O's game blog: Back to the East as the Orioles host Tampa Bay

It has been over two weeks since the Orioles played another American League East team, but that streak ends tonight as they begin a weekend series against the Tampa Bay Rays here at Camden Yards.

The Orioles are 4-2 against the Rays, winning two road series in St. Petersburg earlier this season. The games have been very low scoring. In the last four, between the teams, the total runs scored in each game were two, two, four and six.

O's pitchers have an ERA of 2.21 in the six games where the Orioles have outscored Tampa 20-13. In those last four games, O's pitchers have allowed a total of six runs versus the Rays.

Tampa Bay is 24-24 and has lost five in a row and eight of its last 12 games. The Rays have scored a total of nine runs during their losing streak and have been shut out twice.

The Rays and O's have had more players on the disabled list than the other three AL East teams, with Tampa Bay at 14 players and the Orioles at 11.

Miguel Gonzalez (5-3, 3.83 ERA) makes his 10th start of the year tonight. In his first five, he went 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA. In the last four, he is 2-2 with a 5.56 ERA.

In two 2015 starts against Tampa, Gonzalez is 1-1 with an 0.68 ERA, allowing just one run in 13 1/3 innings.

Right-hander Nathan Karns (3-2, 3.71 ERA) gets the start for the Rays. Over his last five starts, Karns is 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA. In two starts this year versus the Orioles, he is 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA.

Travis Snider snapped a streak of 20 games without an RBI after singling in the sixth inning to drive in Ryan Flaherty in Game 2 last night. It was the second-longest streak of his career of games without an RBI. (His career-high 22 game streak was set August 14-September 12, 2014.)

Adam Jones has now hit safely in 18 of his 24 games at Oriole Park this season (.330/.370/.549) after going 1-for-4 with an RBI and run scored in Game 2.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter has now tied Hall of Famer Whitey Herzog for 35th on the all-time managerial wins list with 1,281. Showalter now trails Hall of Famer Frank Selee (1,284) for 34th on the all-time list and is now one win shy of 400 career victories as manager of the Orioles.