O's game blog: O's look to extend the winning streak

Behind improved pitching and the ability to pull out some close games, the Orioles have crafted a five-game winning streak. They try to extend that tonight in the second game of a four-game series versus the Los Angeles Angels.

Jordan Lyles allowed just one run over six innings and Adley Rutschman hit his fourth big league homer and first at Camden Yards in Thursday’s 4-1 win. O’s pitchers held the Angels to six hits, and the O’s five-game win streak has come by eight total runs.

It is their longest win streak since they took six in a row from Aug. 7-13, 2020.

The Orioles have now moved within four games of the .500 mark (40-44) by winning 10 of their last 15 games and 16 of 25. They are 19-14 since June 1 and 33-30 since May 1. They are now 22-17 at home and are 9-3 in their past 12 games at the Yard.

The Angels (38-46) have tied a season low at eight games under the .500 mark after losing the series opener. They have lost five of six and 10 of 15 games. They went 4-2 versus the Orioles last season but are 1-3 this year in the season series.

Los Angeles has struggled to score recently, plating just 11 runs the past six games and 36 in their last 13 games. They are 1-5 on a nine-game road trip that ends in Baltimore this weekend.

Some O’s hitters notes:

* Adley Rutschman hit his first Camden Yards homer in the second inning last night. It traveled 366 feet onto the flag court over the right-field wall. All four of his major league home runs have come from the left side of the plate, and 17 of his first 30 hits have gone for extra bases (12-2B, 3B, 4 HR).

* Shortstop Jorge Mateo stole his 21st base of the season in the fifth inning. He has been successful in his last six attempts since June 14 and he is tied with Seattle’s Julio Rodríguez for the American League lead in stolen bases. Mateo has scored a run in three of his last four games.

* Trey Mancini has hit safely in 14 consecutive starts since June 21, batting .271/.317/.458 (16-for-59) with five doubles, two homers, six runs scored and eight RBIs in those games. And he has also hit in 15 of his last 16 starts since June 17.

* Second sacker Rougned Odor swiped second in the sixth inning, his first stolen base since Sept. 28, 2019 versus the New York Yankees for the Texas Rangers.

* Outfielder Anthony Santander went 2-for-4 with a double and single Thursday night as he recorded his 19th multi-hit game of the season and the O’s improved to 13-6 in those games.

* Ryan Mountcastle is batting .337 with an OPS of 1.043 over his past 23 games, with 18 extra-base hits in that span. He has 12 doubles, six homers and 15 RBIs in that stretch. His OPS for the year of .814 ranks 21^st best in the American League.

On the mound tonight for the Orioles is right-hander Tyler Wells (7-4, 3.09 ERA). He was the winning pitcher Sunday at Minnesota, allowing one run and three hits over six innings. He has been on a real pitching roll lately and has won each of his past five starts, going 5-0 with a 1.93 ERA. The Orioles are 7-0 his last seven starts and his ERA is 1.89 in that span. 

Wells has been strong at home this season, going 2-0 with a 2.20 ERA in six outings, and the Orioles are 4-2 in those games.

Lefty Reid Detmers (2-3, 4.66 ERA) was recalled today from Triple-A to make the start for Los Angeles. On May 10 in a 12-0 win over Tampa Bay he pitched the 12^th no-hitter in Angels history in a 108-pitch outing that featured one walk and two strikeouts. He threw the no-no in his 11^th career start. Detmers entered this year as the Angels' No. 1 ranked prospect, per Baseball America, and No. 27 on their preseason top 100 list.