O's game blog: O's look for a series win over the Boston Red Sox

With a 3-2 series-opening win on Friday, led by a three-run rally in the sixth and a strong bullpen performance, the Orioles are in position to win another series with a victory either today or tomorrow.

The Orioles (73-65) are four games behind Seattle for the final wild card spot as play begins today. They are 4.5 games back of Toronto and 5.5 behind Tampa Bay after the Rays lost to the Yankees today. New York now holds a 4.5 game lead over Tampa Bay for the AL East lead.

In Friday's win after starter Austin Voth gave up two runs over four innings, five bullpen pitched threw scoreless ball the last five innings for the Orioles. Right-hander Jake Reed got the win and righty Dillon Tate got the last four outs to record his fourth save.

The O's trailed last night 2-0 to the last of the sixth after Xander Bogaerts hit a two-run homer for Boston in the top of the third. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles have won 11 games this season in which they trailed by multiple runs in the sixth inning or later. The only team with more comeback victories of that kind this season is the Cleveland Guardians with 12.

The O's have outscored their opponents 579-564 (+15) this season. They have outscored their opponents 389-331 (+58) in 87 games since June 1 after being outscored 190-233 (-43) in their first 51 games. Baltimore has not had a positive run differential in a season since 2016 (+29).

The Orioles are now 29-32 versus AL East opponents which includes 5-11 against New York, 8-5 versus Boston, 9-10 against Tampa Bay and 7-6 versus Toronto. The O's are 19-14 in home AL East games. And they are a combined 24-21 against the Jays, Rays and Sox. 

The Orioles have the fourth-best home record in the AL:

.687 - Houston (46-21)
.686 - New York (48-22)
.662 - Tampa Bay (47-24)
.594 - Orioles (41-28)
.571 - Minnesota (40-30)

The Birds have gone 4-4 on the current homestand against the Oakland Athletics (2-1), Toronto Blue Jays (1-3), and Red Sox (1-0). Their home mark is eighth-best in MLB and they have won 40 home games for the first time since 2017 (46-35). Their 3.51 ERA at home is fifth-best in the AL and 11th-best in MLB.

The Orioles are fifth in the AL and eighth in MLB with 39 defensive runs saved (DRS), according to Sports Info Solutions. Baltimore finished 24th with -30 DRS in 2021, tied for 16th with 1 DRS in 2020, 28th with -53 DRS in 2019, and 28th with -42 DRS in 2018. The last time the O's finished a season with at least 30 DRS was 2014, when they led the AL and ranked second in MLB with 58.

Adley Rutschman leads the O's, ranks second among MLB catchers, and is tied for ninth in MLB with 16 DRS. Ramón Urías leads AL third basemen and ranks third among MLB third basemen with 15 DRS; his seven outs above average lead AL third basemen and rank tied for fifth among MLB third basemen, per Statcast. The O's have turned 128 double plays, the most in the AL.

Boston (67-72) begins today in last place in the AL East, 6.5 games behind the Orioles for fourth. The Red Sox have lost four in a row, scoring nine runs total in those games. They are 18-40 against AL East teams and 19-27 in the second half.