O's game blog: A look at the Orioles' road record and tonight's game

If the Orioles were to finish .500 this year at 81-81, that would mean they would have won 15 fewer games this season compared to last year's 96-win division champions.

There are a lot of reasons for the falloff and we discuss many of them here daily. But the dropoff in the O's performance on the road is one that is significant.

A current 15-win difference can be found there, not that this is even close to the only reason for the lesser overall record. But the 2014 Orioles went 46-35 (.568) on the road. The 2015 Orioles are 31-47 (.397) on the road heading into their final road series of the year beginning tonight at Washington.

The 2015 Orioles have just not hit well enough away from Camden Yards. They average 5.0 runs per game with a 4.09 team ERA at home. They average 3.85 runs per game with a 4.08 ERA on the road.

But how about a comparison between the Orioles on the road in 2014 and 2015:

In 2014: 4.49 runs per game, .254 average, .419 slugging, 1.28 homers/game, 3.65 ERA.
In 2015: 3.85 runs per game, .237 average, .388 slugging, 1.09 homers/game, 4.08 ERA.

The Orioles played .617 ball last season (50-31) at home and their record is good at home this season, as they are playing .592 ball (42-29). But the difference in road results has been striking and a big issues for this year's team.

Tonight's scheduled starters were pushed back a day from last night's rainout. The O's starter is right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (11-9, 4.31 ERA) and left-hander Gio Gonzalez (11-7, 3.83 ERA) gets the start for the Nationals.

Jimenez will become the 11th Dominican-born pitcher with 100 career victories with his next victory. Of his 99 career wins, 56 came as a member of the Colorado Rockies, 26 with Cleveland and 17 with the Orioles.

As for Orioles pitching, in September they have a 5.50 ERA, their highest for any month this year. O's pitchers have allowed seven runs or more in eight of 18 games this month, yet the club's record is 10-8. The next highest ERA by month for the Orioles was their 4.78 mark in April.

Gonzalez is on a three-start roll, going 2-0 with an ERA of 1.47. Over 18 1/3 innings, he has allowed 11 hits and three runs, with nine walks to 26 strikeouts. He has two games of 10 or more strikeouts this year and both came during this recent stretch. He is 1-4 with a 3.51 ERA in five career starts versus the Orioles.

The Orioles went 1-2 against the Nats in Baltimore in the last series before the All-Star break. They won that series opener 3-2 on Jonathan Schoop's walkoff homer in the ninth. But they lost the next two games, 7-4 and 3-2. The Orioles are 30-23 in the all-time series against the Nats and are 11-6 since the 2012 season.

Upcoming Orioles milestones courtesy of O's PR:

* Chris Davis needs one homer for 200 in his career
* Manny Machado needs three steals for 20 homers and 20 stolen bases this season
* Matt Wieters needs two homers for 100 in his career
* Adam Jones needs four homers for 200 in his career