O's game blog: Andrew Cashner faces New York (game rained out)

After losing three straight to the Washington Nationals by a combined 11-2 score, the Orioles host the New York Yankees tonight. It's the start of a four-game series to wrap up a seven-game homestand.

No game tonight: Tonight's game has been rained out. The clubs will make it up as part of a single-admission doubleheader on Monday July 9 at 4:05 p.m.

The Yankees (35-17) are two games behind the Red Sox (39-17) for the American League East lead. They also hold the second-best win percentage in the majors behind Boston. The Yanks beat the Astros 5-3 last night to go 18 games over the .500 mark, matching their season high. They are 13-8 on the road and 11-9 versus the AL East. They're 24-8 against everyone else.

Yankees batters have hit 29 home runs over their last 11 games and have homered in 41 of their 53 games this season, trailing only Toronto and Texas (42 each) for most in the majors. They lead the majors in runs per game (5.64), homers (87), home runs per game (1.64), OPS (.804) and walks (217) and rank second in runs (299), OBP (.338), slugging (.466), extra-base hits (199) and total bases (844). They are on pace to hit 266 homers. The major league single-season record was set by the 1997 Mariners at 264.

The Orioles and Yankees met in early April in New York, and the Orioles won three of four games. The Orioles won the season series three straight years, 2014-16, before losing 12 of 19 games last season. In the earlier series, O's pitching held Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton in check. They went a combined 7-for-36 (.194) with 13 strikeouts and 20 men left on base. The Orioles had gone 2-8 in New York last year, yielding on average 10.2 runs per game. In the first series this year in New York, the O's allowed an average of 4.0 runs per game.

On the mound tonight for the Orioles is right-hander Andrew Cashner (2-6, 5.07 ERA) who will be making his 12th start. While he pitched to a 2.50 ERA his first three starts, he is 1-5 with a 6.17 ERA over his last eight, allowing 58 hits in 42 1/3 innings. Cashner is 0-4 with a 5.35 ERA in six home starts.

But in four career starts versus the Yankees, he is 2-1 with a 1.73 ERA, with six walks and 17 strikeouts over 26 innings. On April 5 in Yankee Stadium, Cashner got the win, allowing one run and two hits over six innings.

Struggling right-hander Sonny Gray (3-4, 5.98 ERA) gets the start for New York. He has allowed five or more runs four times, has three quality starts, and the team is 4-6 in his 10 outings. Lefty batters hit .240 off him and right-handers bat .318.

On April 7 he got the win over the Orioles, going six innings while allowing four hits and three runs on 86 pitches. In seven career starts against Baltimore, he is 3-4 with a 5.15 ERA and 1.445 WHIP.

Gray was the No. 18 overall pick in round one of the 2011 draft out of Vanderbilt University by the Oakland Athletics. He finished third for Oakland in the 2015 Cy Young voting when he went 14-7 with a 2.73 ERA.