A look at some hitters recently and more with Ashur Tolliver

HOUSTON - The good news for the Orioles is they have a pretty strong middle of the order. The current bad news is that group is not hitting much right now.

Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo often bat two through five in the lineup. Right now, they have just six hits over their last 78 at-bats for an .077 average. Machado is 1-for-12, Jones is 3-for-29, Davis is 2-for-24 and Trumbo is 0-for-13.

That obviously can't and won't last. We'll see if the Orioles can breakout tonight against Houston right-hander Collin McHugh (4-4, 5.13 ERA). After pitching to an ERA of 6.65 in April, McHugh is 2-1 with an ERA of 3.86 in May. But this season, he has allowed 12 hits for every nine innings and has a WHIP of 1.585.

Despite all the recent strikeouts by the Orioles - they have fanned 40 times in the last three games - they rank with just the eighth most in the AL right now at 354. The league average is 358. Houston is first at 456. Last year, the Orioles were third in the AL in strikeouts and Houston was first then, too.

According to STATS, the Orioles' 19 strikeouts last night is two off the club record. The Orioles fanned 21 times on Sept. 12, 1962 against Washington.

Will this be the night?: Will Ashur Tolliver make his major league debut tonight? He was a popular interview here yesterday after making the majors for the first time. He has played in the minors since 2009 and has pitched at Double-A Bowie the last three years.

Tolliver is a good comeback story. He had major labrum surgery in spring 2012 that caused him to miss that entire year and it really took him a couple years to come all the way back.

This season for Bowie, he is 1-1 with two saves and a 2.42 ERA. Over 26 innings, he has allowed 22 hits with eight walks, 25 strikeouts and a .237 average against. In sizing up his solid 2016 season, Tolliver referred back to his injury.

"I've gotten healthier and healthier every year I've gotten out of spring training," he said. "Plus, we worked on some stuff with Dave (Wallace) and Dom (Chiti) down there that we've continued with Alan Mills (pitching coach) in Bowie. Some mechanical stuff. I think I've taken little baby steps over the years, whether it's the mental side of the game or some mechanical adjustments in my delivery."

He took a big step yesterday - to the major leagues. He went through spring training with the Orioles for the first time this year and that has helped make him more comfortable in the big league clubhouse now.

"That was awesome," Tolliver said. "When I came back as a free agent (last winter), they told me I was getting an invite to spring training. That was great because I knew the people up there, but for them to get to know me and know the person I am off the field, that was a great opportunity for them to put their eyes on me instead of maybe just seeing it in video."