O's game blog: Looking for a series win against Boston

With an offense that is producing again after a poor series at St. Louis last week, the Orioles have a season-high five-game win streak heading into their game with Boston tonight.

The Orioles (34-18) produced six doubles and a triple in Monday’s 11-3 rout of the Red Sox. They saw six different players in the lineup drive in runs. Nine of them scored and three had multi-hit games as the O's pounded out 13 hits.

This was the team's fifth win this year by eight runs or more. Their biggest win of the season was a 10-run margin, 11-1 at Cincinnati on May 5.

The Orioles improved to 4-0 in 2024 against Boston, and in those wins they have scored seven, seven, nine and 11 runs for 34 total. In the season series they are batting .293 with an .859 OPS against Boston a pitching staff that began this series second in the American League in team pitching with a 3.09 ERA and second in rotation ERA at 2.95.

The Orioles have gone 17 straight series versus AL East opponents without losing one. Another win in this series will extend that number to 18 straight.

The Orioles are 8-2 against the AL East. In those games, they have scored 52 runs while batting .242 with a .738 OPS. Their pitchers have fared well in the games, amassing a 2.15 ERA with a .187 opponents' batting average and an OPS against of only .573.

The Orioles continue to be one of baseball’s highest-scoring teams.

MLB leaders, runs per game, 2024:

5.33 – Philadelphia
5.06 – Baltimore
4.98 – Cleveland
4.96 – Milwaukee
4.91 - Los Angeles Dodgers

No one in the AL East ranks higher than the O's, and the New York Yankees are next highest at seventh (4.84 runs per game).

During their five-game win streak - after scoring just eight runs while being swept in St. Louis - the Birds have scored 34 runs on 48 hits, 23 of those for extra bases. In this span they are batting .273 with an .838 OPS and scoring 6.8 runs per game.

The Orioles have outscored their opponents 34-17 in their win streak. At 4-0 versus Boston, this is the first time since 1967 that the Orioles started a year against the Red Sox going 4-0. The club record is an 8-0 start against Boston in 1960. The Orioles are 9-3 their past 12 games versus the Red Sox and are 20-16 since the 2022 season.

Right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (5-1, 3.20 ERA) tonight makes his ninth start of the year and third since returning from the injured list. In those last two outings - against Seattle and the Chicago White Sox - he allowed four hits and two runs over 11 innings.

The Orioles are 6-2 in his eight games and he has allowed two or fewer earned runs seven times. He is 3-0 with a 1.14 ERA in four home starts. That ERA would be fourth-best in the AL in home games only, had he enough innings to qualify for league leaders.

Righty Brayan Bello (5-2, 4.04 ERA) starts for Boston. In his last game, at Tampa Bay, he allowed three runs and four hits over six innings. The Sox are 6-2 in his starts.

Unlike many pitchers, he gets better in one stat category as the game goes on. He allows an OPS against of .885 when facing a lineup the first time through the order. Then that number is .690 the second time and .404 the third time through. That is the opposite of many pitchers.

On April 9 he allowed three runs (one earned) and took the loss over 5 1/3 innings against the Orioles. In three career starts, he is 1-2 with a 4.02 ERA against Baltimore batters.

O's reliever Craig Kimbrel turns 36 today. Among the 425 pitchers in the modern era to pitch in 500 games, no one has allowed a lower batting average than Kimbrel.

MLB, Lowest Opp AVG, pitchers w/ 500+ games since 1901:

Craig Kimbrel .166 (.16599)
Aroldis Chapman .166 (.16613)
Kenley Jansen .183
Billy Wagner .187
Troy Percival .188