O's game blog: Jorge López faces New York at Oriole Park

After Friday's 5-4 loss to the New York Yankees, the same two teams meet tonight at Oriole Park with the Orioles hosting the second game of a three-game series and six-game homestand.

The O's scored three in the last of the fifth to lead 4-2 last night. That was before Gio Urshela's pinch-hit three-run homer in the seventh put New York ahead. The Yankees went on to win by that 5-4 margin.

The Orioles have lost three one-run games in the last week to fall to 4-6 in one-run games. The O's have lost three straight games overall, scoring seven runs on 21 hits in those contests. They are 1-6 the last seven games to fall to 16-22 for the year.

Until last night, the O's had not lost a game this season that they had led after the sixth inning. They're now 13-1 in such games. It was just their fifth loss when scoring four runs or more (14-5) and when outhitting the opponent (12-5). They went 3-for-5 with runners in scoring position in that game, but the Orioles have the second-lowest batting average with RISP in the American League (.223).

Outfielder Austin Hays leads the O's with a 0.6 dWAR, according to Baseball-Reference.com. His five defensive runs saved in left field lead the majors, according to Sports Info Solutions, and Hays has posted a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage this season in 53 total chances. He has appeared in 20 games in left field, six games in right and one game in center field. Hays leads the O's with three outfield assists. His 90.2 mph average exit velocity is the highest among O's batters with at least 60 at-bats.

The Orioles have posted a team fielding percentage of .985, the fifth-highest in the AL. But the club has turned a major league-tying low 21 double plays. The Orioles' six catcher caught stealing lead the AL and are tied for the third-most in the majors, and the O's 31.6 percent (6-of-19) caught stealing percentage ranks as the third-best in the AL.

Right-hander Jorge López (1-3, 5.63 ERA) will make his eighth start of 2021 tonight. He broke through that fifth-inning barrier his last time out and allowed one run and four hits over 5 2/3 innings against Boston. For the year, he has pitched 32 innings, allowing 29 hits with 11 walks and 30 strikeouts. He has recorded a WHIP of 1.250, allowing 8.2 hits per every nine innings and 2.0 home runs.

In his past two games, against Seattle and Boston, he has pitched to a 1.74 ERA, allowing two runs in 10 1/3 innings. In that span, he has yielded a .194 batting average against and .583 OPS.

In two starts this season against New York, he is 0-1 with a 6.23 ERA in 8 2/3 innings. In five career starts, López is 1-2 with a 6.23 ERA and 1.477 WHIP.

Righty Domingo Germán (2-2, 4.02 ERA) will make his seventh start and face the Orioles. The Yankees are 4-2 in his outings, winning the last four. In those four games, Germán is 2-0 with a 2.59 ERA, allowing 19 hits and seven earned runs over 24 1/3 innings with a .206 average against.