O's game blog: Alex Cobb faces New York in the Bronx

One reason the Orioles signed right-hander Alex Cobb was because of Cobb's solid career record against American League East teams. And while Cobb (2-14, 6.08 ERA) has had a difficult year and leads the majors in losses, he has yet to face the New York Yankees in 2018.

That changes this afternoon when Cobb and the Orioles conclude their brief two-game series in the Bronx. The Orioles went just 1-9 with runners in scoring position in last night's 6-3 loss.

In 14 career starts versus the Yankees, Cobb is 6-4 with a 2.99 ERA and 0.996 WHIP. In five career starts at Yankee Stadium, he is 1-2 with a 3.12 ERA. He has made 54 career starts against AL East opponents, posting a record of 22-18 with a 3.59 ERA.

Cobb has pitched better lately, but he still can't seem to get in the win column. Over his past three starts he is 0-3 with an ERA of 3.12. Over 17 1/3 innings, he has allowed six earned runs and produced two quality starts.

No one could blame Cobb if he feels snakebit right now. Just about every start, even when he throws well, he doesn't win. He is 0-7 over his past nine starts since his last win June 5 at the New York Mets. It seems a lack of runs, an error or soft hits often factor into games when he pitches well. Like his last start - another loss - when he gave up three earned runs over six innings against Tampa Bay.

"When you give up soft contact, runs can score," Cobb said after that game at Camden Yards. "It's hard to try to feel like you did the right thing, pitching to weak contact, because you get so angry and so frustrated with it. But you have to understand that you don't need to change anything out there. You just need to keep forcing it and, hopefully, it finds people. But it's been tough. I mean, finding every which way to lose a ballgame right now."

The Orioles (32-75) had a three-game win streak snapped last night. After scoring 37 runs over the previous three games versus Tampa Bay, they were held to three last night. The Orioles are 8-55 when scoring three runs or fewer.

The Orioles have lost 11 straight road games since a win at Atlanta on June 23. Today is the second game of a six-game road trip and the Orioles are 12-40 away from Oriole Park.

The Yankees (68-37) are a season-high 31 games over the .500 mark after last night's win. The Yankees are 4-1 on a homestand that ends today and 37-15 at home for the season. New York is 6-4 since the All-Star break and 6-5 in 2018 versus the Orioles.

Right-hander Sonny Gray (8-7, 5.08 ERA) gets the start. Over his past three games, he is 3-0 with a 1.10 ERA, reducing his season ERA from 5.85. In 10 home starts, he is 4-3 with a 6.80 ERA. Of Gray's eight wins this season, three have come against the Orioles. He is 3-0 with an ERA of 2.00 in those three games.

The Orioles' Adam Jones is batting .410 (16-for-39) with one homer and 11 RBIs during a 10-game hitting streak. Mark Trumbo is four hits away from 1,000 in his career. Chris Davis has hit six homers his past 18 games and nine in his last 32 contests. O's starting pitchers have four quality starts in the last five games.

Single-A Delmarva lefty DL Hall made his fifth and final start in the month of July last night, tossing four scoreless innings. In July, Hall went 2-1 with a 0.68 ERA and 38 strikeouts over 26 2/3 innings. He was twice named the South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week in July and his 2.27 ERA for the season leads Delmarva.