O's game blog: Kevin Gausman faces Boston in series opener

Kevin Gausman can achieve an Orioles first for this season tonight. No Orioles starter has had four straight starts of seven innings or more and Gausman has three straight heading into his outing against Boston. Gausman (7-7, 3.57 ERA) pitches against Boston's 24-year-old right-hander, Allen Webster (4-3, 6.02 ERA). Gausman has an ERA of 2.53 in 21 1/3 innings over those three starts with eight walks, 21 strikeouts and a .221 batting average against. In his first 15 starts, Gausman averaged 6.5 strikeouts per nine innings and threw 17.7 pitches per inning. Over the last three games, he is averaging 8.8 strikeouts per nine and 14.8 pitches per inning. Gausman has not allowed a homer over his past four starts and has surrendered just five in 103 1/3 innings all year. The Orioles are 6-1 on this homestand, outscoring opponents 31-11. They have a team ERA of 1.52, allowing two runs or less six times this homestand. Over their last 91 games since June 9, Orioles starters have an ERA of 3.00 and the team is 61-30. That is a 108-win pace over a full season. Steve Pearce's bat is sizzling right now. He has three homers and seven RBIs the last two games. He is 10-for-20 during a six-game hitting streak with four homers and nine RBIs. Over his last 24 games, Pearce is batting .345 (29-for-84) with nine doubles, nine homers and 17 RBIs. The Orioles are currently 14 games up in the division and could become the first team since the 2006 Yankees (10 games) to win the AL East by double digits. The biggest margin the Orioles have ever had atop the AL East was 19 games in 1969 when they won it by going 109-53. The second-largest margin was a year later when the 1970 Orioles went 108-54, taking the division by 15 games. The Orioles lead the majors with 199 home runs (Colorado is second with 175) and are on pace to hit 212. Their next home run will give them 200 in three straight seasons for the first time in club history.