Orioles lineup vs. Blue Jays (plus notes, updated)

Keegan Akin will try to build on his last start and the Orioles will try to end a four-game losing streak tonight against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.

Akin earned his second major league win Thursday by holding the Angels to one run and three hits in seven innings with six strikeouts and lowering his ERA from 7.92 to 7.26. He faced the Blue Jays on June 26 in Buffalo and allowed six runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Marcus Semien and Bo Bichette hit home runs.

Akin also faced the Blue Jays twice on the road in 2020 and allowed a combined four earned runs and six total in 7 1/3 innings. He struck out 10 batters.

Ryan Mountcastle, who's hit five home runs in the last nine games, is the first baseman again tonight. He's batting .364/.405/.803 in 18 games this month with five doubles, eight home runs and 16 RBIs.

Mountcastle's eight home runs and 53 total bases in August lead all American League rookies with a minimum of 60 plate appearances. His 11 home runs and 25 RBIs since the All-Star break lead the Orioles and he's slashing .304/.344/.652 (35-for-115) in the second half.

More Mountcastle: Tonight marks his 150th career game. His 30 home runs are the second-most in club history during that period behind Jay Gibbons' 31.

And more Mountcastle: He's 14-for-35 (.400) with five home runs, nine RBIs and nine runs scored against the Jays this season. For his career, he's hit safely in 15 of 17 games with a slash line of .375/.437/.719 (24-for-64) to go with seven homers, 13 RBIs and 12 runs.

Trey Mancini is out of the lineup. Anthony Santander is serving as the designated hitter, with Austin Hays in right field and Ryan McKenna in left.

Cedric Mullins returns to center field after pinch-hitting last night.

Hays has hit safely in seven straight games, including three multi-hit games, and is batting .455/.478/.818 (10-for-22) with five RBIs during this stretch.

Hays is slashing .301/.340/.552 (43-for-143) with eight home runs against left-handed pitching, compared to .213/.266/.351 (48-for-225) with six homers against right-handers.

The Orioles have lost 23 of their last 25 games and are 3-24 in August and 3-7 against Toronto. Since the beginning of the 2018 season, the Orioles are 8-23 when playing the Jays on the road.

The Orioles are slugging .648 with 33 home runs and a .356 average on the first pitch of an at-bat. Three of their hitters rank among the top 13 in the American League in average on the first pitch: Jorge Mateo at .563 (9-for-16), Mullins at .500 (27-for-54), and Mountcastle at .482 (27-for-56).

Of the 39 home runs hit by the Orioles this month, Pedro Severino's grand slam on Thursday is the only one with a runner in scoring position. Thirty-one are solo homers.

Severino is batting .276/.310/.514 (29-for-105) in 31 games in the second half after hitting .220/.299/.320 (44-for-200) in 61 games in the first. His 21 RBIs since the break rank second on the club. He had 17 in the first half.

The Orioles have homered 63 times on the road in 67 games, the fewest in the American League and third-fewest in the majors. However, they've hit 95 homers in 63 games at home, second-highest behind Toronto (102) in the AL and fourth-highest in the majors.

Left-hander Hyun Jin Ryu is 12-7 with a 3.88 ERA and 1.176 WHIP in 25 starts. He's walked only 30 batters in 143 2/3 innings.

Ryu made three starts against the Orioles in a four-game span and went 3-0 with a 2.89 ERA and 1.071 WHIP in 18 2/3 innings. He allowed six runs and 15 hits with five walks and 14 strikeouts.

Mancini hit a solo home run in the first inning of a June 20 game at Camden Yards.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.is 15-for-39 (.385) with two doubles, seven home runs and 17 RBIs in 10 games against the Orioles this season.

For the Orioles
Cedric Mullins CF
Ryan Mountcastle 1B
Austin Hays RF
Anthony Santander DH
Ramón Urías 3B
Pedro Severino C
Jorge Mateo SS
Ryan McKenna LF
Jahmai Jones 2B

Keegan Akin LHP

Update: Manager Brandon Hyde said the Orioles will insert a fifth starter into the rotation after Thursday's off-day. He said a Triple-A pitcher is likely to make a start "sometime soon."

Alexander Wells is on the taxi squad and could get the opportunity, but Hyde didn't offer any other hints. Mike Baumann is starting tonight for the Tides.

A spot became available with Spenser Watkins optioned to Norfolk.

A fifth starter is needed by Tuesday. Hyde could insert someone from the outside prior to that date and push back others. To be determined.

Mancini has the same .256 average in the second half as the first, but he's posted a .284 on-base percentage and .410 slugging compared to .331 and .460 before the break.

Mancini is batting .224/.248/.306 this month with one home run, four RBIs, three walks and 25 strikeouts 101 plate appearances.

"I think whatever Trey Mancini has given us this year, it's an absolute bonus from what he went through last year," Hyde said. "I don't think anybody had any understanding of what his year was going to be, so for him to be in the lineup 90-plus percent of the time is a credit to him and shows a lot about his character and how much he wants to be out there. But going through chemo for six months and then ... he hasn't had a good couple months for him and he's putting so much pressure on himself right now and he's taking it extremely hard and we have to constantly remind him what his world looked like a year ago.

"I'm giving him the day off today because he's just so hard on himself and he feels like he needs to produce. I'm just happy to see him on a daily basis."