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The Baltimore Orioles have won 34 of their last 51 games and are firmly in the running for a wildcard spot in the American League.
In fact, the rising Orioles are so hot that a rain shower on Wednesday may have been the only thing that stopped them from winning all three games of their series against Toronto.
Baltimore will try to rekindle the heat for a truncated one-game streak on a visit to Boston on Thursday. The short pit stop results from the 99-day closure before the start of the season.
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Though pleased with his team’s success, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is quick to repeat the mantra of Washington Nationals captain Dave Martinez.
“I’ve heard him say it a few times and I’m very close to him,” Hyde told the Baltimore Sun. “You should do that. You should try not to look too far ahead and try to win today’s game. And if you don’t, it will bite you. Complete the task before you.”
Right-hander Dean Kremer (4-3, 3.43 ERA), who was due to play against the Blue Jays on Wednesday, is expected to receive the nod on Thursday.
The 26-year-old Kremer scored four goals over 6 1/3 innings in Friday’s 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates. He’s 0-2 with an 11.74 ERA and 2,087 WHIP in two career starts against the Red Sox.
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Kremer would do well to carefully place season-acquired Tommy Pham, who went deep with a three-run shot for the third straight game in Boston’s 8-4 setback against the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday.
“The thing about Tommy is he’s staying in the zone, he’s not expanding,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “His strikeouts in Kansas City looked on the edge of the zone though. If he gets pitches in the zone, he makes good swings. He’s doing a good job for us.”
However, Pham went 0-10 with five strikeouts in a three-game streak against the Orioles in the final three days of July — his final games before being traded to Boston.
The Red Sox will be looking to right-hander Josh Winckowski (5-5, 4.68) to nab their four-game sled.
Winckowski, 24, has answered a four-start losing streak with back-to-back wins. He allowed two runs in five innings in a 7-2 win over Milwaukee on July 31 and a five-frame run in a 7-4 win at Kansas City on Friday.
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However, Winckowski lost his only career encounter against Baltimore on his major league debut on May 28. He gave up a three-run homer to Rougned Odor and gave up four runs for a total of six hits in three innings in the 4-2 loss.
Odor also went deep Tuesday with a two-run homer in the eighth inning of the Orioles’ 6-5 win over the Blue Jays.
“Roogie has spawned some big hits for us and I love his attitude,” Hyde said. “I feel like he gives us some toughness, I think he brings some edge, I love how he is in the dugout and in terms of attitude and he comes ready to play. I think it rubbed off on others this year.”
–Field level media