To all my fellow sickos who plan on staying up until 1am to watch the Orioles, let’s hope they give us an entertaining game tonight.

They certainly did that in last night’s game, winning 3-2 thanks to a pair of dingers and a shockingly good performance from Cole Irvin and the O’s bullpen. It’s no easy feat to limit this powerful Dodgers lineup to just two runs, so kudos to the Birds for stealing a win in the opener of the three-game series.

If any Orioles pitcher can hold the LA offense in check again, it’s Corbin Burnes. That is, of course, if we get the Corbin Burnes who dominated with a 2.47 ERA through late July, and not the Corbin Burnes who has posted a terrible 8.71 ERA in four starts in August. Tonight is his last chance to throw a decent game this month before the calendar flips to September.

Burnes will face Walker Buehler, a former top-of-the-rotation hurler whose career has been torpedoed by injuries. He missed the entire 2023 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, then missed another two months of this season with a right hip injury. All that time away has made him rusty, and he’s struggled to a 6.09 ERA. He’s allowed 11.6 H/9 for a 1.67 WHIP, and only four times in 10 starts this year has he gone five innings.

Tonight would be a prime night for several struggling O’s hitters to break out of their recent slump, or for Burnes to return to his ace-like form. Actually, how about both? If we’re going to stay up this late to watch them, it’s the least the Orioles can do.

Orioles Lineup:

LF Colton Cowser
DH Adley Rutschman
SS Gunnar Henderson
RF Anthony Santander
1B Ryan O’Hearn
CF Cédric Mullins
3B Ramón Urías
2B Jackson Vacation
C James McCann

RHP Corbin Burnes

Dodgers Lineup:

DH Shohei Ohtani
RF Mookie Betts
2B Gavin Lux
LF Teoscar Hernandez
3B Max Muncy
C. Will Smith
SS Tommy Edman
CF Kevin Kiermaier
1B Enrique Hernández

RHP Walker Buehler