O's game blog: The Cubs visit as the second half begins

The Orioles begin the second half tonight, looking to produce a strong homestand to get them closer to a playoff berth in the American League.

The start of tonight's game is being delayed with inclement weather in the area.

At 42-46, they begin play tonight in fourth place in the AL East at 7 ½ games behind division-leading Boston and just one game up on last place Toronto. They are four games back of Tampa Bay for the second AL wild card spot but four teams reside between them and the Rays.

So it's going to take some much better baseball from the that started the year going 22-10 and at that point had MLB's best record. But the Orioles are 20-36 since then with a rotation ERA of 6.81. It is those numbers which has their legion of doubters large.

While the Orioles have gone 26-20 in AL East games and 8-7 versus National League teams, they are 8-16 versus the AL Central and 0-3 against the AL West.

On the mound tonight, right-hander Kevin Gausman (5-7, 5.85 ERA) will make his 20th start and 11th at home. On July 7 at Milwaukee he allowed nine hits and six runs (five earned) over four innings. Gausman has allowed five or more runs seven times. He had thrown back-to-back scoreless starts over 12 1/3 combined innings against Toronto and Tampa Bay before that start in Milwaukee.

Lefty batters are hitting .297 off Gausman and right-handers are batting .332. He yields an average of .280 when pitching with runners in scoring position. In 10 home starts, Gausman is 3-3 with a 4.45 ERA.

In the second half of last season, Gausman went 8-6 with a 3.10 ERA. In his career post All Star break, he is 16-19 with an ERA of 3.63. His first half career ERA is 4.94.

Left-hander Mike Montgomery (1-6, 3.75 ERA) will make his 26th appearance and seventh start for the Cubs. Over 69 2/3 innings for the season he has allowed 61 hits and four homers with 35 walks, 58 strikeouts and a .241 average against. But over his last three games (two starts), he is 0-2 with an ERA of 9.75, allowing 18 hits over 12 innings.

At 43-45, the Cubs are tied for second with St. Louis in the NL Central with both 5 1/2 games behind Milwaukee. Chicago is 7 1/2 games out in the NL wild card race.

The Cubs are 13-18 since June 6 when they had a record of 30-27. They are 4-8 their past 12 games. When the Cubs starting pitcher goes six or more innings, they are 29-14. The Cubs 243 regular season wins since 2015 is second in the NL, one behind the Los Angeles Dodgers' 244.

On the farm, short season Single-A Aberdeen has put first baseball Seamus Curran on the 60-day DL with a left knee injury. In 13 games he was batting .240 with three homers and 10 RBIs.