O's game blog: O's host White Sox at Camden Yards

The Orioles host the Chicago White Sox this afternoon in the next to last game before the All-Star break. The White Sox scored four runs in the sixth last night and added three each in the seventh and ninth to turn a 2-1 lead into a 12-1 rout in the series opener at Camden Yards.

The Orioles (28-59) have lost by a combined 22-3 score the last two games. They have lost five of their last six games since completing a three-game sweep at Houston and are 5-7 over their past 12 games. They are 13-28 at home.

Chicago (52-35) is leading the American League Central by 7 1/2 games over the Cleveland Indians. The White Sox have won three in a row and eight of their past 11 games. They are 5-0 this year against the Orioles, outscoring them 30-8 in those games. They are 12-6 versus the Orioles since the 2018 season.

Right-hander Thomas Eshelman (0-1, 7.16 ERA) will get the start for the Orioles today, and it's his fifth since he joined the team. The Orioles are 2-2 in his outings, the most recent of which was last Sunday at Anaheim when he gave up seven hits and four runs over four innings. In three seasons with the Orioles he is 4-4 with a 5.59 ERA over 26 games and 12 starts with a 1.483 WHIP.

Lefty batters hit .286 with an .836 OPS against him and right-handed batters are hitting .347/.985.

Righty Lucas Giolito (6-6, 4.20 ERA) will make his 18th start for the visitors. Last Sunday against Detroit he gave up 10 hits and six runs over five innings, on 102 pitches. The White Sox are 8-9 in his starts, going 4-2 over the last six.

For the year he has thrown 98 2/3 innings, allowing 83 hits, including 18 homers, with a 1.155 WHIP. He has a 2.8 walk rate and strikeout rate of 10.6.

The No. 16 overall draft pick in the 2012 draft by the Washington Nationals, Giolito finished sixth in the AL Cy Young voting in 2019 and was seventh last year.

The White Sox are 8-5 since June 25, but have added 5 1/2 games in the standings on Cleveland, which has gone 3-11 during that span. The Sox own their most first-half wins since 2008 (54-41), and their best winning percentage since 2006 (.648; 57-31). Chicago is hitting .313/.374/.559 with 23 doubles, 16 home runs and 66 runs scored (7.3 runs per game) in the last nine games.

The Orioles have used 47 different players this season (28 pitchers and 19 position players). A major league-high 11 players have made their big league debuts this season for the O's. The club record for most debuts in a season is 15, set in 2018.

Infielder Domingo Leyba has hit safely in six of nine games since joining the Orioles on June 27.

Center fielder Cedric Mullins' 104 hits prior to the All-Star break are the most by an Oriole since 2018 (Adam Jones - 104 and Manny Machado - 115).

J.J. Hardy will represent the Orioles at the First-Year Player Draft in Colorado on Sunday night.