O's game blog: David Hess gets the start versus Boston

Since the 2012 season, the Boston Red Sox have won the World Series twice. But since that year they have a losing record against the Orioles. That might seem surprising considering what happened last year, when the Sox went 16-3 against the Orioles.

But from 2012-2017, the Orioles went 64-49 against Boston and won the season series five times in six tries. Then came last year's poor showing, followed by a 3-2 start against Boston this season. So the Orioles have already matched their 2018 season-long win total versus Boston.

The Orioles split a four-game series April 12-15 at Fenway Park and beat Boston 4-1 last night behind lefty John Means. Means went seven innings, allowing three hits and one run to improve to 4-3 with a 2.48 ERA. He threw 96 pitches and has allowed two runs and seven hits in 12 innings this year against Boston.

Jonathan Villar hit a grand slam last night. It was his second career grand slam after one he hit on Sept. 4, 2016 for Milwaukee at Pittsburgh. Villar extended his hitting streak to five games, averaging .333 (7-for-21) with three doubles, one home run, three runs scored, and six RBIs during this stretch.

Center fielder Stevie Wilkerson set a career-high five-game hitting streak with a bunt single in the second inning. He is averaging .444 (8-for-18) with one double, one home run, four runs scored, and four RBIs during this span. Wilkerson also singled to lead off the fourth inning for his second consecutive multi-hit game, and his third of the season. He has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games and in nine of his 10 starts on the season.

The Orioles began this year going 2-18 in games when they scored four or fewer runs. But they've won the last two games, 3-0 over Tampa Bay and 4-1 over Boston. Their pitchers gave up just six hits in those games, and starters Dylan Bundy and Means combined to pitch 14 1/3 innings, allowing one run. The team ERA dropped from 5.92 to 5.61 after the two games.

On the mound tonight, right-hander David Hess (1-4, 5.34 ERA) gets his seventh start for Baltimore. Hess has allowed four runs or more in four of his past five starts, with an ERA of 7.36 in that span. He's allowed eight homers in 22 innings in that stretch.

He allows a 4.50 ERA in the first and second innings of his starts. That goes up to 10.80 with an OPS against of 1.235 in the third inning, when he has allowed four home runs. The Orioles are 2-4 in Hess' six 2019 starts.

For Boston, right-hander Hector Velázquez (0-2, 3.72 ERA) makes his 11th appearance and fifth as a starter. In the four starts, he is 0-2 with a 3.97 ERA with six walks and 12 strikeouts over 11 1/3 innings. Lefty batters hit just .120 (3-for-25) with an OPS of .387 against him. Right-handed batters hit .341/.829 off Velázquez.

The Red Sox (17-19) were trying last night to get back to .500 for the first time since going 1-1. But Means had other plans. Still, Boston is 6-2 over its last eight games and 11-6 in the past 17 games, scoring 99 runs (5.82 per game). Red Sox starting pitchers have a 3.29 ERA since April 12, allowing three earned runs or fewer 20 times in 23 games.