O's game blog: Orioles look for fourth win in a row against Boston

The Orioles look to go two games over the .500 mark for the first time this season today when they play the second game of a four-game series this afternoon at Fenway Park. A win today would give the Orioles a four-game winning streak. In going 1-4 to start the year, O's starting pitchers worked to an ERA of 7.56. In going 7-3 over their last 10 games, O's starters have pitched to an ERA of 3.12. Pretty clear cut how important starting pitching is to the win-loss record. Chris Tillman got the win last night, but for the second start this year he went just five innings against Boston. In those two starts, Tillman has averaged 22.6 pitches per inning. In his other two starts, against Detroit and Toronto, he has averaged 13.3 pitches per inning. We'll see how Bud Norris does in that battle against the Boston hitters today. Norris is 0-1 with a 3.75 ERA. In his most recent start last Saturday, he pitched seven scoreless innings against Toronto. In his first start against Detroit, right-handed batters went 8-for-16 against Norris, but in that Toronto start, they went just 1-for-8. Norris is 4-2 with a 4.50 ERA in 11 career starts as an Oriole and the Birds are 8-3 in those games. The Orioles look to keep their Fenway Park success going this afternoon. They went 12-6 at Boston in 2012 and 2013 combined and are 15-6 there since Sept. 20, 2011. Jonathan Schoop enters this game on a seven-game hitting streak, batting .429 (12-for-28) with six doubles, a homer and seven RBIs during the streak. Four of Schoop's last six hits have been doubles. Schoop's four hits Friday were the most by an Oriole this season and his three RBIs on April 9 in New York are the most in a game by an Oriole this year. As usual, please leave some comments here starting now right through the entire game. If you have a question about the Orioles or O's minors, leave it here, too. Minors matters: Here is a look at a couple of minor league players whose bats have picked up in recent days: Double-A Bowie first baseman Christian Walker, ranked as the O's 18th-best prospect by Baseball America, is batting .333 over his last seven games. Walker is 10-for-30 during the stretch with a triple, homer and five RBIs. He's now batting .286 through 15 games. Bowie outfielder Dariel Alvarez has hit safely in all 15 Baysox games on the season. He is batting .328 with seven doubles, a homer, 13 RBIs and an .825 OPS. Alvarez, the O's No. 15 prospect, is batting .467 with runners in scoring position. Single-A Frederick outfielder Brendan Webb, the club's 30th-round pick in 2009, is batting .345 over his past seven games. Webb is 10-for-29 with three doubles, a homer and four RBIs. He's hitting .298 on the year. Single-A Delmarva third baseman Drew Dosch is batting .444 during a four-game batting streak. He is 8-for-18 with a double, triple and two RBIs. Drafted in the seventh round last June out of Youngstown State, Dosch is batting .400 with RISP and is hitting .304 in 14 games for the Shorebirds. Delmarva has won four games in row, allowing four total runs during the win streak, dropping the Shorebirds' team ERA from 5.48 to 4.03. During the four games, the Delmarva bullpen has allowed one run in 18 1/3 innings. Wieters against RHP: Matt Wieters struggled when he hit from the left side last year - so much so that some fans thought he should give up switch hitting. It is a small sample, of course, but Wieters is hitting much better from the left side to start this season. Wieters vs. RHP, 2013: .214 avg, .270 OBP, .358 slugging Wieters vs. RHP, 2014: .351 avg, .405 OBP, .541 slugging. Rick Dempsey had an interesting take during today's "O's Xtra" pregame show. He showed a graphic of Wieters batting left-handed last year and this year, and how he has lowered his hands more this season. Perhaps that adjustment has been the difference and no doubt, Wieters is off to a strong start hitting from the left side. Wieters is batting right-handed today against Felix Doubront. The O's trail 2-1 today in the fifth.