Burnes Will Boost Birds Back On Winning Ways

Rangers vs. Orioles, 6:35 ET

We have another Thursday on the baseball slate and if you've followed for a while, or are a fan of the game,  you know that today is a travel day and that means we have fewer options to choose from. That's not necessarily a bad thing because it means we can spend a bit more time on each game and really take the time to evaluate if the opportunity is truly worth it or not. That doesn't always guarantee a win, it just means that we should use our time more wisely. Today we lock in on a game between two playoff teams from last year, the Rangers and the Orioles.

The Rangers are still under .500 and at some point you have to start to worry that this might be what the team actually is. Sure, they've been hit by the injury bug and the team had as long of a playoff run last season as they could have. I have to wonder if the injuries are also a result of that long run. Of course, you'll take it considering it resulted in a World Series victory. The team did just get back Max Scherzer, and that will certainly be a shot in the arm for the club, but there are still other issues. The team is not hitting very well this season, especially compared with last year. The team has a .236 batting average and just 333 runs for the year. Now that we are roughly at 50% of a completed season, the team needs to start ramping that offense up. The club has a team ERA of 4.03 and a WHIP of 1.28. Jon Gray is taking the ball tonight and he has been an interesting starter for the Rangers. In April, he was able to put together a 1.24 ERA over six outings, but just 29 innings. In May, he completed four starts, only one of them going fewer than six innings, and he allowed a total of five earned runs. That is good for a 1.85 ERA. This month, he's had four outings that have totaled 14.1 innings. Only one of them saw him go more than three innings, but it was his most recent start, a six-inning, two-hit, scoreless stretch. Prior to that, he gave up nine earned runs over three innings to the Mets. In all of May and April, he allowed nine earned runs. Orioles hitters are 12-for-48 against Gray.

Jun 22, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Jon Gray (22) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Globe Life Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

The Orioles are once again one of the best teams in baseball. I talk a lot about how teams will rely on one facet of the game more than another. For example, the Mariners have a terrible offense, but they have a great pitching staff. That is putting them in position to win the division when all is said and done. The Orioles are different though. They have a very strong offense that is able to carry the team through a game or perhaps even a series or two. The club is hitting .254 and is one of a handful of teams that have scored over 400 runs in the season. They also have 129 home runs, which makes you think that maybe they live and die by the long ball, but that isn't the case. The pitching staff has also been very strong in this one with a 3.40 ERA for the season and a 1.17 WHIP. When the team isn't hitting, the pitching is taking care of business. They have struggled lately though losing five straight before the result of Wednesday's game against the Guardians. In today's game, they get their Ace on the mound, Corbin Burnes. Burnes has been everything they envisioned when they acquired him in the offseason. Burnes is 8-3 with a 2.35 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. All of those numbers put him in the top 15 for each category. He has been even better at home with a 1.84 ERA. He is coming off of his worst start of the season, allowing four earned runs over seven innings. The Rangers are 4-for-19 against Burnes, so not a ton of data. 

This game intrigues me a bit. Is Gray's great run over, or was the start two starts ago just a blip on what otherwise has been a great season? How many innings or pitches will he be allowed to throw in this one? There are too many question marks in this game to take the Rangers. My only option in this one is to take the Orioles on the run line and back Burnes. He should find a way to get through six or seven innings and get the Orioles out of this little slump.

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