O's game blog: Adam Plutko faces Yankees

The Orioles need to beat the New York Yankees at Camden Yards today to avoid a three-game sweep. New York rallied to win 5-4 on Friday and then scored five early runs last night to post an 8-2 win.

The Orioles (16-23) will reach the 40-game mark today. They have lost four in a row and seven of eight games. The O's are 3-6 against the Yankees, but have scored just 21 runs in those nine games.

The Orioles are starting right-hander Adam Plutko (1-0, 1.27 ERA) in today's series finale. Plutko has thrown 21 1/3 innings on the year - the third most among American League relievers and most on the Orioles - and has thrown well this season in three games versus the Yankees. He has not been scored on, allowing five hits in 6 1/3 innings with two walks and one strikeout. In five career games (two starts) against New York, he is 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA.

Plutko's 1.3 Wins Above Replacement leads O's relievers and ranks second among all O's hurlers behind only John Means (2.8). According to Baseball-Reference.com, 10 of Plutko's 15 appearances have come in high-leverage situations, tied for the most on the team.

Since he gave up two runs in an outing on April 13 against Seattle, Plutko has made 11 appearances with an ERA of 0.69. In that span, he has thrown 13 innings, allowing seven hits and one run with seven walks, 10 strikeouts and a .171 batting average against.

One of a few reasons he got this start today, said O's skipper Brandon Hyde, are his numbers this year against right-handed batters. While lefties hit .292 with an OPS of .846 against him, right-handers bat just .128/.355. New York has eight righty batters in the lineup today.

In his career in 36 starts, Plutko has gone 12-12 with a 5.10 ERA and 1.277 WHIP. In 29 relief outings, he is 2-0 with a 3.24 ERA and 1.340 WHIP.

Lefty Jordan Montgomery (2-1, 3.96 ERA) will make the start for New York, his eighth of the season and third against the Orioles. He is 1-0 with a 1.64 ERA in his two starts this season and 3-1 with a 2.63 career ERA against Baltimore in nine starts.

A fourth-round draft pick out of South Carolina in 2014, Montgomery allowed just one earned run and two hits over six innings on Tuesday against Tampa Bay with nine strikeouts and one walk. The Yankees are 5-2 in his outings.

The Yankees are 6-1 in their last seven games, 11-3 in 14 and 16-6 in their last 22.

Their starting pitchers own the second-lowest ERA (3.46) in the AL in 2021, behind the Chicago White Sox at 3.09. They have allowed three earned runs or fewer in 22 of their last 25 starts since April 18, posting a 2.83 ERA.

Top AL bullpen ERA
2.77 - Cleveland
2.78 - New York
2.99 - Toronto
3.50 - Baltimore
3.55 - Seattle

Orioles batters have taken 49.7 percent of more than 5,000 pitches seen this season, the lowest percentage in the majors. They have swung at 32.7 percent of first pitches seen, the second-highest percentage in the AL and the fifth-highest in the majors. Their 106 walks as a team are the second-fewest in the AL and the third-fewest in the majors. Austin Hays has taken a team-high 56.8 percent of pitches, while Ryan Mountcastle has taken a team-low 43 percent.