The Orioles welcome the surging Cincinnati Reds to Camden Yards this weekend as the O’s play their first home interleague series of the season. The 2025 season marks the 55-year anniversary of their 1970 World Series matchup, and both the Reds and O’s come into this series looking for signs that they can contend this season.
Cincinnati started the year 2-6, including losing three straight 1-0 games, but is 7-4 since. Offense is still an issue for the Reds, as their .213 and .626 OPS put them near the bottom of both categories for the entire MLB. Terry Francona’s team is coming off its highest-scoring series of the season, putting up 18 runs while dropping two of three to the Mariners.
This series will feature the second bittersweet reunion of the year, as long-time Oriole Austin Hays returns to Camden Yards with the Reds. The former All-Star only just came off the IL and made his season debut against Seattle, going 4-13 with two HRs and six RBIs. It will be Hays’ first time facing off with his former team after being traded to the Phillies at last season’s trade deadline and then signing with Cincinnati as a free agent.
The O’s have faced the squad from the Queen City each of the last three seasons. The O’s won only one of the three games in 2022 and 2023, but swept the Reds in Great American Ballpark in 2024. Last year’s series saw one of the rotation’s best three-game stretches of the season, as Cole Irvin, John Means and Dean Kremer combined to pitch 19.1 shutout innings while allowing only six combined hits. It was also a big series for Adley Rutschman, who went 6-13 with a HR, two 2Bs and four RBIs.
The Orioles’ pitching situation is certainly less bright right now, even after some good outings in their series win over Cleveland. Brandon Hyde has yet to announce a starter for Saturday’s game, as that will be the first time Baltimore uses a fifth starter since Zach Eflin landed on the IL.
Game 1: Friday, April 18th, 7:05pm ET, MASN2
LHP Cade Povich (0-1, 3.60 ERA) vs. LHP Andrew Abbott (1-0, 1.80)
Povich makes his third home start of the season after not factoring in the decision last Sunday vs. Toronto. The second-year left-hander has definitely shown signs of improvement in 2025, but is still giving up tons of hard contact. The 25-year-old has allowed 24 hits across 15 innings in his first three starts, with opponents currently hitting .369 against him.
Part of Povich’s problem has been a .451 opponent BABIP, a number that should regress positively for the lefty as the season wears on. Still, Povich is giving up a 50% hard-hit rate to only a 17.6% whiff rate and he’ll have to figure out a way to miss more bats if he wants to stick in the rotation long-term. The Reds may be a perfect get-right opponent for him, though, as they come in hitting .141 against LHPs.
Abbott was excellent in his season debut last Saturday against Pittsburgh, allowing only two hits and one run over five innings of work. After missing the first couple weeks of the season due to a rotator cuff strain, the former second-round pick out of Virginia is looking to solidify himself near the top of the Reds’ rotation.
Abbott was sharp against the O’s last season, striking out eight over five innings while giving up two runs, though he took the L as the Reds mustered only one run of support. The Reds’ lefty will once again test Brandon Hyde’s lineup construction. Abbott favors his sweeper against lefties, and Jackson Holliday and Cedric Mullins have been the Orioles’ best bats against sweepers this season.
Game 2: Saturday, April 19th, 4:05pm ET, MASN2
TBD vs. RHP Hunter Greene (2-1, 0.98 ERA)
The Orioles have not had a bigger pitching mismatch all season than rolling out a makeshift fifth starter against the Reds’ ace and rising superstar. Greene, the No. 2 pick from the 2017 draft, currently leads MLB in pitching WAR at 1.5 and has racked up 31 Ks in 27.2 IP this year. The 25-year-old’s calling card is his explosive four-seam fastball, with his heater averaging over 99mph in 2025. Opponents are hitting only .183 against the four-seamer and he backs it up with a slider that opposing batters have yet to register a hit against.
Greene also excelled against the O’s last year, pitching 5.2 scoreless innings with five Ks in a game Cincinnati lost 3-0. Given the Orioles’ struggles against fastballs this year, their best hope on Saturday should be trying to get deep in counts against Greene and run up his pitch count early. The Reds’ bullpen is tough (as they currently have the fourth-best bullpen ERA in MLB), but facing anyone else would be easier than facing Greene.
Keeping themselves in the game while Greene is still on the mound will be a challenge, as the O’s will likely give Brandon Young his MLB debut Saturday as a fill-in fifth starter. Young is already on the 40-man roster and, with Kyle Gibson still ramping up, the only healthy option Baltimore has to turn to in their time of need. The 26-year-old has a 2.73 ERA in three starts at Norfolk this year, putting up 17 Ks in 16.1 innings. The O’s recently moved him down to Aberdeen, presumably so he’s close to Baltimore when they call him to the big leagues.
Game 3: Sunday, April 20th, 1:35pm ET, MASN2
RHP Charlie Morton (0-4, 8.84 ERA) vs. LHP Nick Lodolo (2-1, 2.31)
Sunday sees another pitching matchup that is decidedly in the Reds’ favor, as the 41-year-old Morton takes on the 27-year-old Lodolo. Morton has been the Orioles’ worst starter throughout the first four trips through the rotation, with opponents currently putting up a .968 OPS against the 18-year vet.
Morton’s struggles are largely due to opponents teeing off on his curveball. Opposing hitters are hitting .435 against Charlie’s Uncle Charlie and slugging an alarming .870. MLB’s second-oldest active player is too often leaving the curveball over the middle of the plate and is failing to miss bats with the breaking ball. Morton’s 28% whiff rate on his curveball is his lowest since 2012.
Back in 2012, the Reds’ Lodolo was just beginning his freshman season at Damien High School in La Verne, CA. Thirteen years later, the former first-round pick is once again off to a strong start, posting a 2.31 ERA and 0.81 WHIP over his first three starts. Lodolo is true finesse pitcher, relying on a low 90s fastball with lots of run, a breaking ball that’s somewhere between a curveball and sweeper and a good changeup.
The O’s did rough up Lodolo a bit last year, tagging him for four runs in five innings, including this Jordan Westburg homer. Lodolo has been a significantly better starter on the road than in Cincinnati, however, and will look to continue that trend in his first start in Camden Yards.
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