Orioles set to begin final homestand as season winds down

Can the Orioles score within the first five innings tonight and avoid tying their record for the longest streak without a run at 33?

That would be the first step toward regaining their winning touch and perhaps finishing at .500 or above.

The Orioles can't talk about repeating as division champions. They can talk about the second wild card based only on math. They're 5 1/2 games behind the Astros with seven remaining and three teams are ahead of them.

Sweep the Nationals and get swept by the Red Sox. Avoid being strangled by Jonathan Papelbon and be left gasping by two journeymen and a rookie.

Talk about a lost weekend. There isn't a GPS capable of fixing it.

The Orioles scored two runs in their last 44 innings against the Red Sox, and now they have to contend with the Blue Jays, who still have their foot on the accelerator. Toronto and Kansas City have identical 90-65 records. The Jays still haven't clinched the division, though it appears to be a formality.

"We don't want anybody celebrating on our field," said closer Zach Britton, "and that's the mindset we're taking into this homestand."

Good luck.

The Orioles are 6-9 against the Jays this season. Chris Tillman would gladly take that record. He's 0-4 with a 15.50 ERA in five starts against them this season, with 31 runs in 18 innings. He's allowed nine home runs.

In his career, Tillman is 4-10 with a 6.02 ERA in 19 starts against the Jays. He's due for a good outing.

Tillman may be down to his final two starts of the season. He's 1-2 with an 8.39 ERA in five starts this month, with 23 runs and 31 hits in 24 2/3 innings. He's 10-11 with a 5.16 ERA in 29 starts in 2015 after going 16-7 with a 3.71 ERA in 2013 and 13-6 with a 3.34 ERA last year.

The current Jays are batting .338 (72-for-213) against Tillman. Edwin Encarnacion is 15-for-46 with three doubles and two home runs, Josh Donaldson is 7-for-20 with three doubles and a home run, Ryan Goins is 8-for-20 with a home run, Dioner Navarro is 6-for-18 with a double, Kevin Pillar is 5-for-13 with a double and three home runs, Russell Martin is 4-for-8 with a double, Dalton Pompey is 4-for-7 with a double, two triples and a home run, and Jose Bautista is 10-for-36 with three doubles, three home runs and 10 strikeouts.

This is the time to mention again that Bautista is 6-for-17 with four home runs, eight RBIs, four walks and five strikeouts against O'Day. He's 2-for-30 against Ubaldo Jimenez, but that won't be an issue in this series.

Marco Estrada is 7-3 with a 2.70 ERA in 13 starts since the All-Star break. He's 2-1 with a 3.32 ERA in five games (three starts) versus the Orioles.

The current Orioles are batting .168 (16-for-95) against Estrada. Jimmy Paredes is 3-for-8 with four strikeouts, Jonathan Schoop is 1-for-3 with a home run, Ryan Flaherty is 1-for-4 with a home run, Chris Davis and Manny Machado are 1-for-6 with a home run, Gerardo Parra is 1-for-11 with four strikeouts and Junior Lake is 2-for-11 with two doubles and five strikeouts.

Davis struck out yesterday for the 202nd time this season to extend his club record. He's two behind Mark Reynolds (2008) for sixth place on baseball's all-time single-season list and three behind Drew Stubbs (2011) for fifth.

Machado's 504 career hits are the third-most by an Oriole before turning 24, trailing only Cal Ripken Jr. (569) and Eddie Murray (526). He's the third Oriole to record 150-plus hits and 18-plus stolen bases in a season before age 24.