Starting Wednesday, newly acquired outfielder Steve Pearce is back as a fixture in the Orioles lineup against left-handed pitching, owing it to his .377 batting average against opposite-side pitching before he returned to Baltimore from the Tampa Bay Rays.
However, in inserting Pearce and reserve outfielder Nolan Reimold into the lineup against Texas Rangers left-hander Cole Hamels, the Orioles are taking out two of their hottest hitters — outfielder Hyun Soo Kim and designated hitter Pedro Alvarez.
Both are doing their damage almost exclusively off right-handed pitching, and manager Buck Showalter said there has been consideration given to hitting either Kim or Alvarez against left-handers.
"Depending on who it is," Showalter said. "Has Kim had a hit off a left-handed pitcher yet? I don't think he has, but he will. He would if we run him out there. We've left Pete in there some during games, when we could have pinch-hit for him, but he's swinging the bat well. But I think we're going to take each pitcher as it comes."
Kim has 11 at-bats off left-handed pitchers this season, walking three times without a hit. Showalter has said that Kim would vary wildly against left-handed pitchers from year to year in his native South Korea, showing no splits in some seasons and falling off drastically in others.
Alvarez has made one start against left-handers but has had 27 at-bats against left-handed pitchers, mostly those who follow righties out of the bullpen. He has homered once among four hits off them while batting .148. On his career, Alvarez is a career .200 hitter off left-handed pitching.
However, Alvarez entered Wednesday batting .296/.321/.624 with 12 home runs since June 1, and Showalter said he has quietly been the team's best hitter in that stretch, one that has seen basically everyone but shortstop J.J. Hardy fall off considerably at the plate.
Kim, too, is as steady as they come. He has been seemingly slump-proof while batting .331/.416/.442 entering Wednesday.
Removing one from the lineup for Pearce makes plenty of sense, especially given that having another player capable of playing the outfield gives Mark Trumbo -- one of two Orioles to start every game this season -- an opportunity to get off his feet to serve as designated hitter. But replacing the other with Reimold against left-handed pitching might be nearing the point of diminishing returns.
Reimold's a right-handed batter who can't crack the lineup against right-handed pitching, even though he entered Wednesday batting .265 against same-side pitchers and .211 off lefties in roughly the same amount of at-bats.
Reimold seemingly plays against left-handed pitching because he has to play against someone. But continued success at the plate for Alvarez and Kim could mean even those opportunities wane soon.
As a team, the Orioles went into Wednesday batting .237 with a .704 OPS against lefties. Rookie outfielder Joey Rickard was tied with third baseman Manny Machado for the team lead with a .313 average against them.