O's game blog: Kevin Gausman on mound in season opener

The Orioles begin their 64th season this afternoon when they play the Toronto Blue Jays to begin a two-game series and a five-game homestand.

The Orioles and Blue Jays tied for second in the American League East last year, going 89-73. They were four games behind division-winning Boston. Toronto beat the Orioles in the AL wild card game and advanced to the American League Championship Series for the second straight year.

With Chris Tillman on the disabled list, right-hander Kevin Gausman (9-12, 3.61 ERA in 2016) makes his first opening day start. Among qualifying pitchers, he ranked 13th in the AL in ERA last season.

The 26-year-old right-hander made 30 starts, throwing 179 2/3 innings last season with 47 walks, 174 strikeouts and a .262 batting average against. Left-handed batters hit .232 and right-handers hit .288 against Gausman. He allowed just a .200 average when pitching with runners in scoring position and opponents went 1-for-10 against him with the bases loaded.

Gausman went 6-2 with a 2.67 ERA in home games in 2016. He recorded quality starts at Camden Yards in eight of his 12 starts and allowed two runs or less eight times.

Opposing batters hit just .235/.282/.389 against him at the Yard. In 41 career outings (33 starts) he is 15-9 with a 3.03 ERA at Camden Yards.

Gausman was 0-2 with an ERA of 7.04 in three 2016 starts against the Blue Jays. On June 10, he allowed three runs in 6 1/3 innings. On July 29, he gave up six runs over three innings, and on Sept. 27, he allowed five runs over six frames. In 12 career appearances (seven starts), he is 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA against Toronto.

Toronto's starter today is 33-year-old right-hander Marco Estrada (9-9 with an ERA of 3.48 in 2016).

Estrada's .203 batting average against last season was the best among all qualifying American League pitchers. He allowed just 132 hits in 176 innings in 29 starts.

Estrada ranked fourth in the majors in fewest hits allowed per nine innings:

6.29 - Jake Arrieta
6.50 - Max Scherzer
6.73 - Kyle Hendricks
6.75 - Marco Estrada
6.76 - Justin Verlander

Estrada got off a very good start a season ago, going 1-2 with a 2.92 ERA in four starts in April and going 5-3 with a 2.93 ERA in 16 first-half starts. In one stretch, Estrada set a major league record. He recorded 12 consecutive starts working six innings or more while allowing five hits or less. That streak ended July 2.

Estrada made his first All-Star team, but did not pitch as he was on the disabled list at the time. He finished 11th in the AL last season in ERA as lefty batters hit just .190 against him and right-handed batters hit .218.

He went 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in four starts versus Baltimore. In 10 career games (eight starts) against the Orioles, Estrada is 4-1 with a 3.22 ERA and 1.093 WHIP.

O's all-time leaders in opening day starts:

20 - Brooks Robinson and Cal Ripken Jr.
13 - Mark Belanger
12 - Paul Blair, Eddie Murray and Boog Powell
11 - Brady Anderson
10 - Rick Dempsey
9 - Rich Dauer, Ken Singleton, Brian Roberts and Adam Jones (counting today)

The Orioles are 41-22 in season-opening games. They have won six in a row and 13 of their last 16 openers. They are 42-21 all-time in home openers.

Regulars around here know the drill for the game blog. Leave comments in here and questions throughout the game. It's your chance to interact live during each game and interact with other fans as well. I jump in with my own comments from time to time, as well. Enjoy the 2017 season!