O's game blog: Andrew Cashner faces Toronto

Orioles right-hander Andrew Cashner (1-1, 4.09 ERA) makes his third start for his new team tonight at chilly Camden Yards. He will try to pitch the Orioles even in this three-game series following Toronto's 7-1 win last night.

Cashner allowed three homers and five runs in his first O's start against Minnesota. And then on Thursday night he got his first win with Baltimore in a 5-2 victory at New York. Over six innings he allowed two hits and one run on 100 pitches. So far lefty batters are hitting .263 (5-for-19) versus Cashner and right-handed hitters are batting .158 (3-for-19).

Cashner is 1-0 with a 2.77 ERA in two career starts versus the Blue Jays. In 12 career starts against AL East teams, he is 6-3 with a 2.54 ERA with 11 quality starts. That is his lowest ERA against any division.

Right-hander Aaron Sanchez (0-1, 5.40 ERA) makes his third start this season for Toronto. Over his first two starts against the Yankees and White Sox he has thrown 11 2/3 innings allowing 14 hits and seven runs. In those games left-handed batters are hitting .500 (10-for-20) off Sanchez, while right-handers are batting .167 (4-for-24).

Sanchez made four trips to the disabled list last year, mostly for a blister on his middle finger. He made eight starts - none after July 19 - and went 1-3 with a 4.25 ERA. This followed a great 2016 season where was 15-2 and his 3.00 ERA led the American League. He made the All-Star team and finished seventh in the Cy Young voting.

He made two starts last season against the Orioles, going 0-1 with a 6.35 ERA. He allowed four homers in 11 1/3 innings. In 15 career games (10 starts) he is 5-3 with a 4.33 ERA and 1.540 WHIP.

Minor league notes: Over the first three games of the season, Triple-A Norfolk's pitchers have posted a 2.33 ERA, allowing seven earned runs over 27 innings while holding opponents to a .174 average. Tides hurlers have recorded 24 strikeouts while allowing just 16 hits and have a 0.96 WHIP as a team.

Double-A Bowie's Aderlin Rodriguez hit his first home run of the season Monday night and drove in three of four runs in Bowie's 4-3 win. Rodriguez has hit 20-plus home runs three times in his career.

Following a three-game stretch where Single-A Frederick scored 22 combined runs, the Keys have been shutout in back-to-back games. They are scoreless in their last 20 innings. Frederick has been blanked in back-to-back games for the first time since June 13-14 of last season.

Single-A Delmarva hosts Hickory tonight looking for its first 6-0 start since 1996. Lefty DL Hall, the club's top draft pick last June, makes his Shorebirds debut. Delmarva batters are hitting .325 with 41 runs to lead the South Atlantic League in both categories. Shorebirds pitchers rank second in the league with a 2.80 team ERA.