O's game blog: Kevin Gausman to the mound as O's try to avoid sweep

The Orioles went to Cleveland having won eight of their last 10 games and eight consecutive series. But they need to win this afternoon to avoid being swept by the Indians. The Orioles have been swept in a three-game series once this year, May 12-14 at home against the Tigers. The last time they got swept in Cleveland was April 15-17, 2011. They are looking for some offense today after going 11-for-71 (.155) with just one run scored over the first two games in Cleveland. The Orioles have two doubles, but no homers in the series, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. On the mound today, Kevin Gausman (6-4, 3.90 ERA) faces Cleveland right-hander Danny Salazar (4-5, 4.88 ERA). Gausman has not been as sharp at times in recent outings. He has allowed three runs three straight starts, going one fewer inning each time. He went seven innings against the Angels, six against the Nationals and five on 104 pitches last weekend against the Cardinals. Gausman is making his 13th start. He has six quality starts and the Orioles are 8-4 when he takes the mound. The Orioles have sure had their problems over the years in this ballpark. They are 24-55 all-time at Progressive Field, and 6-12 since 2009. The Orioles are 13-0 in the second half and 44-6 on the season when they out-homer their opponent. O's starting pitchers have worked to an ERA of 3.26 over their last 60 games and the team is 38-22 in that stretch. Over his last eight games, J.J. Hardy is 13-for-30 (.433) with four doubles, two homers and eight RBIs. Over his six last games, Chris Davis is 2-for-22 (.091) with 11 strikeouts. He is 0-for-11 with seven strikeouts his past three games.