Sale expected to start for the Red Sox against the Orioles

Updated Sep. 17, 2021 3:20 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Baltimore Orioles (47-99, fifth in the AL East) vs. Boston Red Sox (83-65, third in the AL East)

Boston; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Orioles: Keegan Akin (2-9, 6.83 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 76 strikeouts) Red Sox: Chris Sale (3-0, 2.52 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 30 strikeouts)

LINE: Red Sox -380, Orioles +290; over/under is 10 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Boston and Baltimore will face off on Friday.

The Red Sox are 44-29 on their home turf. Boston has slugged .447 this season. Kyle Schwarber leads the team with a mark of .544.

The Orioles have gone 24-48 away from home. Baltimore has slugged .405 this season. Cedric Mullins leads the team with a .530 slugging percentage, including 66 extra-base hits and 29 home runs.

The Red Sox won the last meeting 6-2. Eduardo Rodriguez earned his ninth victory and J.D. Martinez went 1-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs for Boston. Keegan Akin registered his seventh loss for Baltimore.

TOP PERFORMERS: Rafael Devers leads the Red Sox with 34 home runs and is slugging .535.

Mullins leads the Orioles with 163 hits and is batting .297.

LAST 10 GAMES: Red Sox: 4-6, .267 batting average, 4.07 ERA, outscored by four runs

Orioles: 4-6, .236 batting average, 7.66 ERA, outscored by 28 runs

INJURIES: Red Sox: Phillips Valdez: (covid-19), Chris Sale: (covid-19), Matt Barnes: (covid-19), Danny Santana: (covid-19), Jarren Duran: (covid-19), Yairo Munoz: (covid-19), Christian Arroyo: (health protocols).

Orioles: Bruce Zimmermann: (ankle), Tanner Scott: (knee), Jorge Lopez: (ankle), Travis Lakins Sr.: (elbow), Matt Harvey: (knee), Hunter Harvey: (lat), Jorge Mateo: (lumbar), Trey Mancini: (abdominal), Pedro Severino: (leg).

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.