O's game blog: Looking for two in a row over Texas

The Orioles host the Texas Rangers tonight in the second of a three-game series and seven-game homestand that will also include a series with the Los Angeles Angels.

The Orioles took an early 2-0 lead on the Fourth of July and then fell behind 5-2 in the fifth. They tied the game 5-5, fell behind 6-5 on Marcus Semien's homer in the ninth but tied it 6-6 on Adley Rutschman's RBI double with two outs in the ninth. And they won it 7-6 when Jorge Mateo was hit by a pitch with no outs and the bases loaded in the last of the 10th.

The Orioles (37-44) reached the midpoint of the 162-game season with Monday's win. They have won two in a row and eight of the last 14 games. They are 10-7 over the past 17 games, 13-9 in 22 and 23-20 since they were 10 games under .500 on May 19. They are 30-30 since May 1 and are 19-17 at home.

Most walk-off wins in MLB:

10 - New York Yankees
6 - Orioles, San Diego Padres
5 - Minnesota Twins, Tampa Bay Rays
4 - 7 teams tied 

Yesterday's game marked the first time in club history, which of course dates back to 1954, that the O's won via a walk-off hit by pitch. The last team to win on a walk-off hit by pitch were the Houston Astros on Sept. 17, 2021 versus Arizona. There have only been 83 recorded walk-off hit by pitches since 1915, according to Baseball Reference.

The O's have been hit by 50 pitches this season, the most in the American League and second-most in MLB, behind only the New York Mets with 55. Baltimore's 50 hit by pitches are the most in the team's first 81 games of a season since the franchise moved to Baltimore in 1954. The single-season Orioles record for the most hit by pitches is 77 in 2001.

Yesterday's victory was Baltimore's sixth walk-off win of the season and first since May 22 against Tampa Bay. Baltimore's six walk-off wins are its most since it had 12 walk-off wins in 2017. The O's have gone 6-4 in walk-offs this year and 5-3 in extra innings. And their five extra-inning wins are tied for fourth-most in MLB, and all five of Baltimore's extra-inning wins this season have come at Oriole Park, where it's gone 5-1.

O's center fielder Cedric Mullins is hitting .357/.404/.524 (15-for-42) with four doubles, one home run, six runs scored, six RBIs, four walks and a stolen base in his last 10 starts. On the season, Mullins has 28 extra-base hits and 16 stolen bases, and he is one of four players in MLB with at least 25 extra-base hits and 15 steals, along with Seattle's Julio Rodríguez (33 XBH/20 SB), Los Angeles' Trea Turner (33 XBH/16 SB) and Tampa Bay's Randy Arozarena (27 XBH/18 SB).

Right-hander Austin Voth (0-1, 7.34 ERA) gets the start for the Orioles tonight. He has made 25 appearances on the year, six of them with the Orioles with three starts. Over 12 innings as an Oriole, he has only allowed 13 hits and four earned runs with one homer, five walks and 12 strikeouts.

Voth is set to make his 26th career start (99th appearance) and fourth this season. He was claimed off waivers by the O's from Washington on June 7 after being designated for assignment by the Nationals on May 31. He holds a career 9-9 record with a 5.53 ERA across his five MLB seasons. He was originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Washington.

Texas is starting right-hander Spencer Howard (0-1, 12.15 ERA), who has allowed nine runs in 6 2/3 innings this year, but has not pitched in the majors since April. This season at Triple-A he was 3-2 with a 3.69 ERA, 3.7 walk rate and 11.7 strikeout rate. He was ranked by Baseball America as the No. 27 prospect in its top 100 prospects list in both 2020 and 2021. His fastball often sits in the mid 90s and can touch high 90s, even reaching triple digits in the past.