O's game blog: Kevin Gausman has 3.09 ERA in second-half

Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman is having another strong second half. He'll try to finish off his strong pitching this half when he faces the Pirates in Pittsburgh tonight to start a two-game series.

Gausman (11-10, 4.61 ERA) will make his 33rd start, which is a career-high. On Tuesday versus Boston he threw eight scoreless innings allowing just three singles on 106 pitches. He has given up one run over 15 innings his past two starts. After pitching to a 5.85 ERA before the All-Star game, Gausman's ERA is 3.09 since the break.

Over his last 12 starts since July 19, he is 6-3 with a 2.26 ERA and has allowed two earned runs or fewer nine times. His ERA ranks third-best in the majors during this time.

After that start versus Boston, Gausman was asked why his second half has been so much better this year.

"I think (I'm) not trying as hard," Gausman said. "I think earlier on, I was kind of pressing. Trying to have a good year straight out of the gate and I think maybe I was just trying to do too much. Kind of simplified my delivery and feeling good with all my pitches."

Gausman has seven scoreless starts this year. That includes three in his last five starts and a 1.71 ERA in that span. He also has five scoreless starts his past 11 games.

On June 6, Gausman faced Pittsburgh at Camden Yards, allowing four runs over 6 2/3. In 14 career interleague games, he is 3-7 with a 6.27 ERA. In five interleague starts this year, he is 1-2 with a 9.72 ERA.

The Orioles beat Pittsburgh two straight in Baltimore in early June, winning back-to-back games in walk-off fashion. In the first game of that series June 6, they won 6-5 in 10 innings. Jonathan Schoop's two-run homer in the ninth tied it and Mark Trumbo's single in the 10th won it. The next night was even crazier when they scored four in the night for a 6-6 tie and won 9-6 in 11 innings. Trey Mancini had an incredible night, hitting a two-run homer for the 6-6 tie in the ninth and a three-run shot to walk it off in the 11th.

The Orioles (75-82) are 8-10 this year in interleague games and 29-47 on the road. They play two games in Pittsburgh and three at Tampa Bay to end the 2017 season.

The Pirates (71-85) are 42-37 at home. They have won their last two games, but over a longer stretch are just 4-13 the last 17 games.

Right-hander Trevor Williams (6-9, 4.18 ERA) gets the start tonight. He will be making his 25th start of the season and has been throwing well lately. Over his past five starts, he is 1-3 with a 2.12 ERA, allowing two earned runs or less four times with two scoreless starts.

AL team home run leaders:
231: Orioles and New York Yankees
230: Texas
228: Houston
226: Oakland