Orioles host the Red Sox in first of 4-game series

Boston Red Sox (63-56, third in the AL East) vs. Baltimore Orioles (71-50, second in the AL East)

Baltimore; Thursday, 6:35 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Red Sox: Nick Pivetta (5-7, 4.44 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 117 strikeouts); Orioles: Zach Eflin (8-7, 3.83 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 104 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK : LINE Orioles -144, Red Sox +122; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Baltimore Orioles host the Boston Red Sox to start a four-game series.

Baltimore has gone 35-26 in home games and 71-50 overall. Orioles hitters have a collective .451 slugging percentage to lead the AL.

Boston has a 34-24 record in road games and a 63-56 record overall. Red Sox hitters are batting a collective .261, the second-best team batting average in MLB play.

The teams match up Thursday for the seventh time this season. The Orioles lead the season series 5-1.

TOP PERFORMERS: Gunnar Henderson has 23 doubles, six triples and 30 home runs for the Orioles. Anthony Santander is 8-for-41 with two doubles, four home runs and five RBI over the past 10 games.

Jarren Duran has 14 home runs, 42 walks and 58 RBI while hitting .290 for the Red Sox. Masataka Yoshida is 14-for-38 with three doubles, two home runs and five RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Orioles: 6-4, .280 batting average, 4.14 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs

Red Sox: 5-5, .258 batting average, 5.64 ERA, outscored by three runs

INJURIES: Orioles: Grayson Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (lat), Jacob Webb: 15-Day IL (elbow), Heston Kjerstad: 10-Day IL (concussion), Jordan Westburg: 10-Day IL (hand), Jorge Mateo: 60-Day IL (elbow), Danny Coulombe: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kyle Bradish: 60-Day IL (ucl sprain), Tyler Wells: 60-Day IL (elbow), John Means: 60-Day IL (elbow), Felix Bautista: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Red Sox: Cam Booser: 15-Day IL (elbow), James Paxton: 15-Day IL (leg), Cooper Criswell: 10-Day IL (covid-19), Tyler O'Neill: 10-Day IL (leg), Bryan Mata: 60-Day IL (hamstring), Justin Slaten: 15-Day IL (elbow), Triston Casas: 60-Day IL (rib), Garrett Whitlock: 60-Day IL (oblique), Trevor Story: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Liam Hendriks: 60-Day IL (elbow), Chris Murphy: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lucas Giolito: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar .