Orioles left with another opposing southpaw

The Orioles ranked last in the American League and 29th in the majors last season with a .234 average against left-handed starters. They've bumped it up to .247 this year, seventh in the league and 14th in the majors.

The opportunities keep coming. It's like the baseball gods keep testing them.

When the Royals' Danny Duffy toes the rubber tonight, the Orioles will be facing their 15th lefty in the first 34 games. They've gone 8-6, most recently winning Monday night against the Nationals' Gio Gonzalez at Camden Yards.

The Orioles believe that they're better equipped to defend themselves with the combination of Mark Trumbo, Joey Rickard and rookie Trey Mancini rotated through the lineup. Two corner outfielders and a designated hitter.

Rickard is batting .308 (8-for-26) with a home run against left-handers. Trumbo and Mancini are carrying identical .250 (11-for-44) averages. Welington Castillo, still on the disabled list through the weekend, is batting .276 (8-for-29), two points below his average in 2016.

Trumbo hit .173 against lefties last season, so his early improvement is noteworthy. Chris Davis is batting .262 (11-for-42) against them, compared to the .216 average he posted last summer.

There also have been some drop-offs, too. Manny Machado is batting .243 against lefties this year, compared to .329 in 2016. J.J. Hardy's average has dipped from .269 to .205, Jonathan Schoop's from .243 to .211.

Adam Jones hit .218 against them last season and he's at .200 (9-for-45) this year.

No worries. There's always another opportunity right around the corner. Or in the next series.

Left-handers are hitting .200 against Duffy in seven starts this season. Right-handers are hitting .287. The designated hitter is back in the Orioles lineup tonight, which puts Trumbo, Rickard and Mancini in play.

Craig Gentry hasn't started since April 30. He's got four at-bats this month. Manager Buck Showalter wants to get him back in the box, but it might not happen tonight.

Duffy has surrendered one earned run or fewer in four of his starts and two or fewer in five of them. In back-to-back outings against the White Sox, he allowed a combined 12 runs and 19 hits over 9 2/3 innings.

Duffy is 2-2 with a 2.37 ERA in seven career games (five starts) versus the Orioles, with a 0.923 WHIP over 30 1/3 innings. He's allowed eight earned runs and 20 hits, with eight walks and 31 strikeouts.

The current group is 10-for-76 (.132). Jones is 1-for-15 with eight strikeouts, Machado is 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts and Davis is 1-for-10 with a double and four strikeouts.

Schoop is 3-for-9 and Trumbo is 3-for-8 with a home run.

Dylan Bundy thought he was facing the Nationals last night, but the postponement put him on the mound tonight.

Bundy has turned in quality starts in all seven of his outings. He's made one career appearance against the Royals in relief and allowed one run and three hits with two walks in 1 1/3 innings at Kauffman Stadium.