Brandon Young Takes the Mound as Orioles Look to Close Out the Series Over Reeling Angels
The Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Angels wrap up their three-game set Thursday afternoon, and while neither club is playing for October positioning at 54-55 and 42-65 respectively, this Game 3 finale still matters plenty to a Baltimore roster trying to find its footing amid a rash of injuries and to an Angels team searching for any sign of stability in a lost summer.
This is Week 1 of the broader regular-season calendar reset, but — this is not early-season theater. Both teams have played well over 100 games, and the standings tell the story of two franchises on different trajectories within the same losing arc. Baltimore sits at -18 in run differential, allowing 4.8 runs per game against 4.6 scored. Los Angeles is in far rockier shape, sporting a brutal -76 differential while scoring just 4.1 per game and allowing 4.8. That gap is the story of this series and, frankly, of these two seasons.
Baltimore will lean on right-hander Brandon Young, who brings a 3.31 ERA to the mound and gives the Orioles a clear edge in the pitching matchup given the Angels have yet to name their starter. Young has been one of the few stabilizing forces for an Orioles rotation that has been gutted by injury — Zach Eflin and Chris Bassitt are both out for at least 60 days, joining closer-caliber arms like Félix Bautista, Ryan Helsley, Colin Selby and Keegan Akin on a lengthy D60 list that reads like a taxi squad. Losing that much pitching depth explains some of the erratic recent form: a 0-5 shutout loss to Philadelphia was followed by a 6-4 win over the same Phillies, then a wild 10-9 win over Detroit, an ugly 0-14 blowout loss to the Tigers, and finally an 8-5 bounce-back win to close that series. It's been feast or famine in Baltimore, and Young's presence on the mound Thursday gives them a chance to lean toward the feast side.
The lineup, even shorthanded, still has thump. Gunnar Henderson continues to be the engine, averaging 12.6 fantasy points and coming off a three-game stretch of 7.5, 19.5 and 11.5. Jackson Holliday has shown flashes of explosiveness, including a 31.5-point outburst in his last outing, while Pete Alonso remains capable of the big swing, evidenced by a 39.5-point game sandwiched between two quiet ones. Coby Mayo's 38-point eruption in his most recent game hints at the kind of pop still available in this order even with Ryan Mountcastle, Jordan Westburg, Samuel Basallo, Blaze Alexander and Colton Cowser all sidelined.
The Angels arrive in far worse form. Losers of four of their last five — including back-to-back defeats to Houston by a combined 10-6 margin — Los Angeles has been unable to generate consistent offense without Mike Trout and Jorge Soler, both out with injuries, and without Anthony Rendon and Yoán Moncada anchoring the infield corners. Zach Neto remains the offensive focal point at 13.5 fantasy points per game, though his recent output (7.5, 0, 4) has been inconsistent. Nolan Schanuel and Josh Lowe have similarly gone cold, both posting back-to-back scoreless fantasy lines before modest bounce-backs. With Yusei Kikuchi and Jack Kochanowicz also lost for the season's stretch, the Angels' pitching depth is arguably in worse shape than Baltimore's, and an unnamed starter for Thursday's finale only highlights the uncertainty engulfing this roster.
Looking at the season series, Baltimore holds a 3-2 edge in head-to-head meetings, with the Orioles claiming the more lopsided wins. That trend, combined with the sheer disparity in run differential, points toward a Baltimore team that — despite its own injury issues — has more firepower and more command on the mound heading into Thursday's finale.
Expect the Orioles to control this one from the middle innings on. Young should give Baltimore length and keep the Angels' shorthanded lineup off balance, while Henderson and Holliday provide enough thunder to make the difference against an Angels bullpen that has been overworked and underwhelming. Los Angeles will likely scratch across a few runs given how porous Baltimore's own pitching depth has become, but not enough to overcome the gap in overall talent and momentum.
Prediction: Orioles win the series finale, 6-3, with Henderson and Alonso doing the heavy lifting offensively while Young turns in a quality start that keeps the shorthanded Angels lineup in check into the sixth inning. For JockBroker users building lineups around this game, the swing skills up and down Baltimore's order — even without full lineup continuity — make this a matchup worth watching closely as the series wraps up.