O's game blog: Looking for another win in series with Texas

In their first series against each other since Texas swept the Orioles last October in the American League Division Series, the Orioles have beaten Texas 11-2 and 2-1 the last two nights to begin this four-game series.

After losing five in a row to Houston and Cleveland, the Orioles (52-30) have won their past three games.

During the five losses, Baltimore pitching allowed 40 runs with a team ERA of 7.71 and OPS against of .936 in those games. The team ERA increased from 3.13 to 3.40 for the year.

During the past three wins, Baltimore pitchers have allowed five total runs with a team ERA of 1.67 and a .582 OPS. The team ERA is down to 3.34. That ERA ranks first in the American League and is third-best in the majors behind Philadelphia (3.04) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (3.27).

The O's three-game win streak has come by a combined 17-5 score. The Orioles are now 8-11 in one-run games and, after last night, 3-15 when they score two runs or fewer. They are 28-16 at home and 16-11 in June.

Texas (37-45), the defending World Series champion, is in third place in the AL West, nine games behind division-leading Seattle. The Rangers are also eight games back of the final AL wild card spot right now.

Texas has lost five or more in a row for the fourth time in 2024. The Rangers have been outscored 28-12 in the current losing streak. Their season-high loss streak is six in a row from May 19-25.

The Rangers have lost eight in a row on the road and 18 of their past 23 games away from home. They are 17-26 for the year. That is the third-worst road mark in the AL.

Rookie lefty Cade Povich (0-2, 4.15 ERA) gets the start tonight. In 21 2/3 innings over his four games in the majors for the Orioles he has allowed 18 hits and 10 runs and given up two home runs. He has walked 10 and fanned 14 while allowing 1.292 WHIP.

He gave up three runs over 5 2/3 innings Monday versus Cleveland. And, since allowing six runs in his big league debut, has a 2.20 ERA over his past three games as he's kept opponents to a .217 batting average and .627 OPS in that span. In two home starts, he is 0-1 with a 2.31 ERA. 

Righty Michael Lorenzen (4-3, 3.04 ERA), a pitcher on an eight-start roll, will take the mound for Texas. Over 77 innings for the year he has allowed 58 hits and 1.156 WHIP. He's posted a 3.6 walk rate and 6.4 strikeout rate.

Lorenzen had a 4.66 ERA after his fifth start of 2024. In eight games since he is 2-1 with a 2.06 ERA, allowing two earned runs or fewer seven times. In this span, opponent batters hit .195 with a .577 OPS off him.

Lorensen has crazy reverse splits. While right-handed batters hit .295 with an .898 OPS against him, lefty batters hit only .119/.389. Of his 10 homers allowed, nine came versus right-handed hitters. The Rangers are 4-9 in his 13 starts.

O's outfielder Colton Cowser blasted a 408-foot home run to open the scoring in the fourth inning on Friday, that was his 12th of the year. Cowser has homered in back-to-back games for the third time this season, and has also homered in each of his last three starts. Since June 9, in 18 games, he is batting .240 with a .600 slugging percentage and .896 OPS, collecting five homers and eight RBIs.

Shortstop Gunnar Henderson went 1-for-3 on the night with an RBI single in the fifth plus a walk, extending his career-long on-base streak to 35 consecutive games since May 22, the longest active streak in the major leagues. It is also the longest by an Oriole since 2009, when Nick Markakis reached in 38 straight from July 5-Aug. 18.