O's game blog: John Means faces A's in series finale

In an attempt to pick up their second home win of the season, avoid a three-game sweep and snap Oakland's long winning streak, the Orioles turn to their lefty ace today.

John Means (1-0, 1.52 ERA) will make his fifth start. Means went seven scoreless innings on three hits last Sunday at Texas and is pitching on two extra days of rest. He threw 96 pitches last Sunday with two walks and nine strikeouts.

Means ended his 2020 season by pitching to an ERA of 1.52 over his last four starts. He has started this season pitching to an ERA of 1.52 in his first four starts.

Means' last four starts of last year: 23 2/3 innings, 12 hits, four earned runs, three walks, 30 strikeouts, WHIP of 0.63.

Means first four starts of this year: 23 2/3 innings, 16 hits, four earned runs, six walks, 23 strikeouts, WHIP of 0.93.

The Orioles are 2-2 in his outings so far in 2021. He has allowed zero, one, three and zero earned runs.

Oakland (14-7) has won 13 in a row. That is the A's longest win streak since they won 14 in a row from April 23-May 9, 1988. During the streak, they have outscored their opponents 81-36. They have scored 6.2 runs per game and hit 24 homers during this span with a team ERA of 2.68.

The Athletics have beaten the O's in eight straight games dating to 2019 and are 70-58 overall at Oriole Park. They have won 46 consecutive games when leading after the sixth inning dating to late 2019 and are 12-0 this season when outhomering their opponent.

A's first baseman Matt Olson singled in the first inning Saturday night, extending his hitting streak to nine games. He is 15-for-34 (.441) with five home runs and 11 RBIs in this run. His nine-game streak is the third-longest of his career. His career best was 16-game streak from June 30-July 21, 2019.

The Orioles (8-12) have lost three in a row, are 0-2 on this homestand and 1-8 at Oriole Park, the fewest home wins by a team in the majors. Baltimore pitchers have allowed a home run in all nine games at home this season and their 18 home runs allowed at Camden Yards are tied with Oakland for the most in the American League.

Despite giving up seven runs last night, the O's pitching has been pretty solid for a stretch of games lately. They have allowed 24 runs over the last eight games and 38 over the past 11 games with a team ERA of 3.53 in that span.