O's game blog: The Boston series opener

Not only have the Orioles been the best team in the American League East to this point of the year – leading the division by four games – but they have been the best team in head-to-head games within the AL East.

AL East vs. AL East in 2023:
.634 – Orioles (26-15)
.600 – Rays (24-16)
.556 – Red Sox (20-16)
.381 – Yankees (16-26)
.324 – Blue Jays (12-25)

So the O’s .634 win percentage in AL East games is about equal to the .633 win percentage for the year. The O’s are currently on a 102-win pace.

The Birds' nine-game road trip will end this weekend and they have now shifted from the West Coast to the East Coast for three games in Boston at Fenway Park. The Orioles are 3-3 against Boston this year and the teams have not played since April 26. They have not played at Fenway Park since losing two of three games there to begin the year March 30-April 2.

One reason the Orioles are in first place is their solid play in the division this year. They lost their first two AL East series of the year to the Red Sox and Yankees and have not lost a division series since, going 9-0-2 since early April.

The Orioles have won their past four AL East series against the Rays, Yankees and Blue Jays (twice), going 10-4. In going 9-0-2 the last 11 division series, they are 24-11.

The Orioles played .447 ball (34-42) in the division last year and are playing .634 ball this season.

Boston (72-68) is in fourth place in the AL East, but is clinging to longshot wild card hopes. They begin this weekend five games back of Toronto for the last AL wild card spot, but Texas is ½ game behind Toronto, ahead of Boston.

The Red Sox beat the Rays 7-3 on Monday, but lost the final two games of that series. They have lost seven of their last 10 games overall and are 24-25 in the second half. Boston is 2-9 on the year against Tampa Bay and has lost 14 of its last 15 games at Tropicana Field.

Boston has 22 games remaining and 16 are versus AL East teams. The Sox are 36-33 at home and 45-42 against teams over .500.

The Orioles (88-51) begin the night leading the Rays by four games atop the division. They lost their road trip opener last Friday at Arizona, but have now won five in a row, outscoring their opponents 36-18 in that span. The last five games they’ve scored seven, eight, six, five and 10 runs on 60 hits.

The Orioles, who have won six straight series, need to finish 12-11 or better to win 100 or more games. In addition to winning five in a row, they have won seven of nine, 11 of 14, 14 of 18 and 25 of their past 35 games.

Orioles right-hander Kyle Bradish (10-6, 3.03 ERA) has recorded four straight quality starts and is tied for 10^th in the AL with 15 on the year. Over his past five starts, allowing two earned runs or less in each, he is 3-0 with a 1.88 ERA.

In 14 starts since June 14, allowing two earned runs or less in 12, Bradish is 8-4 with a 2.28 ERA, .194 average against and .563 OPS.

Bradish ranks third in the AL and 5^th in the major leagues in ERA. Among all qualified AL pitchers, he is second-best in homers per nine (0.77). He is third in batting average against (.224), OPS (.630) and groundball percentage (49.1). He is sixth in WHIP (1.110).

The Orioles are 17-8 in his starts this year and they have won the last six. But Bradish has never beaten Boston. He is 0-4 with a 9.36 ERA in six career games.

Right-hander Tanner Houck (4-8, 5.07 ERA) has made 16 starts for Boston and the Red Sox are 7-9 in those games. He gave up four runs in five innings versus Kansas City his his last time out. He has thrown six innings or more just once his past seven starts with a 5.18 ERA in that span. In two starts on the year against the Orioles, he is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA.