O's game blog: Jorge LÃ³pez faces his former team

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

July 17, 2021, 10:21am

Comments

Looking for their first win since July 6, the Orioles take the field at Kauffman Stadium tonight for the second game of a three-game series with Kansas City. The Royals tied their season high with 15 hits last night in a 9-2 win over Baltimore. Shortstop Nicky Lopez drove in a career-high four runs.

The Royals (37-53) ended a four-game losing streak. They were 3-15 in their last 18 games before the series opener. They recorded their first win without hitting a home run since May 14. They had been 0-14 in their previous 14 homerless games.

Right fielder Whit Merrifield went 4-for-4 with a double, two runs and two RBIs. It was his ninth career game with at least four hits. Merrifield was 2-for-30 over his previous eight games.

Kansas City scored at least nine runs for the first time since June 4, when they got 14 against Minnesota, snapping a 34-game stretch in which they averaged 3.4 runs per game. They went 6-for-12 with runners in scoring position to match their second-most such hits in a game this season, and their most since June 4 versus Minnesota.

The Orioles (28-62) played their 90th game last night. They have lost five in a row and eight of their last nine games. They are 15-32 on the road. They started the year going 11-6 away from Camden Yards and now are 4-26 in the last 30 on the road.

O's pitching has allowed 155 runs the last 21 games, giving up seven runs or more 13 times in that span.

Former Royal Jorge LÃ³pez (2-12, 5.95 ERA) will get the start for the Orioles, coming off the bereavement list. With Kansas City in parts of 2018 through 2020, he made 47 appearances (25 starts), going 6-13 with a 6.42 ERA and 1.484 WHIP.

Lefty batters hit .266 off the right-hander with an .831 OPS, and right-handed hitters bat .315/.863. In nine road games, LÃ³pez is 1-7 with a 6.39 ERA.

He has thrown less than five innings in five of his last six starts, going 0-6 with a 7.22 ERA in that span. A time frame in which opponent batters have hit .360 with a .960 OPS against him.

Right-hander Brady Singer (3-6, 4.52 ERA) has made 18 starts for Kansas City and is scheduled to take the mound tonight. He's thrown 85 2/3 innings for the year, allowing 91 hits, including eight home runs, with 36 walks and 91 strikeouts. He has recorded a WHIP of 1.482 and allows 9.6 hits per nine innings and 0.8 homers with 3.8 walks and 9.6 strikeouts.

Singer was the Royals' No. 1 draft pick, No. 18 overall, out of the University of Florida in 2018. That season Baseball America named him their College Player of the Year. He got a $4.25 million dollar signing bonus, the 11th-highest in that draft class. In 2019 he was rated as the Royals' No. 1 prospect and was No. 71 in the Baseball America top 100.

Singer has an ERA of 3.00 over his past two starts. He is 0-2 with a 3.62 ERA his last seven starts, allowing 13 earned runs in 32 1/3 innings with 16 walks and 36 strikeouts. He has yielded a .275 average and .817 OPS against in that time frame.

The Royals are 6-12 when he starts this year, and he is 2-3 with a 3.99 ERA in 10 home starts. At Kauffman Stadium this year he has allowed just one homer in 49 2/3 innings.

O's catcher Pedro Severino went 3-for-4 Friday with a double, solo homer and single. It was his first multi-hit game since June 28 at Houston, snapping a 2-for-20 skid in between. Of his 27 career home runs, 14 have come versus left-handed pitchers, including three of five this year. Severino's three hits matched a season high, first set May 10 against Boston.

Cowser signs: The Orioles today announced the signing of their top draft pick, Sam Houston State outfielder Colton Cowser. Jon Heyman reported a bonus of $4.9 million for Cowser. The slot amount listed for the No. 5 draft pick is $6,180,700. The club has now officially signed its top two picks, also getting second-rounder Connor Norby, an East Carolina infielder.