You're tuning in to the impending clash between the San Francisco Giants and the Baltimore Orioles, and folks, can you smell the hot dogs and feel the buzz of the crowd yet? We're heading down to the beautiful Oriole Park at Camden Yards, noted for slightly favoring the swingers.
Giants’ fans are nervously biting their nails, relishing the sight of Blake Snell on the mound. Snell's been quite the sight himself this season with a respectable 3.58 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and, hold your breath, 12.3 strikeouts per nine innings across his 18 appearances. He's out there throwing heaters like a man on a mission.
His counter-part, Albert Suarez of the Orioles, may be marginally better or worse depending on how you look at his 3.55 ERA and higher 1.34 WHIP, and lesser K/9 at 7.5 over 29 games. But hey, it's not just about chucking the ball, you gotta whack it too, right?
Speaking of whacking - on the Giants side, we've got Jerar Encarnacion with a 0.267 batting average, Matt Chapman with some moderate numbers and Mike Yastrzemski who, let's face it, has seen better days.
Bird's the word for the Orioles, with a respectable crew led by speedster Cedric Mullins. Emmanuel Rivera, Gunnar Henderson, and Anthony Santander are scary too, if you squint a bit and ignore some of their underwhelming averages.
Now, let's rewind to their previous matchups. Not too far back in June, the Orioles took 2 out of 3 games against the Giants. Some say, past performance isn't indicative of future results, except of course, when it is.
But who's won more this season overall? That'd be the Orioles with an 84-66 record, compared to the Giants' rather disappointing 72-78. As recent as mid-September though, both teams appeared as shaky as a leaf during a hurricane.
So, join me, won't you, in making a call so obvious, you might need a telescope to see it. Although given recent form, it's as clear as Baltimore's famous crab cakes that the Orioles have the upper hand at their home ground.
Albert’s Prediction: Baltimore Orioles by 2