Baltimore is 20-24 and just dropped 8 of its last 10. Washington is 21-23 and inching along at one game under. This is the kind of Friday-night matchup that exists mostly so two teams can figure out who they actually are, and the pitching matchup is not going to help anybody pretend.
Shane Baz takes the ball at 1-4 with a 5.48 ERA, fresh off a 4 2/3-inning, 5-run dud against the A's on Saturday in a 6-2 loss. He had one solid 5.2-inning, 1-run start against Houston buried in there, but the $65M extension he signed in March has not exactly aged into a layup yet. The stuff is real. The results are a coin flip.
On the other side is Zack Littell, who is 1-4 with a 6.94 ERA and somehow making Baz look stable. Littell has been crushed by the long ball — he's already given up an MLB-high 11 homers, and he's served up multiple in nearly every outing. Washington bumped him to the bullpen for an appearance against Milwaukee last weekend where he threw 3 2/3 innings of 1-run ball, which is the kind of result that buys you exactly one more start to figure it out.
Pinnacle has Baltimore at -137 with a 9.5 total, which feels generous given the rotation news but also reflects how thin the Nats are. Washington is missing essentially its entire planned rotation — Trevor Williams, DJ Herz and Josiah Gray are all on the 60-day IL with elbows, and Tyler Stuart already had Tommy John. That's how you end up running Littell out every 5 days no matter what the line score says.
- Day-To-DayRichard Guasch SP — no
- Day-To-DayWill Robertson LF — The Orioles reassigned Robertson to minor-league camp Wednesday, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
- Day-To-DayKeagan Gillies P — Gillies will be sidelined for at least six weeks with a quad injury, Roch Kubatko of MASNSports.com reports.
- Day-To-DayLuis Vazquez SS — Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said Monday that Vazquez has been diagnosed with a broken right thumb, Andy Kostka of TheBaltimoreBanner.com reports.
- 10-Day-ILDylan Beavers RF — Beavers (oblique) is out of the lineup for Wednesday's game against the Yankees.
- 10-Day-ILJackson Holliday 2B — Holliday (hand) will play at third base in a rehab game with Double-A Chesapeake on Sunday, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
- 15-Day-ILGrant Wolfram RP — The Orioles placed Wolfram on the 15-day injured list Tuesday with a lower-back strain, retroactive to Saturday.
- 15-Day-ILDean Kremer SP — Orioles manager Craig Albernaz said Monday that Kremer (quadriceps) has begun a throwing program, Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun reports.
- Day-To-DayTyler Baum DH — Baum has not pitched this year due an undisclosed injury.
- Day-To-DayTravis Sykora SP — Sykora will undergo a UCL reconstruction on his right elbow in two weeks, Andrew Golden of The Washington Post reports.
- Day-To-DayJarlin Susana RP — Susana underwent surgery last week to repair a right lat tear, Spencer Nusbaum of The Washington Post reports.
- 15-Day-ILClayton Beeter RP — Beeter (forearm) is ready to begin a rehab assignment, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILCole Henry RP — Henry (shoulder) played catch Saturday, Mark Zuckerman of NatsJournal.com reports.
- 15-Day-ILMax Kranick RP — The Nationals signed Kranick (elbow) to a one-year, $800,000 contract Tuesday and placed him on the 15-day injured list.
- 60-Day-ILTrevor Williams SP — Williams (elbow) began pitching off a mound at the Nationals' spring training complex this weekend, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.
- 60-Day-ILDJ Herz SP — Herz (elbow) threw a bullpen session Friday, Jessica Camerato of MLB.com reports.
Baltimore's IL is its own horror show — Zach Eflin is post-Tommy John, Dean Kremer's quad has him on a throwing program, Cade Povich's shoulder is barking, Jackson Holliday is rehabbing his hand at Double-A Chesapeake, and Jordan Westburg is mulling next steps on his elbow after seeing Dr. ElAttrache. The lineup that shows up in DC is not the one the Orioles drew up in March, but it's still the more talented group on paper.
Bottom line: two starters with ERAs north of 5, two bullpens patched together with duct tape, and an over/under sitting at 9.5 for a reason. If you're showing up to Nationals Park on Friday, bring a glove.