O's game blog: Alex Cobb on the mound in road trip opener

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Orioles begin a six-game West Coast trip here tonight as they play three games against the Los Angeles Angels before moving on to Oakland for three games there this weekend.

When the Orioles beat Detroit on Sunday, they won a series for just the second time all year (now 2-7) and the first time at home (now 1-4).

At 8-20, they have lost six of eight, 12 of 15 and 14 of their last 18 games. They are 3-10 in road games and have lost six in a row. That all came during the last trip when they went 0-6 at Boston and Detroit.

While the Orioles offense has been struggling for much of the year they have scored a few more runs recently. They hit three homers Sunday - two by Pedro Álvarez - and scored 16 runs with six homers in three games versus the Tigers.

But the Orioles continue to struggle with runners in scoring position. They went 4-for-26 (.154) against Detroit. Over their past nine games, they are batting .161 (9-for-56) with RISP. The Orioles rank 10th in the American League for the season, batting .219 with RISP. Last season, they ranked second in the league, batting .287.

Two Orioles whose bats were slowed earlier are quietly getting a few more hits recently. Outfielder Anthony Santander is 7-for-16 over his past four games, raising his average from .153 to .213. Catcher Caleb Joseph is 4-for-14 with a pair of doubles in his past five games, raising his average from .081 to .137.

Shortstop Manny Machado was batting just .222 and without a homer or RBI after his first seven games. But in 21 games since, he is batting .407 (33-for-81) with nine homers, 22 RBIs and 10 multi-hit games. Machado has hit six homers his past 10 games. His .361 batting average heading into today's leads the major leagues.

On the mound tonight, right-hander Alex Cobb (0-3, 13.11 ERA) will make his fourth start for the Orioles. He has yet to pitch past 4 2/3 innings or allow fewer than 10 hits. So it's going to get better soon, right?

Over 11 2/3 innings, Cobb has allowed 20 runs (17 earned) and 30 hits with opponents batting .484. Lefty batters are hitting .563 (18-for-32) against him, and in the first inning he has allowed an ERA of 15.00.

In two 2017 starts for Tampa Bay against the Angels, he went 1-1 with an ERA of 3.00. In six career starts, he is 2-2 with a 5.35 ERA and 1.528 WHIP.

Right-hander Nick Tropeano (1-2, 4.67 ERA) gets the starts for the Angels. He went 6 2/3 scoreless innings on April 12 against Kansas City. But in his past two starts, Tropeano is 0-2 with a 7.59 ERA.

Tropeano missed all of 2017 after he underwent Tommy John surgery in August 2016. He has made one previous start versus Baltimore and that was on July 9, 2016 at Camden Yards. He did not get a decision, as he went six innings and gave up just one run on a Mark Trumbo homer.