O's game blog: John Means faces the Yankees at Oriole Park

In the first two games of their four-game losing streak, in a doubleheader on Saturday against Toronto, the Orioles led before losing. But they have fallen behind big in the last two losses and will look to reverse that tonight when hosting the New York Yankees.

The Orioles trailed 16-4 after the third inning Sunday on their way to a 22-7 loss to the Blue Jays. And they trailed 5-0 after the third last night in losing the series opener 7-2 to the Yankees.

New York right-hander Gerrit Cole got the win last night, improving to 15-7 with a 2.75 ERA. He allowed four hits and one run over five innings on 108 pitches. It was the 21st time in his 27 starts that he gave up two earned runs or fewer. It was the seventh time his start lasted five innings or less. In two starts against the Orioles for the season, he has allowed eight hits and one run over 12 innings with three walks and 20 strikeouts.

Cole struck out seven batters, giving him 224 strikeouts on the year, the fifth-most by a Yankee in a single season in club history. Entering play Monday, he had 11 games in which he threw at least 100 pitches, which ranked fifth among American League pitchers.

The Yankees hit five homers in the game, and Baltimore pitchers have allowed 51 runs on 56 hits and have given up 18 homers during the four straight losses.

The Orioles (46-98) are now 5-8 in September and 22-50 at home. They are now 7-10 against New York, going 4-4 in the last eight games. They are 3-5 at home versus the Yankees. The last time they won more than seven games in a season series with the Yankees was in 2016, when they went 10-9.

The Orioles did not hit a homer last night, but have hit eight in the last four games and 11 in their last five.

Ryan Mountcastle drove in his 80th run on Tuesday night. His RBI double off Cole in the fifth came against a fastball at 99.5 mph and had an exit velocity of 103.2 mph. Mountcastle's 80 RBIs are fifth-most in a single season by an Oriole rookie. Fourth on the list is Ron Hansen with 86 in 1960.

O's center fielder Cedric Mullins sits at 29 homers and 28 steals for the season. He is looking to become the sixth player (10th time) in major league history 5-foot-8 or shorter to record 30 home runs in a single season. The list includes Jose Altuve (31 - 2019), Jimmy Rollins (30 - 2017), Kirby Puckett (31 - 1986), Yogi Berra (30 - 1956 and 30 - 1952) and Hack Wilson (56 - 1930, 39 - 1929, 31 - 1928, 30 - 1927).

Mullins' eight leadoff home runs are tied for the most in the majors and are the second-most in a single season in Orioles history, trailing only Brady Anderson's 12 in 1996. For Mullins, 28 of his 29 homers have come batting leadoff. Anderson (35, 1996) holds the franchise record for the most home runs while batting first, and is also the only player in O's history with more than 30 homers in a season out of the leadoff spot. Mullins' only homer not batting leadoff came July 4 at the Los Angeles Angels as a pinch-hitter.

On the mound tonight, left-hander John Means (5-7, 3.42 ERA) will make his 23rd start. The Orioles are 7-15 in Means' outings this year, and he has pitched to a WHIP of 0.997 with a 1.6 walk rate and 8.1 strikeout rate. Means is 0-0 with a 2.79 ERA in two starts this season against New York, allowing 10 hits and three runs over 9 2/3 innings.

Surprisingly, the Orioles have lost Means' last seven starts, dating to a win on July 31, which was also the date of Means' last win as well. Means has allowed two earned runs or fewer in four of those starts. He has thrown three quality starts over his past four outings, pitching to a 3.33 ERA and allowing a .198 batting average and .619 OPS. He gave up two runs in seven innings in his last start, versus Kansas City.

Lefty Nestor Cortes Jr. (2-2, 2.70 ERA) gets the start for the Yankees. The team is 7-3 in his 10 starts this year. Over his last five starts his ERA of 2.70, with nine earned runs over 30 innings, matches his season ERA. On Sept. 3 versus the Orioles he got a no-decision in a game when he allowed four hits and one run over 5 2/3 innings.

Cortes makes this start on five days' rest. He last pitched on Thursday versus Toronto, allowing two earned runs and six hits over six innings without recording a decision. He was signed to a big league contract and selected to the Yankees' 26-man roster from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre prior to the game on May 30. He was signed by the Yankees as a minor league free agent on Jan. 1. In 2020, he went 0-1 with a 15.26 ERA (7.2 innings pitched, 13 earned runs) in five games (one start) with the Seattle Mariners before missing the remainder of the season with a left elbow impingement. He was originally selected by the Yankees in the 36th round of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft.