Baltimore Orioles vs Tampa Bay Rays Starting Lineup — Friday, Aug 14, 2026
Starting Lineups
Baltimore Orioles @ Tampa Bay Rays · Friday, Aug 14, 2026
Baltimore has several hitters with encouraging history against Steven Matz. Pete Alonso is 4-for-10 in 11 PA with a 1.155 OPS, Gunnar Henderson is 3-for-6 with a 1.500 OPS, and Coby Mayo is 1-for-2 in 3 PA with a 1.667 OPS. Colton Cowser is 1-for-2 with a 1.000 OPS, Leody Taveras is 1-for-3 with a .666 OPS, and Tyler O'Neill is 1-for-4 with a .500 OPS. Jackson Holliday is hitless, going 0-for-3 in 4 PA with a .250 OPS, Carlos Narváez is 0-for-1 with a .000 OPS, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand has no MLB history vs Matz.
Tampa Bay also brings a fair amount of familiarity against Chris Bassitt, led by Chandler Simpson at 4-for-8 with a 1.125 OPS and Liam Hicks at 3-for-3 with a 2.000 OPS. Junior Caminero is 2-for-6 with an .833 OPS, Richie Palacios is 2-for-7 in 9 PA with a 1.158 OPS, and Cedric Mullins is 1-for-2 in 3 PA with a 1.167 OPS. Yandy Díaz is hitless at 0-for-5 in 6 PA with a .167 OPS, Jonathan Aranda is 0-for-3 with a .000 OPS, Taylor Walls is 0-for-3 in 4 PA with a .250 OPS, and Victor Mesa Jr. has no MLB history vs Bassitt.
Tampa Bay appears to have the deeper group of hitters with prior exposure to the opposing starter, but Baltimore’s top-end results against Matz are strong. The Orioles’ best-known matchups have been more productive, while the Rays have more total hitters with established history against Bassitt.
| # | Batter | AVG | OBP | OPS | HR | RBI | vAVG | vOPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pete Alonso | 0.259 | 0.353 | 0.833 | 26 | 77 | 0.400 | 1.155 |
| 2 | Jackson Holliday | 0.241 | 0.343 | 0.722 | 6 | 22 | 0.000 | 0.250 |
| 3 | Coby Mayo | 0.214 | 0.277 | 0.711 | 15 | 45 | 0.500 | 1.667 |
| 4 | Tyler O'Neill | 0.216 | 0.303 | 0.702 | 10 | 22 | 0.250 | 0.500 |
| 5 | Gunnar Henderson | 0.214 | 0.297 | 0.687 | 19 | 49 | 0.500 | 1.500 |
| 6 | Christian Encarnacion-Strand | 0.254 | 0.309 | 0.801 | 4 | 13 | — | — |
| 7 | Leody Taveras | 0.225 | 0.303 | 0.669 | 7 | 43 | 0.333 | 0.666 |
| 8 | Colton Cowser | 0.211 | 0.315 | 0.652 | 9 | 30 | 0.500 | 1.000 |
| 9 | Carlos Narváez | 0.180 | 0.253 | 0.511 | 3 | 10 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| # | Batter | AVG | OBP | OPS | HR | RBI | vAVG | vOPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yandy Díaz | 0.302 | 0.371 | 0.837 | 17 | 69 | 0.000 | 0.167 |
| 2 | Jonathan Aranda | 0.285 | 0.373 | 0.804 | 15 | 73 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 3 | Chandler Simpson | 0.307 | 0.334 | 0.699 | 0 | 25 | 0.500 | 1.125 |
| 4 | Junior Caminero | 0.279 | 0.370 | 0.923 | 35 | 77 | 0.333 | 0.833 |
| 5 | Liam Hicks | 0.284 | 0.368 | 0.815 | 16 | 71 | 1.000 | 2.000 |
| 6 | Victor Mesa Jr. | 0.213 | 0.285 | 0.737 | 10 | 21 | — | — |
| 7 | Cedric Mullins | 0.207 | 0.285 | 0.641 | 13 | 37 | 0.500 | 1.167 |
| 8 | Richie Palacios | 0.238 | 0.340 | 0.691 | 5 | 35 | 0.286 | 1.158 |
| 9 | Taylor Walls | 0.217 | 0.305 | 0.605 | 2 | 28 | 0.000 | 0.250 |
Baltimore Orioles at Tampa Bay Rays (2026-08-14). Chris Bassitt vs Steven Matz at Tropicana Field.
Starters — Bassitt has a 5.27 ERA and 1.63 WHIP across 56.1 innings, with 5.91 K/9, 3.51 BB/9, and 0.96 HR/9. His last three starts were mixed: 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 1 K, 2 BB; 6.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 K, 1 BB; and 4.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 K, 0 BB. The listed trend is up, but the WHIP and modest strikeout rate still point to traffic on the bases. Matz carries a 5.46 ERA and 1.23 WHIP in 62.2 innings, with 6.89 K/9, 2.87 BB/9, and 1.72 HR/9. His last three appearances were all scoreless and very short: 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 1 K, 0 BB; 1.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 K, 0 BB; and 2.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 K, 0 BB. The trend is flat, and the key split in his profile is decent control versus elevated home run damage.
Teams — Baltimore owns a .715 OPS and 543 runs scored, with a team 4.24 ERA and 1.35 WHIP. The Orioles are 4-6 in their last 10, and their overall offensive line is more middle-tier than explosive. Tampa Bay has a stronger .739 OPS and 549 runs, backed by a .261 team average. On the run prevention side, the Rays hold a 3.70 team ERA and 1.14 WHIP, both clearly better than Baltimore’s marks. Tampa Bay is also 9-1 over its last 10, which supports the idea that its current form is stronger on both sides of the ball.