O's game blog: Tyler Wells to the mound as Tampa Bay series continues

The Orioles have had a pair of impressive wins over the Tampa Bay Rays and can win this series with a victory tonight. It's the third game of a four-game series and the sixth of a seven-game homestand.

The Orioles (49-48) moved ahead of the Boston Red Sox and into fourth-place with Tuesday's 5-3 comeback win. Ramón Urías hit a two-run homer to take Baltimore from behind by one to ahead by one. It was his first career go-ahead homer in the eighth inning or later.

Urías has recorded a hit in eight straight games while batting .419/.419/.903 (13-for-31) with three doubles, four homers, seven runs and 10 RBIs during the stretch. The eight-game streak is one shy of his career-high nine-game streak from May 15 to June 29, 2021.

He has hit .397/.426/.707 (23-for-58) with three doubles, five home runs, 11 runs scored and 18 RBIs in 17 games since being reinstated from the 10-day injured list on July 4. Urías has hit safely in 14 of those 17 games with seven multi-hit efforts. Last night, Ramón and Luis Urías of the Milwaukee Brewers became the first brothers to record game-winning RBIs on the same day since Lourdes (TOR) and Yuli (HOU) Gurriel in 2021.

O's shortstop Jorge Mateo has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games with an at-bat since July 10 - including four multi-hit efforts - hitting .342/.359/.632 (13-for-38) with four doubles, two triples, one home run, seven runs scored, three RBIs and three stolen bases during this stretch. He has also hit safely in seven straight games, and 11 of his last 14 games with an at-bat. The O's are 28-22 when Mateo records a hit, 9-2 when he records multiple hits and 16-4 when he drives in a run. Mateo's 24 stolen bases rank second in MLB behind only Miami's Jon Berti (28 SBs).

The Orioles have won 14 of 18, 19 of 28 and are 25-13 over the last 38 games. They are now 14-6 in July and 28-19 at home, where they have won 11 of their past 13 games.

After going 1-18 versus Tampa Bay last season, the Orioles are 7-7 against the Rays in 2022, including a mark of 6-2 at home. The Rays went 9-0 in Baltimore last year and 13-1 at Camden Yards from Sept. 17, 2020 through the end of the last season. This year marks the first time since 2018 that the Birds have taken multiple series against the Rays.

The O's eighth-inning rally to win last night means Tampa Bay falls to 42-6 when leading after seven innings, and the O's improved to 6-40 when trailing after seven.

Baltimore's 3.40 home ERA is the fifth-best in the American League and seventh-best in MLB; their 41 long balls allowed at home are tied for the fewest in the AL and tied for second-fewest in MLB, trailing only the San Francisco Giants, who have allowed 25 homers in their 48 home games.

According to ESPN's Park Factors, Oriole Park has a home run factor of 0.754, the fourth-lowest in MLB this season. Last year, Oriole Park had a home run factor of 1.574, the highest in MLB. Park Factor compares the rate of stats at home versus the rate of stats on the road, with a rate higher than 1.000 favoring hitters and a rate below 1.000 favoring pitchers.

Right-hander Tyler Wells (7-6, 3.69 ERA) gets the start for the Orioles tonight, his 20th. He has allowed eight runs in 10 2/3 innings his past two games against the Rays and Yankees. Wells has an ERA of 6.75 over his past three starts, allowing a .288 batting average and .896 OPS. In three games this season against Tampa Bay he is 0-2 with a 7.50 ERA.

Righty Drew Rasmussen (6-3, 3.13 ERA) will make his 17th start for Tampa Bay. The team is 11-5 in his outings, including 3-1 in the past four. In four July starts, he is 1-0 with a 2.29 ERA, allowing five earned runs over 19 2/3 innings.