O's game blog: Trying to avoid a four-game sweep

After losses by 6-0, 10-1 and 2-1 in 10 innings, the Orioles need a win today against the Yankees in New York or they will be swept four straight. They have been swept in a series four times this season and once before in a four-game series. That was at home against Miami in early August.

In the first three games of that series, the Orioles scored just one run. In the first three games of this series, they have scored just two.

They are batting .119 (10-for-84) this weekend with games of two, four and four hits. They are just 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position with one home run in the series.

The Orioles (20-25) have lost four in a row and have fallen 4 1/2 games behind New York for the No. 8 American League playoff seed with 15 to play. Baltimore, Detroit and Seattle all have 20-25 records. The Orioles are 10-10 on the road and 11-17 against the AL East. The Orioles are 5-6 in a 12-game stretch of games versus the Mets and Yankees that ends today.

The Yankees (25-21) have won four in a row by a combined 25-4 score to move four games over .500. The Yankees are 17-7 at home and they have won nine straight home games against the Orioles.

Lefty John Means (1-3, 6.58 ERA) will make his eighth start today after getting his first win in his last one. On Tuesday he beat the Mets, throwing a season-long six innings while allowing three hits and one run on 97 pitches. His ERA was 8.10 at game time and the Orioles had been 0-6 in his outings.

But he showed continued improvement with his changeup that outing, getting 17 swings and six whiffs on that pitch. For the year, Means is throwing his fastball 47 percent at an average velocity of 94.1, with his changeup 30 percent, slider 13 and curveball 10.

Lefty J.A. Happ (1-2, 4.31 ERA) has made six starts for New York. He is throwing well lately, going 1-1 with a 2.59 ERA over his past four starts and five walks to 22 strikeouts over 24 1/3 innings. Happ is 1-0 with an ERA of 0.69 in two home starts.

He faced the Orioles without getting a decision on July 30 in Baltimore, allowing four hits and four runs in four innings. In 26 career games (25 starts) against Baltimore he is 9-7 with a 3.76 ERA and 1.267 WHIP.

O's bullpen notes:

* Thomas Eshelman has allowed seven hits (7-for-45) for a .156 average against in 13 2/3 innings as a reliever.

* Paul Fry has allowed runs in back-to-back appearances, after allowing just one run in his previous 12 games, covering 12 1/3 innings.

* Hunter Harvey has lost in back-to-back appearances, including his first career loss on Sept. 9 against the Mets. He is holding opponents to a .091 (1-for-11) batting average with runners on base and has not allowed a hit with runners in scoring position (0-for-4).

* César Valdez has thrown a season-high three innings twice, including last night at New York. For the year he has allowed one unearned run and five hits in 10 1/3 innings. Right-handed hitters are 2-for-21 with eight strikeouts against him.

* Travis Lakins Sr. holds reverse splits, with left-handed batters going 3-for-22 (.136) against him and right-handers going 18-for-57 (.316), He has a 1.00 career ERA in five games and nine innings against the Yankees.

Ryan Mountcastle is batting third again today. He hit third for the first time last night and went 2-for-3 with a walk and drove in a run. He has 10 RBIs his last eight games. Mountcastle has hit fourth three times, fifth four times, sixth seven times and seventh four different times.

Mountcastle ranks first among AL rookies (minimum 75 plate appearances) in batting average (.368), OBP (.436), slugging (.603) and OPS (1.039), tied for fifth in hits (25) and multi-hit games (8), seventh in RBIs (15) and eighth in home runs (4).