O's game blog: Homestand begins against Braves

If the Orioles are to end a 15-game losing streak when they start a long homestand tonight, they will have to beat a first-place team that has been recently playing outstanding baseball. The Orioles (38-82) host the Atlanta Braves (65-56) in the opener of a three-game series and nine-game homestand versus the Braves, Angels and Rays.

The Braves have won six in a row, scoring 47 runs, and are 13-2 since Aug. 3. They were in third place and four games behind first when this stretch began. But they begin play tonight leading the National League East by four games over Philadelphia and by five over the New York Mets.

The Braves are seeking a fourth straight NL East title, having won 90 games in 2018, 97 a year later and 35 in the shortened 2020 season.

Atlanta's current six-game win streak - with three at Washington and three at Miami - is its longest since taking nine in a row from Aug. 28-Sept. 7, 2019. On June 16, Atlanta was 30-35, but the Braves have gone 35-21 since that date.

The team also brings a 10-game road winning streak to Camden Yards tonight. It's the longest road winning streak for the Braves since also taking 10 in a row from Sept. 10-27, 2009. They are 34-27 on the road for the season.

O's lefty Keegan Akin (0-7, 8.13 ERA) is on the mound tonight, making his 18th appearance and 11th start. The Orioles are 1-9 in his previous starts and he is 0-7 with a 9.30 ERA and 2.066 WHIP. In 40 2/3 innings as a starter, Akin has allowed a .352 batting average against and a 1.028 OPS with nine homers.

Lefty Max Fried (10-7, 3.78 ERA) gets the start for Atlanta, his 21st. He has allowed one earned run or less in his last three starts, going 3-0 with an ERA of 1.00 in this span, allowing 16 hits in 18 innings with two walks and 19 strikeouts. Fried has allowed two earned runs or less in 13 of his 20 starts and he has 11 quality starts.

The No. 7 overall pick in round one by San Diego in 2012 out of Harvard-Westlake High School in Los Angeles, Fried has never faced the Orioles. In 10 road starts, he is 4-4 with a 4.67 ERA and 1.442 WHIP.

Jorge Mateo extended his hitting streak to a career-best 10 games, and is batting .359/.359/.487 (14-for-39) over the course of the streak. He has safely in 12 of 13 games since being acquired by the Orioles on Aug. 6, with 17 hits in 50 at-bats, batting .340/.353/.500/853 with six doubles, a triple and two RBIs. He has stolen three bases in five tries with the team and is 9-for-11 in his career. Mateo has yet to walk and has 14 strikeouts in 51 plate appearances with the Orioles.

The O's will try to get some offense going tonight. They scored just eight runs in four games versus Tampa Bay and 13 in seven games on the road trip. They've produced 23 runs the last 10 games and are just 7-for-73 with runners in scoring position in the 10 games.

The Orioles have been outscored 138-42 during the 15 consecutive losses and were outscored 64-13 during the seven-game trip to Boston and St. Petersburg, Fla.

The Orioles begin a nine-game homestand tonight, their second-longest of the season with an 11-gamer scheduled for Sept. 6-16. They have played 54 games at Oriole Park this season, the fewest home games in the majors, and have produced a .252 batting average and .757 OPS at home, compared to a .226 road batting average and .653 OPS. O's pitchers have pitched to a 6.06 home ERA, the highest in the majors. The O's have hit 79 home runs in their 54 home games (1.46/game), good for 11th-most in the majors, and they have homered in 12 straight home games (10 of 12 being multi-homer games), tied for the seventh-longest stretch in a single-season in club history and the longest since they homered in 16 straight home games from July 10-Aug. 19, 2015. The club record for a single season is 20 straight from May 31-July 8, 1987.

Baltimore's Ryan Mountcastle has an 11-game hitting streak and he's batting .425/.442/.825 (17-for-40) with four doubles, four home runs, seven runs, and nine RBIs during this stretch. The 11-game streak is a career high and is tied for the longest active streak in the majors. Mountcastle's 16 RBIs since the All-Star break lead the team and he's batting .303/.325/.618 (23-for-76) with six home runs in the second half.