O's game blog: Bundy faces Boston in Game 2 of series

Needing a win to ensure they stay in sole possession of the second American League wild card while also moving closer to the AL East lead, the Orioles send rookie right-hander Dylan Bundy (8-5, 3.82) to the mound tonight.

The Orioles (78-65) play at Boston (81-62) in the second game of this three-game series. Boston leads the division by two games over Toronto, by three over the Orioles and by five over the Yankees.

Boston has won five of six, eight of 11 and 20 of its last 30 games. Boston is 15-7 in its last 22 games against AL East opponents.

Bundy will try to slow a team that has scored 45 runs in its last five games. The Red Sox have scored 25 runs in their last three games versus the Orioles and the Red Sox are scoring 7.8 runs per game this month.

Bundy pitched to an ERA of 2.78 in his first six games as a starter, but his ERA is 6.46 over the last five starts, creating some concern that an innings load of 94 1/3 might be catching up to him. Bundy has allowed five runs in three of his past five starts.

This five-start stretch began Aug. 17 when he faced Boston at Camden Yards. He allowed a season-high nine hits and five runs over 4 1/3 innings. In his last two road starts - against the Yankees and Rays - he has allowed 14 hits and 10 runs in 7 2/3 innings. Opponents are batting just .226 off Bundy in his 11 starts and he has averaged 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings in those games.

Drew Pomeranz (2-4, 3.97 ERA), a 27-year-old lefty, makes his 11th start since his trade July 14 from San Diego to Boston. In his first three starts for his new team he pitched to an ERA of 7.53. But, over his last seven starts, he is 2-2 with a 2.76 ERA, allowing two runs or fewer six times. Pomeranz has been tough early in his Boston starts, pitching to an ERA of 1.50 over the first three innings of those outings.

One area the Orioles could exploit tonight is that Pomeranz has allowed 10 homers in 56 2/3 innings since joining Boston. That is an average of 1.6 per every nine innings. He has allowed five homers in 21 innings in four home starts. The Orioles lead the majors with 228 homers and have hit 51 in the last 24 games.

The Red Sox are 4-6 in Pomeranz's 10 starts for them, losing his last three starts. But their offense scored just five runs in those three games. Left-handed batters are hitting .283 against him, right-handed batters are at .247 and he has allowed a pretty remarkable average of just .140 when pitching with runners in scoring position.

Pomeranz was the No. 5 overall pick by Cleveland in the 2010 draft. Bundy was the No. 4 overall pick by the Orioles in the 2011 draft.