As the pitching delivers, the bats go silent in Birdland

Orioles pitchers allowed just three runs combined in both games of a doubleheader but managed to lose them both. The pitchers were real good, the hitters were really not.

When Austin Hays singled in a run in the sixth inning of the second game last night, it allowed the Orioles to avoid a third straight shutout, something they last endured in 2015.

But in the Miami series, O's batters are 10-for-77 (.130) with one run scored. They have just three extra-base hits (all doubles), have drawn only seven walks and struck out 25 times. They've gone 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position.

It's been not good as the Marlins improved to 5-1 and the Orioles fell to 5-6. Baltimore is in second place, just percentage points ahead of Toronto. The Orioles are four games behind the 9-2 Yankees.

The positive in recent days has been the pitching, both the starters and bullpen. The O's have allowed just seven runs in this series. Their starters against Miami allowed four runs over 14 2/3 innings.

O's starters have gone six consecutive games allowing two earned runs or fewer, with a 2.48 ERA in that span. In the first five games of the year, the rotation ERA was 7.59. In the twinbill, right-hander Miguel Castro threw two scoreless innings in the first game and lefty Tanner Scott pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the second. The O's 'pen has not allowed a run in three of its last four games. Over the past six games, the bullpen ERA is 1.64, with four earned runs allowed over 22 innings.

The Orioles will be the visiting team and bat first again tonight as they try to avoid a four-game sweep by the Marlins. A win would leave them at 6-6 heading off on a road trip to Washington and Philadelphia.

Means' velocity: John Means' start on Tuesday night was encouraging for a couple of reasons. He pitched very well, allowing one run in 4 2/3 innings, and his velocity was up again. Means averaged 94.4 mph on the 33 fastballs he threw in that game, according to Statcast.

His manager was impressed.

"I think I'm really surprised at the 95, 96 (mph) that you are seeing on the board," O's skipper Brandon Hyde said before the doubleheader. "And it's firm from the side too. Got a really nice fastball going right now. As much as I think that's important, I think the key, really, is his changeup. His changeup was a little better (Tuesday) night. Threw some good ones. That range was in that 10-to-11-mile-per-hour difference from his fastball. I saw some good depth to it that I really didn't see in that first start against the Yankees. So that's a positive.

"John is a big, strong guy and he's put a lot of work in. You do see guys increase their velocity (from one season to the next) and are able to hold it for a while. I think John is going to be able to do that."

Hold the fort at short: Heading into the doubleheader Wednesday, Andrew Velazquez had four starts at shortstop for the Orioles. They went 3-1 in those games. Then he made two more starts at short against the Marlins. While he is not hitting much (just 1-for-17), he is holding the fort on defense at short while José Iglesias has been dealing with a quad injury.

The Orioles added 25-year-old Velazquez via waivers from Cleveland on Feb. 19. Baltimore is his fourth organization, following Arizona, Tampa Bay and the Indians. On defense at short, he's trying to hold his own while Iglesias has been on the bench or limited to DH and pinch-hitting duty.

"I really like using my backhand," said Velazquez. "Selfishly, that's my favorite play. But, I think I just catch everything. I'm going to make the routine plays, and occasionally the flashy play. My job right now is to just catch everything hit at me."

He enjoys being a teammate of the guy he has been replacing in Iglesias.

"More so, just watching him on both sides," Velazquez said. "Seeing how he works on the offensive side. Seeing how meticulous he is. Some of the drills he does and how he stays in the zone so long. The way he goes about his business. Just watching him take ground balls in practice is pretty unbelievable.

"Just trying to get some of that to rub off me," Velazquez said with a laugh.

Lefty Wade LeBlanc (1-0, 4.09 ERA) is back on the mound tonight in the series finale for Baltimore. Last week the O's were not exactly lighting up opposing pitchers, but they certainly were not getting shut down either by the likes of Gerrit Cole, J.A. Happ, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. That foursome had an ERA of 5.89 and allowed six homers in 18 1/3 to the Orioles.

But suddenly the O's can't touch less-heralded Miami pitchers. We'll see what the series finale holds later tonight.