitchers is on the DL suffering from a rotator cuff strain.

Still, somehow the Orioles have been able to stay in touch with the Blue Jays and Red Sox even as their offence has deteriorated. Prior to the All-Star break, the O’s were averaging just over five runs per game on offence. Since the All-Star hiatus, they are averaging just under four runs per game.

They have yielded 12 or more runs in four of their most recent 10 games, yet still managed to win four of those games.

Over the last few weeks, Orioles manager Buck Showalter has been running a daily shuttle between Baltimore and Norfolk, home of the team’s triple-A affiliate, bringing up fresh (more or less) arms to replenish the front lines. Despite his efforts, Showalter has been unable to stop the bleeding.

STARTING PITCHERS

MONDAY 7:05 p.m.

RHP Marco Estrada vs. LHP Wade Miley

TUESDAY 7:05 p.m.

LHP J.A. Happ vs. RHP Ubaldo Jimenez

WEDNESDAY 7:05 p.m.

RHP Aaron Sanchez vs. RHP Tovani Gallardo

HOT

-Pedro Alvarez is one of the rare Orioles with a better second half. He’s hitting .271, 10 HR, 17 RBI and a .908 OPS post-All-Star. He was .249 9 HR, 26 RBI, .782 pre-All-Star.

-Zach Britton remains amazing. He’s 38-for-38 in save opportunities with a 0.69 ERA. Opponents are hitting .150 against him.

-Mark Trumbo remains on a pace for 50 home runs this year. Leads the AL with 39 after 128 games.

COLD

-Until he broke out for a three-hit, three-RBI day Sunday, Steve Pearce’s homecoming to Baltimore had been a bust, hitting .194 with one HR and 1 RBI in August.

-O’s took a flyer on LHP Wade Miley and he’s been a bust, with an 8.18 ERA in five starts. Opponents hitting .357 against him.

-Yovani Gallardo signed what seemed a club-friendly 2-year, $20 million contract last winter. Not so much. He’s 4-6 with a 5.69 ERA in 18 starts.

FIDLIN'S TAKE

The O’s are scuffling, playing sub-.500 baseball in August. Right now they’re missing their best starter, Chris Tillman, one of their best relievers, Darren O’Day, and their heart-and-soul leader, Adam Jones.

PREDICTION

As is always the case when two AL East rivals collide, the best anybody on either side can hope for is a series win. The pitching matchups tell us the Jays should win two out of three.

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