O's game blog: Alex Cobb faces the Marlins

The Orioles (5-4) will look to stay above the .500 mark with a win in the first game of a doubleheader today at Camden Yards. After losing 4-0 last night to the Marlins (3-1), the O's host Miami for two games today. Both games are set for seven innings.

Right-hander Alex Cobb (1-0, 2.89 ERA) gets the start in the opener, making his third start of the season. Cobb has pitched 9 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits and three runs, with three walks and eight strikeouts. He gave up two runs in four innings on Friday against Tampa Bay in his last outing.

Through his two starts, lefty batters hit .174 with a .556 OPS off Cobb and right-handed hitters bat .286/.912. He has made five career starts versus Miami, going 3-2 with a 2.78 ERA and 0.928 WHIP. In 21 career interleague games, Cobb is 10-7 with a 2.74 ERA and 0.986 WHIP.

Right-hander Elieser Hernández gets the ball for the Marlins for his season debut. In 2019 he went 3-5 with a 5.03 ERA in 21 games, 15 starts. Hernández, 25, threw 82 1/3 innings, allowing 76 hits and with a 1.239 WHIP. He averaged 2.8 walks per nine innings last year, with 9.3 strikeouts and a homer rate of 2.2 per nine.

Lefty batters hit .260 off him and right-handers .226. In 10 road games in 2019 he was 0-3 with a 5.92 ERA and 1.526 WHIP.

He threw his four-seam fastball 63 percent of the time at an average velocity of 91.6 mph. He worked in his slider 23 percent and changeup 12 percent of the time in outings last year.

The Orioles were held to three hits by five pitchers last night and shut out for the first time since the second game of a doubleheader Sept. 3 on the road against Tampa Bay. They went 3-for-30 last night, with one walk and 11 strikeouts. Austin Hays had two of the hits, snapping an 0-for-15. The O's are now 8-23 all-time versus the Marlins.

Outfielder Anthony Santander doubled to right field in the sixth inning and is now batting .299 (20-for-67) in 17 career interleague games. Five of his eight hits in 2020 have gone for extra-bases, with three doubles and two home runs.

Hanser Alberto went 0-for-4 Tuesday to snap a four-game hitting streak during which he was 9-for-19. On the season he's batting .667 (6-for-9) against lefty pitchers and .300 (9-for-30) versus right-handers.

The O's bullpen allowed three runs (two earned) in Tuesday's game. But over the past four games, the 'pen has pitched to a 1.89 ERA.

After putting 17 players on the injured list, the Marlins have added 17 new players to the roster, including 10 from their alternate site in Jupiter and seven acquisitions. Miami has called up lefty Daniel Castano, outfielders Monte Harrison, Matt Joyce and Lewis Brinson, catcher Ryan Lavarnway, right-handers Nick Vincent, Jordan Yamamoto, Josh A. Smith and Jorge Guzman and infielder Eddy Alvarez.

Miami traded for left-hander Richard Bleier from Baltimore and righty James Hoyt from Cleveland. And the Marlins claimed lefty Josh D. Smith, right-handers Justin Shafer, Mike Morin and Brian Moran off waivers and signed free agent infielder Logan Forsythe. Moran is the nephew of former Oriole B.J. Surhoff.

By the way, we saw a real tip-your-cap moment last night. We hear that phrase a lot in baseball, but it applied last night. Marlins starter Pablo López threw five scoreless innings, and he was pitching with extra motivation after the recent passing of his dad. He was also pitching after about a week being quarantined in a hotel. He hadn't thrown a lot leading up to what was a real special outing for him, and he talked about that in this tweet:

Pablo Lopez discusses all he went through mentally and emotionally this start after his dad passing away last month and having to think about it a lot while stuck in a hotel #Marlins pic.twitter.com/XB8x3AmCy9

-- Brendan Tobin (@Brendan_Tobin) August 5, 2020