O's game blog: Looking for a series victory in Oakland

With a 4-3 record on their West Coast road trip, a win tonight by the Orioles would produce both a series victory in Oakland and ensure the club has a winning road trip with one game to play on Sunday.

The Orioles (75-47) beat the Athletics 9-4 last night as they produced 16 hits - six for extra-bases - and went 6-for-14 with runners in scoring position. The O's scored nine runs in three games in San Diego.

That was the 15th time this year the Orioles have scored nine or more runs in one game and not surprisingly, they are 15-0. It was the fourth time they had 16 or more hits - the season high is 20 on July 6 at New York - and they are 4-0. Their season high for runs is in a 15-2 win July 9 at Minnesota.

The O's offense now ranks fifth in the league in batting average (.252), seventh in OBP (.318), fifth in slugging (.421) and seventh in OPS (.738). The O's average 4.86 runs per game, which is tied for fourth in the AL and is tied for seventh in MLB.

The Orioles avoided a third straight loss Friday night. They have now won four of six, 12 of 18, 18 of 28 and 26 of their past 38 games.

They are 39-24 in road games and 21-12 in the second-half.

Oakland (34-88), with the worst record in the majors, has lost six of seven games and 12 of the last 16. They have been swept 16 times this season. They are 1-4 versus the Orioles this season, allowing 38 runs in those five games. The O's have hit .314/.369/.552/.922 against Oakland pitching with 12 doubles, a triple and nine homers.

Orioles pitcher Kyle Gibson allowed four runs in five innings Friday night but the rotation has overall allowed three earned runs or less 17 times the last 20 games. In those 17 games, the starters' ERA is 2.98. Over the past seven games, the Baltimore bullpen has an ERA of 2.19.

Lefty Cole Irvin (1-3, 4.92 ERA) will make his 18th appearance and 10th start tonight. The team is 6-3 in his starting assignments, winning the past three.

Irvin's last start was a week ago tonight where he gave up two hits and no runs in five innings, on 67 pitches at Seattle. 

In 13 games since rejoining the Orioles June 10, Irvin is 1-1 with a 3.15 ERA, allowing an OPS of .672. He has made six starts in this span, pitching to a 2.20 ERA. In 28 2/3 in those games, he has walked five and fanned 23, allowing a .227 average and .640 OPS.

The last two seasons Irvin pitched for Oakland and made 62 starts. He went 19-28 with a 4.11 ERA and 1.244 WHIP over 359 1/3 innings.

On April 13, Irvin allowed six runs in four innings to the Athletics. It was his third start of the year and last before he was optioned to Triple-A.

Tonight his mound opponent is lefty Ken Waldichuk (2-7, 6.07 ERA) who has pitched in 27 games, making 16 starts. He has allowed two runs or less three times his past four starts, going 0-1 with a 3.23 ERA. 

Waldichuk ranks fourth among MLB rookies in strikeouts (100) and is sixth innings (99 1/3). The Oakland bullpen has blown five saves after he left games with leads.

On April 12, he faced the Orioles in Baltimore, allowing five hits and three runs over 6 1/3 innings. He didn't get the win, but the A's did by 8-4 that day - their only win thus far in the season series. 

Minor league notes: Two O's minor league hurlers recovering and rehabbing from surgeries will continue their current rehabs next week pitching for Low Single-A Delmarva.

Seth Johnson, acquired from Tampa Bay in the Trey Mancini three-team trade, had Tommy John surgery last August. Carter Baumler, the O's fifth-round pick in 2020, had offseason shoulder surgery.

Johnson made his O's organization debut today, throwing a scoreless first inning in the Florida Complex League game. Now he is moving to join the Shorebirds. Baumler has pitched to an ERA of 1.13 in eight FCL innings with three walks and 11 strikeouts. And his next outing will be as a Shorebird.