West Coast trip presents next challenge for Orioles

The Orioles can't avoid it any longer. The dreaded West Coast trip is upon them.

Three cities and nine games in 10 days. It's always a grind, no matter how the opponents are playing.

A travel day would have been nice, but the folks making out the schedule aren't doing the Orioles any favors. They boarded a flight last night for Oakland and begin a three-game series tonight.

The Orioles were 2-4 against the Athletics last season, going 1-2 in both ballparks. They were outscored 37-24.

Oakland's heroes included outfielder Yoenis Cespedes, pitcher Scott Kazmir and third baseman Josh Donaldson, who are no longer with the team. Donaldson hit a three-run walk-off home run off closer Zach Britton.

Sonny Gray won the final game, 10-2, on July 20 at O.co Coliseum. He's not pitching in this series.

Neither are Vida Blue or Ken Holtzman. But Gray seemed more pertinent.

The Orioles have lost 35 of their last 49 games in Oakland, including 17 of the last 23. They're still one game back for the second wild card spot, tied with the Blue Jays, but they're now six behind the Yankees in the American League East.

Every game, every series, is important. And don't be ashamed if you're scoreboard watching. You won't be judged.

Remember how last year's West Coast swing immediately after the break was supposed to determine whether the Orioles were contenders or pretenders? They went 6-4 on the trip and finished 30 games above .500.

The A's are tied with the Red Sox for the worst record in the American League at 47-59. They're 23-31 at home. The Orioles are 21-31 on the road.

Tyler Wilson will make his second major league start and sixth appearance tonight while taking Chris Tillman's turn in the rotation. The Orioles currently are short one reliever after optioning Jorge Rondon yesterday to make room for Wilson.

Wilson hasn't pitched for the Orioles since June 19, when he came up big in a relief role by holding the Blue Jays to one run over 5 2/3 innings. He replaced starter Mike Wright, who lasted only 1 1/3 innings.

Wilson and Wright were optioned the following day. Wilson was recalled on July 1 and optioned the next day when the Orioles recalled Kevin Gausman.

A's starter Jesse Chavez, 31, is a former 42nd-round pick of the Rangers in 2002. He's 5-10 with a 3.53 ERA in 22 games this season, including 18 starts.

Right-handers are batting .226 against Chavez, and left-handers are hitting .286.

Chavez has made four relief appearances against the Orioles, allowing six runs (five earned) and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings. The current Orioles are 8-for-26 (.308) against him.

J.J. Hardy is 2-for-6 and Chris Davis is 2-for-3 against him.

Hardy and Gerardo Parra had their 15-game hitting streaks ended yesterday.

Left-hander Brian Matusz retired the Tigers in order in the ninth inning. He's allowed only two runs and struck out 23 batters in his last 16 appearances covering 14 1/3 innings.

On a personal note, I had the privilege of meeting a young boy and his mother Saturday night as I was leaving the ballpark. The boy, in his Orioles cap and jersey, wanted an autograph. I waved him off at first, explaining that I was only a sportswriter, but his mother said, 'He knows who you are.' Needless to say, I signed his baseball and chatted them up for a few minutes.

Long story short, the kid is battling a health issue and I'm kicking myself for not getting their contact information. I'm hoping that someone in their family reads this blog entry and reaches out to me.

I'm putting the power of the blog to the test here. And I'm asking that, should someone from their family post a comment, that it be flagged so it's more easily brought to my attention. Many thanks in advance.