O's game blog: Alex Cobb faces the Red Sox at Fenway

If the Orioles can win at Boston tonight, some losing streaks will fall. They have lost 13 in a row on the road. They have lost seven in a row versus Boston. And the Orioles have lost all six games started by right-hander Alex Cobb this year.

The 6-2 loss to Boston on Thursday night matched a team record for consecutive road losses. That was set from April 8-28, 1988. The O's have been outscored 84-41 during the 13 losses with a rotation ERA of 6.93.

The Orioles have their first seven-game losing streak against Boston since April 28-July 18, 2011. They have been outscored by the Red Sox 46-17 during those games.

On Sunday, the Orioles scored 17 runs with 19 hits in a win over Tampa Bay. They hit four homers and went 9-for-17 with runners in scoring position. The last two games they have scored three runs total on nine hits while going 1-for-7 with RISP.

Cobb (0-5, 7.06 ERA) went 0-3 with a 13.11 ERA over his first three Orioles starts, the first of which came at Boston. But in his past three starts, his ERA is 3.06, as he's allowed eight runs (six earned) in 17 2/3 innings. While opposing batters hit .484 off him during those first three starts, that number is down to .271 over the last three.

But lefty batters are still cleaning up against him, batting .500 (28-for-56) with an OPS of 1.331. Cobb allows a batting average of .276 versus right-handed batters and .324 when pitching with RISP.

Cobb's Orioles debut was at Fenway Park on April 14. Over 3 1/3 innings, he gave up eight runs (seven earned) on 10 hits. In five starts last season for Tampa Bay against Boston, he went 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA. In 15 career starts against the Red Sox, he is 6-5 with a 4.02 ERA. J.D. Martinez is 6-for-10 against Cobb with two doubles and a home run.

Lefty Drew Pomeranz (1-1, 5.47 ERA) will make his sixth start for Boston. On Sunday at Toronto, he went four innings, allowing five hits and three runs on 103 pitches. For the year, he has thrown 24 2/3 and yielded 28 hits with 13 walks and 26 strikeouts.

He has struggled early in his starts in 2018, allowing an ERA of 10.80 in the first inning and 5.40 in the second. In four starts last year against Baltimore, he went 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA. In eight career games (five starts) versus the Orioles, he is 2-3 with a 3.34 ERA.

The Orioles are 13-30, 3-17 in road games and 2-21 when scoring three runs or less. Boston is 30-14. Since their 17-2 start, the Red Sox are 13-12. Boston is 18-8 versus American League East teams, while the Orioles are 7-10.