O's game blog: Dan Straily gets the start, plus farm notes

After splitting the first two games of a four-game series, the Orioles host Oakland again tonight at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Birds won 12-4 Monday and lost 13-2 last night.

Since starting the year 4-1, the Orioles have lost five of six games and been outscored 51-28. Meanwhile, the Baltimore offense, held to seven hits last night, has produced four runs or less in six of the past seven games. The O's bullpen ranks 14th in the American League with an ERA of 7.87. O's pitchers have allowed 27 homers to lead the majors and that is four more than any other club.

On the mound tonight, right-hander Dan Straily will make his second Baltimore appearance and first as a starter. He's subbing for scheduled starter Alex Cobb, who went on the injured list Tuesday. On Sunday, in his first game as an Oriole pitching in relief, Straily allowed five runs in 1 1/3 innings versus the Yankees and gave up two homers.

Last year with Miami, he went 5-6 with a 4.12 ERA in 23 starts. Over 122 1/3 innings, he had a WHIP of 1.300. In his career, he has averaged 3.5 walks per nine innings and 7.7 strikeouts.

Last season with the Marlins, lefty batters hit .262 off Straily and right-handed batters hit just .207. Straily gave up an average of .253 when facing a lineup the first time and .274 the second time. But interestingly, that number went down to .138 when he saw a lineup for the third time. That certainly goes against industry norms.

Straily's fastball averages 90 mph. Last year, he used his slider 39 percent of the time, his two-seam sinker 30 percent and his four-seam fastball 29 percent.

Right-hander Frankie Montas (1-1, 2.45 ERA) will make his third start for Oakland. Over 11 innings, he has given up three runs and 11 hits with three walks, 11 strikeouts and a 1.182 WHIP. In his last start against Houston, he went five innings allowing seven hits and two runs in taking a loss.

The 26-year-old from the Dominican Republic went 2-0 with two saves and an ERA of 0.56 in spring training. That ERA was the lowest in the majors. In four stints and 13 games in 2018 with the Athletics, Montas went 5-4 with a 3.88 ERA.

He throws his sinker 36 percent of the time with an average velocity of 96.5 mph. His four seamer averages 97 mph. Montas was ranked among a team's top 30 prospects for three different organizations every year between 2012 and 2017. He reached a high of No. 3 for the Chicago White Sox after the 2015 season on Baseball America. Tonight he faces the Orioles for the first time in his career.

Minor league notes: Right-hander Gabriel Ynoa gets the start for Norfolk (1-5) tonight at Charlotte. The Tides have scored just 10 runs so far with a team batting average of .151. Among those off to slow starts are Ryan Mountcastle (3-for-18), Chance Sisco (1-for-13) and Anthony Santander (2-for-16).

Stevie Wilkerson has hit safely in four of the five games he's appeared in this season, batting .353 (6-for-17) with a triple and three RBIs. Wilkerson also had success against Charlotte last season, as he batted .350 (7-for-20) with a home run and three RBIs in five games against the Knights.

The Tides' opening roster featured seven players ranked among Baltimore's top 30 prospects by MLB.com. That list includes Mountcastle (No. 2), Keegan Akin (No. 6), DJ Stewart (No. 16), Luis Ortiz (No. 19) and Branden Kline (No. 22). Outfielder Austin Hays (No. 4) and pitcher Cody Carroll (No. 21) opened the season on Norfolk's injured list.

Double-A Bowie lost today 3-2 at Richmond to fall to 2-4. The Baysox play their home opener on Thursday night against Harrisburg at 6:35 p.m. at Prince George's Stadium. Lefty Bruce Zimmermann went five innings, allowing two hits and one run on 82 pitches. Zimmermann is a product of Loyola High School in Baltimore and also played at Towson University. Bowie's Yusniel Diaz went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI, and is batting .250. The Baysox were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Single-A Frederick (1-5) hosts Fayetteville with right-hander Michael Baumann activated today to start tonight in his season debut. The Keys' J.C. Escarra is batting .435 with an OPS of 1.258, going 10-for-23. Escarra has reached base in 10 of his last 12 plate appearances and is second in the Carolina League in OPS, slugging, total bases (17) and fifth in on-base percentage. He has two home runs, six RBIs and three runs scored. A 15th-round pick by the Orioles in 2017 out of Florida International, Escarra was the short-season Single-A Aberdeen MVP in 2018 after slashing .331/.417/.511.

Single-A Delmarva is now 4-1 after today's 2-1 win at Kannapolis. Right-hander Hector Guance got the start, allowing three hits and one run over 4 2/3 innings. Righty Tyler Joyner got the win in relief, throwing 3 1/3 scoreless innings, and Jhon Peluffo got the save. Adam Hall went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Shorebirds.