O's game blog: Jeremy Hellickson makes Orioles debut

Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson tonight joins an Orioles rotation that has pitched to an ERA of 0.94 the last four games and 3.18 the past eight. He will make his Orioles debut as the O's look to complete a three-game sweep of the Royals.

At 52-54 and with four wins in a row and 10 wins the past 15 games, the Orioles could move to within 2 ½ games of the Royals with a win. The Royals (55-50) currently hold the second American League wild card spot, leading that by 1 ½ games over the Mariners and Rays and by 3 ½ over the Orioles.

Hellickson was acquired Friday night along with cash considerations from the Philadelphia Phillies for outfielder Hyun Soo Kim, Double-A pitcher Garrett Cleavinger and international bonus slots. He went 6-5 with a 4.73 ERA in 20 starts for the Phillies.

Hellickson got off to a great start in 2017. In April, he was 4-0 with a 1.80 ERA. But in 15 starts since the opening month, he is 2-5 with a 5.79 ERA. He has thrown eight quality starts and the Phillies went 10-10 in his outings.

A fourth-round draft pick of the Rays in 2005, Hellickson was the AL Rookie of the Year in 2011, when he went 13-10 with a 2.95 ERA for Tampa Bay. He was co-winner of an AL Gold Glove Award in 2012. He has made 194 career appearances (187 starts) and is 67-63 with an ERA of 3.98.

Left-hander Jason Vargas (13-4, 3.00 ERA) gets the start for K.C. Vargas was a first-time All-Star this season and pitched a scoreless fourth inning for the AL. He has held opponents to two runs or less in 14 of his 20 starts. He is 2-3 with a 1.94 ERA in eight career starts versus Baltimore, but the last one came in 2013.

On the farm today: There were several day games involving Orioles minor league affiliates today. Double-A Bowie lost a 3-0 lead and was beaten 4-3 at New Hampshire. Cedric Mullins' three-run homer in the fifth provided the lead. Anthony Santander had a double in three at-bats and is 10-for-16 (.625) in six Baysox games. Stephen Wilkerson went 3-for-4 and is batting .289.

Single-A Frederick lost at home 6-1 to Myrtle Beach. Franderlin Romero got the start and gave up two hits and one run over four innings. Jon Keller took the loss, allowing four runs (one earned) over three innings. Ryan Flaherty's rehab assignment continued as he played second base and went 2-for-4.

Kannapolis beat Single-A Delmarva 3-2. Starter Matthias Dietz pitched five scoreless on two hits. Ryan McKenna went 2-3 with a double and RBI.

Hunter Harvey had another good outing in the Gulf Coast League in a game where the GCL Red Sox beat the GCL O's 5-2. Harvey pitched two scoreless. In three GCL games, he has thrown five scoreless innings, allowing six hits with no walks and six strikeouts.

Award winners: After a dominant month of pitching, Delmarva lefty Alexander Wells has been named the Orioles' minor league Pitcher of the Month for July. Wells went 3-0 with an ERA of 0.00 during the month. In 31 scoreless innings, he allowed 13 hits with no walks and 26 strikeouts.

Wells is working on a 36 scoreless-innings streak that dates to June 30. He has gone 42 straight innings without issuing a single walk.

A 20-year-old from Newcastle, Australia, Wells is 9-4 with a league-leading 2.29 ERA on the year. He has recorded seven straight quality starts and has 15 on the season to lead the Shorebirds.

The Orioles' minor league Player of the Month for July is Ben Breazeale, a catcher with short-season Single-A Aberdeen. Drafted this year in the seventh round out of Wake Forest, Breazeale is batting .397 with three homers and 26 RBIs. He is the current New York-Penn League leader in batting average, hits, RBIs, on-base percentage, doubles and total bases. In 27 games in July, he hit .390/.462/.550 with 10 doubles, two homers and 23 RBIs.