O's game blog: Looking for another win over the Los Angeles Angels

If the Orioles want to win another series, they are going to need two wins the next two days in this four-game series against the Los Angeles Angels. They have split the first two, with Baltimore winning 7-3 last night.

The Orioles (27-15) remain 4.5 games behind Tampa Bay, which won again Tuesday night. Overall, the Orioles are 5-3 on this 10-game homestand; they are 14-7 in home games for the season and 9-2 in their last 11 games versus the Angels.

They have won five of the last seven games, 10 of 16, 18 of their past 26 and 23 of the last 33 games.

In two games this series, their offense has hit five homers, scoring 12 runs on 15 hits. But over the past nine games, the Orioles have scored 28 runs, or just 3.1 per game. Baltimore batters have hit five homers in two games and seven in the last four. The O’s have gone 10 straight games without a game of 10 hits or more.

But the O’s pitching has been solid over the past 11 games dating back to the start of their series at Atlanta, with a team ERA of 3.05 during that span. The O’s pitching staff has allowed 28 runs the past nine games (with a 2.70 team ERA), and 37 in the last 11. The rotation ERA is 3.56 in this 11-game stretch, with five quality starts. The Orioles are 10-1 this season when they get a quality start.

The Angels (22-21) have lost three of their past four, five of seven and seven of their last 10 games. They are 12-12 in road games.

Right-hander Dean Kremer was the winning pitcher last night, allowing three runs over 5 2/3 innings. He improved to 5-1 with an ERA of 4.94. Kremer threw 95 pitches, 63 for strikes. He has won three straight starts for the first time in his career, going 3-0 with a 2.04 ERA in that span.

Tonight, right-hander Kyle Bradish (1-1, 4.56 ERA) will make his seventh start. He has thrown 25 2/3 innings for the year, allowing 28 hits with 10 walks to 24 strikeouts. He has a 1.481 WHIP, a 3.5 walk rate and 8.4 strikeout rate.

The Orioles are 4-2 in his starts, and Bradish is coming off a really good one. He allowed one unearned run and three hits on Friday night versus Pittsburgh, with one walk and six strikeouts on 89 pitches.

Lefty batters have hit .289 off him with an OPS of .762, and right-handers are batting .260/.755. He is 0-1 with a 7.56 ERA in two home starts, allowing an OPS of .841 in his games at Oriole Park.

Right-hander Griffin Canning (2-1, 6.38 ERA) will make his sixth start for Los Angeles. In 24 innings he has allowed 24 hits with nine walks and 21 strikeouts. He has a 1.375 WHIP with a 3.4 walk rate and 7.9 K rate. 

In his last outing, the 27-year-old pitcher allowed five runs in 3 2/3 innings last Wednesday versus Houston. Over his past two games, he has given up 11 hits and 10 runs in 8 2/3 innings. The Angels are 3-2 when he starts this year. 

The O's 27-15 overall record ranks second in MLB to start the season. In 2022, the Birds did not reach 27 wins until the 63rd game on June 14 (27-36), and they did not reach 28 wins until the 65th game on June 16 (28-37).

The Orioles are 89-64 since June 1, 2022, a 94-win pace, and the .582 winning percentage during that time is the second-best in the American League and fourth-best in MLB, trailing the Braves (.675, 104-50), Dodgers (.673, 105-51) and Astros (.630, 97-57).