O's game blog: Kevin Gausman pitches the Boston series opener

After allowing just two runs over 16 1/3 innings his past two starts, does Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman stay on a roll tonight? He'll try to pitch the team to a win in the opener of a four-game series at Boston that is the beginning of an 11-game road trip versus the Red Sox, White Sox and Rays.

In his first two starts this season, Gausman had a 8.00 ERA, but over his past six he is 3-1 with a 2.14 ERA. Over 42 innings in that span, he's allowed 37 hits with nine walks and 34 strikeouts. In his past four starts, Gausman has a 1.50 ERA.

In 2017 against a Boston team that would win the AL East, Gausman went 1-2 but with a 2.45 ERA. In 18 career games (13 starts) Gausman is 4-6 with a 3.83 ERA and WHIP of 1.163. Gausman has held Boston batters to a career slashline of .227/.286/.401.

The Orioles have won five of their last seven since losing the opener of their eight-game homestand. They are 13-29 but will try to end a 12-game losing streak tonight. The Orioles are 3-16 on the road. They went 3-1 at New York from April 5-8, but have gone 0-15 everywhere else.

That includes Boston, where the Orioles were swept in a three-game series at Fenway Park from April 13-15. Boston outscored the Orioles 20-7, committed zero errors and posted a .336/.395/.551 batting line going 36-for-107 with 12 doubles, a triple and three homers.

The Orioles have won the season series five of the past six years against Boston, but they've lost six straight to the Red Sox dating to 2017. The last time the Red Sox won seven in a row against the Orioles was from April 28-July 18, 2011.

The Red Sox are 29-14, including a mark of 12-6 at home. Boston began the year going 17-2 and is 12-12 since then. The Red Sox have lost five of their last nine.

Boston lefty David Price (3-4, 4.89 ERA) will make his ninth start tonight. He recently had a two-start stretch where he gave up 15 runs (12 earned) over 9 1/3. He then was skipped one start with a mild case of carpal tunnel syndrome. He returned Saturday and got a win at Toronto. Over 5 1/3 he allowed five hits and two runs on 93 pitches.

Price went 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA in one start last year versus the Orioles. He has made 25 career starts against Baltimore, going 12-5 with a 2.81 ERA and 1.090 WHIP. Over 163 1/3 career innings he has walked 39 and fanned 164.