O's game blog: Kevin Gausman looks for bounceback game in NY

Right-hander Kevin Gausman (0-1, 13.50 ERA) makes his second start of the new season tonight when the Orioles play the Yankees in New York. It's Game 2 of a four-game series.

Gausman's 2018 season got off to a poor start on Sunday at home against Minnesota. He gave up a homer on the game's first pitch and allowed three home runs in the first three innings.

For the game, he went four innings, allowing seven hits and six runs. He walked two and fanned five. Gausman, who averaged 95.3 mph on his fastball over the 2017 season, averaged just 92.3 mph on his fastball in that game, topping at 95 mph.

After that game, Gausman said he was not concerned that his velocity was down, and that he was fine physically.

"I felt good. But for whatever reason, it kind of wasn't there today," Gausman said. "I've pitched up here at 90-92 (mph) before and had success. Obviously, it's a little easier the harder you throw, but it's all about location. My shoulder feels good. Everything feels great. Who knows, maybe it was just a little cold today, (or I) didn't throw enough out in the 'pen. I'm not too worried about it."

Gausman, like many O's pitchers, was terrible in 2017 versus the Yankees. Over five starts, he went 1-2 with a 9.27 ERA. Yankees batters hit .374 with an OPS of 1.040 against him. For his career, though, he has much better numbers. He is 7-5 with an ERA of 3.53 in 22 games.

New York outfielder Aaron Judge hit Gausman pretty well last season, to say the least. He went 6-for-8 with a double and three homers. Judge is a career .500 batter (6-for-12) against the O's right-hander.

Left-hander CC Sabathia (0-0, 1.80 ERA) makes his second start for New York. In 27 starts last year he went 14-5 with a 3.69 ERA, which was his lowest ERA since 2012. The Yankees went 14-5 in his starts.

Here is an impressive stat for Sabathia: When he pitched following a Yankee loss last season, he was 9-0 with an ERA of 1.71.

But in three 2017 starts against the Orioles, he was 0-0 with a 7.41 ERA and 1.765 WHIP. He allowed 23 hits in 17 innings. In 41 career starts, he is 19-10 with an ERA of 3.56 versus Baltimore batters.

Those 19 wins are tied for his third-highest total against any opponent. Sabathia has 21 wins against Detroit and Kansas City. In addition to the Orioles, he has 19 victories against the Chicago White Sox and Minnesota.

New York starting pitchers rank second in the American League at this early stage and third in the major leagues with a 2.06 ERA, trailing Boston at 0.86 and the Los Angeles Dodgers at 1.99. The nine earned runs allowed are the rotation's fewest over the first seven starts of a season since 1999.

When Adam Jones hit that two-run homer off right-hander Masahiro Tanaka in the seventh inning last night, he ended a long scoreless stretch for the right-hander at home. Tanaka had extended his Yankee Stadium scoreless streak to 28 innings (counting postseason) before Jones connected. He had not permitted a run at home since Trey Mancini's solo homer in the sixth versus the Orioles on Sept. 14, 2017.