Identifying One Key Area Red Sox Have Advantage Over Orioles

The Boston Red Sox start a two-game series against the Baltimore Orioles on Monday. On the season, the Red Sox are 4-3 against Baltimore, but the two teams haven’t met since the end of May.

Both teams have changed since then. The Red Sox had both Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer on the roster, but had yet to promote Roman Anthony. The Orioles hadn’t sold off pieces such as Ryan O’Hearn and Ramon Laureano yet.

On Sunday, the Orioles made another change by calling up top prospect Samuel Basallo. Basallo is a 21-year-old catcher with huge power and a swing reminiscent of former Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers.

Basallo is in the starting lineup at catcher for Monday’s contest, which could provide the Red Sox with a matchup advantage.

There are some questions as to whether or not Basallo can stick at catcher in the major leagues. Baseball America raised questions about his hands in framing and blocking the ball, and noted that, because of his size, he takes a long time to get into a throwing position. His average pop time of 1.98 seconds ranked middle of the pack in Triple-A.

While lefty Trevor Rogers should be able to dissuade would-be base-stealers, the Orioles’ bullpen has had a tough time holding runners.

Yennier Cano ranks near the bottom of the league in preventing the running game, while much of the rest of the Baltimore bullpen is inexperienced at the major league level. That doesn’t mean they can’t hold runners, but the Red Sox have been one of the best basestealing teams in the league and will look for any opportunity to take an extra base.

Rogers has been excellent this season. He’s completed at least six innings in each of his last seven starts and owns a 1.43 ERA this season. If the Red Sox can get to him early, though, they should have an opportunity to get on base and steal bases against a young, shaky Orioles bullpen.