O's game blog: Looking for another victory in Anaheim

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The Orioles are 4-0 this year in games started by right-hander Grayson Rodriguez (3-0, 2.63 ERA). If they can run that tonight to 5-0, the Orioles will have another series win secured.

The Orioles beat the Angels 4-2 last night to improve to 15-7 with three straight wins, seven wins in their last eight games and 10 in the past 13. They are now 7-3 in road games and 6-2 in series-opening games. Baltimore last night improved to 7-2 in games decided by two runs or less.

Beginning play today, the Orioles lead the only division in the majors with five teams playing .500 or better ball. With their win and a Yankees loss to the Athletics on Monday, they moved to a half-game ahead of New York atop the American League East. Boston and Toronto are both 13-10 and 2 1/2 games back, and Tampa Bay is 12-12 and four games out beginning play this Tuesday.

The Orioles continue to lead the majors in homers with 35 and in homers per game at 1.59. They lead the major leagues averaging a home run every 22.09 at-bats. There are 23 teams who are at 30 or more at-bats between home runs.

The Orioles have hit 25 homers their past 11 games. They have hit two or more 12 times already and are 11-1 in those games.

With six homers each, Colton Cowser and Gunnar Henderson are tied for third in the AL. With five each, Cedric Mullins and Jordan Westburg are tied for 11^th in the AL.

Westburg has a .613 slugging percentage, which ranks third in the league, and Henderson is sixth at .575. Westburg’s .999 OPS is third and Henderson is seventh at .928.

The Orioles, who went 5-2 versus the Angels last year and 3-0 in Anaheim, are 3-1 this season against that club.

Toronto right-hander José Berríos is the only AL pitcher with four wins as of today, so Rodriguez is tied for second in the AL in wins. He ranks 14^th in ERA and 25^th in WHIP at 1.167.

Rodriguez, who has eight walks and 27 strikeouts over 24 innings, has allowed one, two, two and two runs in his outings. He has two quality starts. His pitch counts, starting from his first game, have been 84, 97, 94 and 87.

Lefty batters hit .222 against him with an OPS of .626. Right-handed batters are hitting .227/.738. When he pitches with runners in scoring position, he has yielded a .188 average and .528 OPS.

Rodriguez got the win March 30 in his season debut, facing the Angels at home, allowing one run and four hits over six innings with nine strikeouts. But in three career games, he is 2-1 with a 6.46 ERA and .956 OPS against the Angels. Mike Trout is 2-for-6 against Rodriguez with a pair of singles.

Right-hander Griffin Canning (0-3, 8.05 ERA) has made four starts and the Angels are 0-4 those games. Over 19 innings, he has allowed 25 hits, including five homers with a 1.579 WHIP.

On March 30, he allowed five runs and seven hits in five innings on 96 pitches versus the Orioles at Camden Yards. All five of his homers allowed have come in the first two innings of his games. He allows a .474 batting average, 1.553 OPS and two homers in the opening inning. In the second inning, he has allowed a .333 average, 1.202 OPS and three home runs.

The Angels (9-14) have lost five in a row and eight of their past 10 games. They are 6-11 versus AL East teams and 2-5 at home.