Today the Orioles bats looked like the Orioles bats of old. Chasing early Cy Young candidate Sonny Gray in the 6th scoring 5 runs off of him, the O’s showed great signs of waking up. The lineup the O’s put out today is one they should go with everyday as long as Matt Weiters is out. Here it is:
Nick Markakis- RF
Manny Machado- 3B
Adam Jones- CF
Chris Davis- 1B
Nelson Cruz- DH
JJ Hardy- SS
David Lough/ Steve Pearce/ Delmon Young- LF
Caleb Joseph/ Nick Hundley- C
Ryan Flaherty/ Jonathan Schoop- 2B
The first 6 batters are pretty obvious, but after that there are some questions. As much as David Lough has struggled, I feel he is crucial as if he can find ways to get on, he will cause havoc on the bases, as well as playing a gold glove caliber Left Field. I feel he should platoon with Steve Pearce, who in few at bats, has really hit well. Occasionally, Delmon Young should play as he too has shown great hitting ability in few at bats this year. While Matt Weiters is out, Joseph and Hundley should platoon, with Joseph, who is starting to hit well, getting most of the starts. Then at second, I think a straight up lefty vs righty, righty vs lefty platoon should be in place with Flaherty and Schoop.