Holliday not in lineup against left-handed starter; Orioles-Rays lineups

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida—Jackson Holliday isn’t in Wednesday’s starting lineup against Tampa Bay’s left-handed starter Steven Matz. Manager Craig Albernaz says that Holliday, who was hitless in two at-bats will play against left-handers.

“He’s going to play,” Albernaz said. “We’re going to be smart about his buildup and getting back to playing. There’s other guys on the team that have been performing really well, [Jeremiah Jackson] in particular.  We want to make sure J.J.’s still playing as well.”

Holliday is a lifetime .246 hitter with a .699 OPS against right-handers and a .180 hitter with a .541 OPS against left-handers.

“Everyone has a track record of who they are,” Albernaz said. “So you have that coming into it, but also you’ve got to use your eyes and see how guys are performing and how they’re working.

“If you’re having a tough time hitting left-handed pitching and you’re a left-handed hitter, are you putting the work into get better at it?”

Holliday is an extremely hard worker, and he’s working hard at improving himself and learning third base.

“The players make the decisions for us,” Albernaz said. “If a guy’s a right-handed hitter and has a tough time against right-handed sinkers, are you doing everything you can to get better at hitting those shapes? You might get some runway and leeway but if there’s not, if you’re not working at it it’s tough for us to test you in that situation because you’re not putting the prep work in.

“It’s a battle of picking and choosing your spots, when to develop guys in certain matchups  and when to utilize the guys on the bench [with] their strengths. The situation dictates how we’re going to use guys .We very rarely try to force something into the game.”

Notes: The Orioles play a three-game series with the Detroit Tigers beginning on Friday. Chris Bassitt, Brandon Young and Trevor Rogers are scheduled to start for the Orioles. The Tigers have yet to name their starters. Friday night’s game will be seen exclusively on Apple TV.

Orioles-Rays lineups

Orioles

Taylor Ward-LF

Gunnar Henderson-SS

Adley Rutschman-C

Pete Alonso-DH

Tyler O’Neill-RF

Samuel Basallo-DH

Jeremiah Jackson-2B

Weston Wilson-3B

Blaze Alexander-CF

Shane Baz-RHP

Rays

Chandler Simpson-LF

Junior Caminero-3B

Jonathan Aranda-DH

Ryan Vilade-1B

Richie Palacios-2B

Jonny DeLuca-RF

Cedric Mullins-CF

Hunter Feduccia-C

Taylor Walls-SS

Steven Matz-LHP

Call for questions: I answer Orioles questions most weekdays. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com