O's game blog: Gonzalez faces Kuroda in series opener

As the Orioles-Yankees series begins tonight at Camden Yards, the O's will try to beat Hiroki Kuroda (6-6, 4.20 ERA) to get the series off to a winning start. Kuroda has often been very tough on the Orioles. Over his last three starts against Baltimore, he is 1-0 with a 1.86 ERA with two walks and 14 strikeouts over 19 1/3 innings. In two starts this year, he is 1-0 with a 2.92 ERA and New York has won both those starts. The Yankees are 2-4 against the Orioles this year, so you can do the math there. In eight career starts against the Orioles, the 39-year-old right-hander is 3-3 with a 3.14 ERA. But while he has an ERA of 1.85 at home against the Orioles, he is 0-2 with a 10.13 ERA in two career starts at Camden Yards. Miguel Gonzalez (4-5, 4.22 ERA) gets the start for the Orioles tonight. In his last outing on Saturday at Boston, he went eight innings, allowing seven hits and two runs. In eight career starts versus the Yankees, he is 2-2 with a 4.07 ERA and six quality starts. He faced them once this year and gave up seven hits and three runs over six innings in a no-decision on April 9. The Orioles have hit well in winning four of six games against the Yankees this year. They have scored 38 runs with 70 hits, including 10 homers, in the season series. Some O's batters against New York in 2014: * J.J. Hardy - 5-for-12, 1 HR, 4 RBIs * Adam Jones - 10-for-27, 2 HRs, 4 RBIs * Steve Pearce - 6-for-14, 1 HR, 4 RBIs * Jonathan Schoop 7-for-20, 2 HRs, 6 RBIs * Delmon Young - 6-for-11, 1 HR, 3 RBIs The Orioles have the second-highest in-division winning percentage (24-17, .585 vs. AL East) in the American League, trailing only Oakland (21-14, .600 vs. AL West). The O's 24 wins against the AL East are tied with Seattle for the most by an American League team against its own division this season. Don Lenhardt, an original member of the 1954 Orioles, passed away on July 9 in Chesterfield, Mo., at 91. There are now five surviving members of the Orioles' 1954 opening day roster. They are Connie Berry, Gil Coan, Bill Hunter, Don Larsen and Sam Mele.