First pitch: Tuesday, 7:10 p.m. ET
Line: Baltimore +105, Boston -115, Total: 9.0

The Red Sox will be hoping to avoid a fourth loss in five games when they host the Orioles on Tuesday.

The Orioles are off to a fantastic start to the season, as they are 4-1 and should really be 5-0. Baltimore led New York late into Sunday’s meeting between the two teams, but the Orioles’ bullpen fell apart and allowed the Yankees to run away with it. The Red Sox, meanwhile, are coming off of a 2-1 loss to the Tigers in Detroit. Boston lost three of four against Detroit and will be hoping to get going with a win in this series opener on Tuesday. The starters for this meeting between division foes are set to be RHP Dylan Bundy (1-0, 1.29 ERA, 8 K) for Baltimore and LHP Drew Pomeranz (11-12, 3.32 ERA, 186 K in 2016) for Boston. Bundy is coming off of a very good season debut, as he struck out eight in a win over the Jays. Pomeranz, meanwhile, has not yet pitched this season. He was dealing with an injury, but he is expected to be at 100% for this one. It’s possible he has a strict pitch limit, but that is only because the Sox will want to be careful with his arm. They have a lot riding on the lefty after trading one of their top prospects for him a year ago. One interesting trend when looking at this game is the fact that Baltimore is 84-64 against the money line when playing on grass fields since last year. That should bode well for the Orioles, who are already facing a Sox team that could be without OF Jackie Bradley Jr. (Knee) and 1B Hanley Ramirez (Illness) on Tuesday. Both guys are questionable for Boston.

If there are two guys on Baltimore that will be looking forward to Tuesday’s game then those would be C Welington Castillo (.286 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI) and SS J.J. Hardy (.125 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI). Castillo and Hardy are far from being the best hitters in this lineup, but both guys have gotten to Pomeranz in their careers. They are a combined 3-for-6 against the lefty and both of them have homered off of him as well. If they can provide some production at the plate on Tuesday then it’s hard to imagine Baltimore losing. A large part of that is because both OF Mark Trumbo (.263 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI) and 3B Manny Machado (.235 BA, 1 HR, 4 RBI) should be able to hit Pomeranz also. Dylan Bundy will, however, have his work cut out for him in this one. The Red Sox have a very dangerous lineup, so Bundy will need to make sure he is on with his pitch location. He has all of the ability in the world, but he can struggle with his control. Bundy will not want to be walking guys in this one, and he also won’t want to force pitches over the plate when behind in counts.

Drew Pomeranz was dealing with an injured forearm and that caused his first start to be pushed back a little. He is healthy now and will be hoping to get his season started on the right foot here. Pomeranz was excellent with the Padres last season, but he was just 3-5 with a 4.59 ERA after the Red Sox acquired him midseason. He’ll definitely look to bounce back and turn into the pitcher he was in San Diego. Offensively, the guys to keep an eye on in this game are 2B Dustin Pedroia (.280 BA, 0 HR, 1 RBI) and OF Mookie Betts (.100 BA, 0 HR, 0 RBI). The two of them are a combined 9-for-20 with two homers and five RBI against Bundy in their careers. Betts has really been slumping thus far, so this matchup could be exactly what he needs. We all saw what he was able to do last season, so it’s only a matter of time before he turns it on offensively. Another guy that could do some damage here is C Sandy Leon (.368 BA, 1 HR, 5 RBI). Leon has been the team’s best hitter thus far, and he also happens to be 2-for-5 with a homer and two RBI against Bundy.