Baltimore Ready to Dominate Athletics at Home
Athletics vs Orioles Series Preview Sees One-Sided Matchup
The Oakland Athletics begin a three-game weekend series against the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night to wrap up one of the more difficult road trips a team can have in 2024. The Athletics will have taken on the top three teams in the American League standings – the Cleveland Guardians, the New York Yankees, and now the Orioles – before heading home following Sunday’s contest.
Oakland must be ready to finish up this road trip, which has seen it be swept by the Guardians and split a four-game set with the Yankees. The Athletics come into Friday’s action in fourth place in the AL West, sitting a half-game behind the third-place Los Angeles Angels.
Baltimore (16-8) is atop the AL East standings by percentage points over the Yankees. The Orioles just returned from their road swing, going 4-2 in six games against the Kansas City Royals and the Angels.
The MLB betting odds for the opening game have the Orioles as the favorite, sitting at -280 on the moneyline, with the Athletics listed at +210. If you’re betting on the run line, you can get Oakland at -104 when getting +1.5 runs, while Baltimore is -115 when giving those runs. The over/under for the contest has been set at 7.5 runs, with -115 odds on both sides of that wager.
The series starts on Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET, while Saturday is an earlier start at 4:05 p.m. ET. The finale will be Sunday at 1:35 p.m. ET.
Athletics vs Orioles 
Records: Oakland Athletics (10-16) vs Baltimore Orioles (16-8)
Location: Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, MD
Day/Time: Streaming: ESPN+
Athletics vs Orioles Series Preview: Pitching Matchups
Game 1: Ross Stripling (Oakland) vs Corbin Burnes (Baltimore)
The Athletics will have veteran righty Ross Stripling making the start for the series opener. The 34-year-old brings an 0-5 record and 5.34 ERA to his sixth start. Stripling is looking for more offensive support in this start, as the Athletics have scored nine runs in his five outings in 2024.
Baltimore will go with Corbin Burnes for the series opener. Burnes has been solid this season, ranking among the MLB stat leaders by going 3-0 with a 2.76 ERA with 29 strikeouts in five starts. The right-hander gave up the most runs he has in a start this season in his last outing, going 5.2 innings against the Royals and allowing three runs on four hits.
Game 2: JP Sears (Oakland) vs Cole Irvin (Baltimore)
One player who has kept Oakland on the right end of the MLB scoreboard of late will make Saturday’s start, as JP Sears brings a 1-1 record and 3.38 ERA to the mound. The left-handed Sears has been outstanding in his last three starts, going a total of 17.1 innings and allowing just one run on six hits while striking out 14.
Baltimore will counter with left-hander Cole Irvin, who has gone 1-1 with a 4.64 ERA in four starts this season. Irvin had a great outing in his last start, going 6.2 shutout innings against the Royals on Sunday, allowing four hits while striking out two.
Game 3: Paul Blackburn (Oakland) vs Albert Suarez (Baltimore)
The Athletics may be one of your MLB picks today with Paul Blackburn taking the mound. The right-hander is 2-1 with a 2.03 ERA, striking out 23 over 31 innings of work. Blackburn has struggled a bit of late, however, allowing seven runs in his last two outings after pitching 19.1 shutout innings over his first three starts of the season.
Veteran righty Albert Suarez will make his third start of the season in the series finale. The 34-year-old has been a pleasant surprise for the Orioles after being out of the majors for six seasons, pitching in the minors and overseas before returning in 2024. Suarez is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA in two outings lasting 11.1 innings, as he’s struck out nine and walked two.
Orioles’ Edge Comes On Offense
Output is the answer when looking for the biggest difference between these teams. Baltimore comes into this series tops in the American League in runs with 136. It also leads the majors in home runs with 37. Oakland is tied for sixth in the majors in homers with 28., But its run total of 74 is 29th, ranking only above the measly 56 runs by the Chicago White Sox.
Catcher Shea Langeliers has been a solid power hitter for the Athletics, tying for the team lead with five home runs and driving in a team-best 11 runs. But he’s batting just .171 and has gone 3-for-24 on the team’s current road trip.
Baltimore has several young hitters who have been hot to start the season, including shortstop Gunnar Henderson. The 22-year-old is batting .309 with three doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 20 RBI and 20 runs scored. He’s coming off a 3-for-3 game against the Angels on Wednesday. This included a double, a home run, three RBI and three runs scored.
Orioles Roll At Home
We conclude our Athletics vs Orioles series preview by saying these will be highly competitive games. But it’s hard to pick against Baltimore right now. The team is hitting the ball great and is getting solid pitching on the mound.
The Athletics must be tired after a rough road trip, and they’ll have trouble getting runs on the board just to make this series competitive. Make your bets on the host Orioles in all three games this weekend.
Athletics vs Orioles Odds
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