O's Game 2 game blog: Andrew Cashner faces the White Sox

Maybe the Orioles will have it going again tonight on offense when they once again face Chicago White Sox right-hander Iván Nova (0-3, 8.42 ERA). He gets the start for the Sox in Game 2. Last Tuesday in Baltimore, they hit him hard in a 9-1 win.

The Orioles produced 11 hits and nine runs over four innings against Nova at Camden Yards. They hit four homers, with Renato Núñez hitting a solo shot, Joey Rickard and Chris Davis each getting a two-run shot and Dwight Smith Jr. collecting a three-run home run.

For the year, Nova has allowed a whopping 39 hits over 25 2/3 innings. That has produced a 1.753 WHIP, and Nova allows 13.7 hits per nine innings. The White Sox are 0-5 when he starts. In his last two games, versus Detroit and Baltimore, he gave up a total of 22 hits and 15 runs in 10 1/3 innings.

Right-hander Andrew Cashner (4-1, 4.18 ERA) will make his seventh start for the Orioles. The club is 5-1 in his six games. Since he allowed six runs on opening day in New York, Cashner has a 2.86 ERA and the Orioles have won all five of those games. They went 8-20 in his 2018 starts.

Tonight Cashner can exceed his win total of 2018, when he went 4-15. He can pick up his fifth win in his seventh start. He is holding left-handed batters to a .235 average. Right-handers hit .278 and he yields a .250 batting average when pitching with runners in scoring position.

Last Tuesday against Nova, Cashner went seven innings, allowing five hits and one run. He produced the longest outing by an O's starter for the season, and he has two of the club's four quality starts. He was also the first O's starter to reach 100 pitches or more as he threw exactly that many against the White Sox.

After the 5-4 victory in the opener, the Orioles are 11-20 heading into the nightcap.

On the farm earlier today: Single-A Delmarva won again, beating Columbia 8-5 behind a 14-hit attack. The Shorebirds are 19-4. Seamus Curran hit his fourth homer, and it was a grand slam. Adam Hall went 2-for-6 and is batting .353. Five Shorebirds drove in runs. Winning pitching Hector Guance allowed one hit and two runs over 5 1/3 innings and Tim Naughton picked up his fifth save.

Triple-A Norfolk had 16 hits in a 5-1 win over Durham to improve to 11-16. Ryan Mountcastle went 4-for-5 with two RBIs and is now batting .324. During an eight-game hitting streak, Mountcastle is 15-for-39 for a .385 average. Chance Sisco hit a two-run homer and his bat has perked up. Over his past 10 games, Sisco is batting .324 (12-for-37) with two homers and nine RBIs. Winning pitcher Josh Rogers went seven innings on 86 pitches, allowing five hits and one run. Jimmy Yacabonis threw two scoreless to get the save.

Double-A Bowie lost 7-3 to Richmond to fall to 6-19. Hunter Harvey took the loss and is 0-2 with a 6.20 ERA. Over 2 2/3 innings, he gave up five hits and six runs (three earned) and three home runs. Rylan Bannon went 2-for-3 and is hitting .286.