O's game blog: Andrew Cashner seeks third win as O's face TB

The Orioles play at Tropicana Field this afternoon in the second game of a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Orioles improved to 17-34 with last night's 2-0 win behind David Hess.

The Orioles have now won consecutive road games for the second time this season, the first was April 5-6 at Yankee Stadium. It was the Orioles' second shutout of the season, also on April 27 against Detroit. It was the first time the Orioles won scoring two-or-less runs this season and first time since Sept. 13, 2017 at Toronto. It was the second time an O's starter has recorded the win in consecutive games, the last being May 11-12 with Kevin Gausman and Hess).

Adam Jones recorded his ninth three-hit game of the season Friday night, which ranks tied for first in the majors. It was his second-straight three-hit game and his third of the road trip. Jones is batting .368 (14-for-38) with two home runs, seven runs and four RBIs in the nine games on this road trip. For the season, he is hitting .328 (38-for-116) in 27 road games, good for ninth-best in the American League. Jones is hitting .429 (12-for-28) in seven games against Tampa Bay and has hit in 11 straight games against the Rays overall.

Right-hander Andrew Cashner (2-5, 4.72) will make his 11th start as an Oriole. He posted a 2.50 ERA over his first three starts, and in his past seven he is 1-4 with a 5.79 ERA.

Cashner is 2-1 with a 3.74 ERA over four road starts. He got his second win Monday at Chicago allowing two runs in five-plus innings. Cashner has four quality starts and the Orioles are 3-7 in his 10 games.

The Rays are starting another reliever today with right-hander Ryan Stanek (0-0, 5.40 ERA) on the mound. In six games he has allowed three runs over five innings. He is expected to be replaced by lefty Anthony Banda.

Stanek will become the 10th starting pitcher used by the Rays this season, most in the majors, passing the Angels, Diamondbacks and Marlins with nine each.

According to Statcast, Stanek has averaged 97.9 mph on his fastball this season and his max velocity was 99.2 mph in his outing on May 12 at Camden Yards. Last season he averaged 98.1 mph on his fastball and made 14 pitches of 100 mph or more, most by a Ray since Fernando Rodney (23) in 2013. Stanek has yielded two homers this season, a grand slam to Manny Machado and a two-run shot to Mike Trout in Anaheim.

He was named after Hall of Fame second baseman Ryne Sandberg, despite being born into a family of Cardinals fans. Last season he became just the third "Ryne" in major league history, following Sandberg and All-Star pitcher Ryne Duren.

The Orioles are 4-5 on this road trip and 9-7 over their past 16 games. They are 7-21 in road games. Tampa Bay (23-26) has lost four of five since a stretch where the Rays won six games in a row. Over the last five games, Tampa Bay has scored just 11 runs. The Rays are 1-6 in their last seven at home.