O's game blog: Orioles look to extend win streak as road trip begins

Winners of five in a row, the Orioles tonight begin a nine-game West Coast road trip with the first of two games at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres.

The Orioles (45-30) and Padres (33-44) split a two-game set last week in Baltimore. This trip will take the Orioles on to Seattle for four games starting Thursday night and later to Los Angeles for a three-game series versus the Dodgers.

Since interleague play began in 1997, the Orioles are 162-182, including 93-81 at home. The Orioles went 12-8 against National League teams in 2015, matching their club record for most interleague wins in a season (also in 2014).

At 17-8 (.680), the O's record in June ranks third in the majors. The O's lead the majors with 51 home runs this month. Seven different Orioles have hit at least five home runs in June - Adam Jones (10), Chris Davis (8), Mark Trumbo (7), Pedro Alvarez (6), Manny Machado (5), Jonathan Schoop (5), and Matt Wieters (5).

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles are the fourth team in MLB history to have seven players with at least five home runs in a month. They join the Boston Red Sox (July 2003), Texas Rangers (August 2005), and the Seattle Mariners (May 2016).

The Major League record for most homers in June is 55 (Oakland in 1996) and the most for any month is 58 (Baltimore in May 1987 and Seattle in May 1999). The Orioles would need to hit eight homers in the final three games of June to break that record.

During the Orioles' five-game winning streak they have outscored their opponents 38-16 in those games. The Orioles have won seven of nine games and 17 of 25. They are 31-20 since May 3.

On the mound tonight, Ubaldo Jimenez (4-7, 6.97 ERA) makes his 15th start and pitches against San Diego right-hander Erik Johnson (0-5, 8.54 ERA).

These pitchers matched up last Wednesday in Baltimore as the Orioles won 7-2. Jimenez entered that game with an ERA of 11.47 his previous seven starts and then he allowed two runs over six innings for his first quality start since May 7.

Jimenez has allowed five or more runs in seven of his 14 starts and in six of his past eight. But in 14 career games against San Diego, he is 8-4 with a 3.87 ERA.

Johnson was traded by the White Sox to the Padres in the James Shields deal on June 4. Since then, he is 0-3 with a 9.82 ERA in three starts with San Diego. He gave up six runs in four innings last week at Camden Yards.

He has given up the home run ball often this year. For San Diego he has allowed seven homers in 14 2/3 innings. On the year counting both teams he has given up 12 home runs over 26 1/3 innings.

Schoop has a nine-game hitting streak. He is batting 474 (18-for-38) in that span with three homers and six RBIs. Schoop is batting .397 (27-for-68) over his past 17 games. Jones is batting .429 (15-for-35) during an eight-game hitting streak. Jones has hit 10 homers his past 24 games. Machado is batting .449 (22-for-49) his last 11 games.