O's game blog: Andrew Cashner on the mound at Houston

The Houston Astros (44-21) are tied with Minnesota for the best win percentage in the majors at .677. They have a 10-game lead atop the American League West and are 26-7 since May 4. They are a most formidable opponent that the Orioles took to extra innings last night.

Leading 3-0 in the fourth, the O's saw Houston homer twice in the fifth to tie it up, and then win it in the last of the 11th on walk-off double by Robinson Chirinos. Houston is 7-1 over its past eight games and has the best home record in the AL at 23-8.

The Orioles (19-44) are 1-3 so far against the Rangers and Astros on this road trip to Texas, and they've played four one-run games. They are now 1-3 in extra innings and have lost two extra-inning games on this trip.

Overall, Baltimore has lost seven of nine, 15 of 19 and 22 of their last 28 games. They are now 4-33 when scoring four runs or fewer and 11-21 in road games.

The Orioles' Trey Mancini is hitting .304/.356/.549 this season. His 72 hits rank tied for fifth in the AL and are tied for 11th in the majors. He collected his team-leading 20th multi-hit game on Thursday night, his fifth with three hits. Mancini ranks tied for eighth in the AL in multi-hit games, and tied for 14th in three-hit games. He slugged his sixth first-inning home run in Thursday night's game. Mancini is hitting .412 (21-for-51) with six home runs, three doubles and 16 runs scored in the first inning.

Infielder Hanser Alberto has hit safely in 14 of his last 20 games, with multi-hit contests in seven of those 14, including in three of his last four games. He is hitting .359 (23-for-64) since May 20 with four doubles, one home run, five RBIs and 11 runs scored. Alberto ranks third in the AL and 12th in the majors in average during this span. He is hitting .411 (30-for-73) against left-handed pitching, best in the majors among qualifying hitters.

At 44-21, the Astros have matched their best 65-game start in franchise history (2017) and can create a new franchise-best 66-game start with a win today. Houston's 44 wins are a major league high.

Houston has won 10 straight home games against the Orioles, which includes three-game series sweeps by the Astros in Houston in 2016, 2017 and 2018. This is the longest winning streak by the Astros against any single opponent in Minute Maid Park history. Houston's franchise record is a 13-game win streak at the Astrodome against the San Diego Padres, which spanned parts of the 1969-70 seasons.

Right-hander Andrew Cashner (6-2, 5.04 ERA) will make his 13th start today. Cashner went 4-15 last year in 28 starts, and the Orioles went 8-20 in those games. This year he has six wins over 12 starts and the O's are 7-5.

Over his past two starts, in 10 innings he's allowed 11 runs as his ERA increased from 4.14. In his three previous games he recorded three quality starts with a 3.00 ERA. While lefty batters hit just .196 against him, right-handers are batting .315. He is 3-2 with a 5.66 ERA in seven road starts.

Righty Framber Valdez (2-2, 3.12 ERA) will make his 15th appearance, his first start, today against the Orioles. He threw four innings of scoreless relief in his last game, versus Seattle. Over his past six games, he allowed one run over 11 1/3 innings. Valdez throws his two-seam sinker 36 percent of the time, at an average velocity of 92.3 mph. He throws his curve 34 percent and four-seam fastball 27 percent.