The Baltimore Orioles will look for their sixth victory in seven games when they battle the host Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday.
Colton Cowser hit a go-ahead RBI double in the ninth inning on Monday as Baltimore won 3-2 in the series opener. Cowser entered the game in the third inning for an injured Aaron Hicks.
“Really not trying to do too much,” Cowser said during a postgame interview on MASN. “Just situations lately with a runner on third, which happens to be the go-ahead hit.”
Hicks left the game with a left hamstring cramp, is considered day-to-day and will be re-evaluated on Tuesday.
“It could be a strain. It could be a cramp,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said.
Jordan Westburg and Ryan Mountcastle each hit solo home runs in the opener as the surging Orioles keep finding new ways to win games.
“It’s fun,” Cowser said. “It feels like every game is a close one. That’s what good clubhouses do. They come out on top.”
The Orioles are now a season-best 24 games above .500 and an impressive 32-18 on the road. Baltimore also increased its lead atop the American League East to 2 1/2 games over the Tampa Bay Rays.
Right-hander Kyle Gibson (9-6, 4.76 ERA), who spent parts of two seasons with the Phillies, is scheduled to start for the Orioles on Tuesday.
In his most recent start, Gibson allowed three runs on seven hits in six innings while walking two and striking out eight in a no-decision against the Rays on Thursday.
“That’s how you compete for a division,” Gibson said after the outing against Tampa Bay. “That’s how you put yourself in a position to make a postseason run. … You do the little things really well and consistently against a really good team.”
Gibson allowed five runs (four earned) in six innings while pitching to a no-decision in his lone career start versus Philadelphia, back in 2016.
The Phillies dropped two of three games to both the Milwaukee Brewers and Cleveland Guardians prior to their series against Baltimore, which they will try to even on Tuesday.
On Monday, Kyle Schwarber had a sacrifice fly and two walks and Nick Castellanos added an RBI single to pace Philadelphia’s offense.
But Trea Turner committed two errors and was ejected at the end of the fifth for arguing a called third strike. Turner went 0-for-3 and continues to scuffle in his first season of an 11-year, $300 million deal.
“He’s frustrated and wants to do well,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Turner. “He wants to play well. He wants to help the team.”
The inconsistent Phillies have worked their way back into playoff contention but have lost some difficult games recently.
“They’re all frustrating,” Thomson said. “You want to win every game.”
Philadelphia will hand the ball to right-hander Taijuan Walker (11-4, 4.11) in the second game of the series.
Walker last pitched Thursday, taking a loss against the Milwaukee Brewers after giving up four runs on six hits in six innings. He walked two and fanned six.
“They were on my splitter all day and we stuck with cutter and slider,” Walker said. “But I felt my velocity was ticking up that game. I felt good, but it was one bad inning.”
Walker is 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA in eight career starts against the Orioles.
–Field Level Media