O's game blog: Looking for a four-game sweep in Anaheim

ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Orioles have not swept a series all year. They have not swept a two- or three-game series. But a win today at Angel Stadium will give them a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels.

It would be a sweep over a team that beat their rivals, the Los Angeles Dodgers, two in a row before this series began. At the start of this series, the Angels had won four in a row and were 9-3 since the All-Star game, and 12-6 in July. The Angels were playing well, but they've lost 10-8 in 16 innings to the Orioles Thursday and then by scores of 9-3 and 8-7 the past two nights.

The Orioles have been swept in a series eight times this season. But today they seek their first sweep. They've had three chances this year to sweep a three-game series but failed to do so each time. They won two straight at Toronto in early April but lost the series finale there 5-3. They beat Cleveland 13-0 in back-to-back games June 28-29 in Baltimore before losing 2-0. They won two in a row at Toronto right before the All-Star break, but lost the Sunday game 6-1.

The Orioles established a major league record last night when they hit two or more homers for the 10th consecutive game. In this 10-game run they've hit two, two, two, three, two, three, two, two, two and two last night. That is 22 homers in those games. And the Baltimore offense has produced 70 runs and a team average of .308 with 118 hits in the 10 games.

In the first three games of this four-game series in Anaheim, they've scored 27 runs on 44 hits including six doubles and six homers. And they are 12-for-35 with runners in scoring position. The Birds had scored just 12 runs in the first five games out of the All-Star break, but now they've plated 70 over the past 10 contests.

Catcher Pedro Severino went 4-for-8 in Thursday's 16-inning game and 4-for-5 last night. So he is 8-for-13 in this series. He homered and had four RBIs last night. Severino last night became the first Oriole with back-to-back four-hit games (he didn't play Friday) since Charles Johnson on Sept. 14 and Sept. 17, 1999. He also became the first American League catcher with four hits, four RBIs and a stolen base in a game since Ramon Hernandez for the Orioles against Cleveland on May 6, 2007.

Anthony Santander is batting .413 with four homers and 13 RBIs his last 10 games. He has seven multi-hit games in that span.

Right-hander Dylan Bundy (5-11, 5.14 ERA) gets the start today for Baltimore. He got the win Tuesday at Arizona, allowing four hits and two runs in six innings. Bundy has allowed three earned runs or fewer in 10 of his past 13 games. The Orioles are 6-13 when he starts. He is 1-2 with a 7.13 ERA in four career games against the Angels. In five starts this year versus the AL West, Bundy is 1-4 with a 6.15 ERA.

Right-hander Félix Peña (8-3, 4.82 ERA) will get the start against the Orioles. He has a 1.204 WHIP. He walks 3.1 batters per nine innings while getting 9.6 strikeouts. In his last game he allowed one run in 3 2/3 innings Tuesday versus the Dodgers. In the game before that, he made a start versus Houston, allowing nine hits and eight runs in 4 2/3 innings.

A win today would give the Orioles their first series sweep of the season and first since Aug. 27-29, 2018 when the O's swept the Blue Jays in a three-game series at Oriole Park. The O's last road sweep came on June 5-6, 2018 when the Orioles swept the Mets in a two-game set at Citi Field. A win today would mark the O's first sweep in a four-game series since July 17-20, 2017, when they defeated Texas at Camden Yards. The O's last four-game series sweep on the road came on Aug. 22-25, 2011 at Minnesota.

The O's last series sweep against the Angels came on Aug. 27-29, 2010, when the Orioles took three at Angel Stadium (the Orioles swept the 2010 season series against the Angels 6-0). The Orioles have never swept a four-game series from the Angels at Angel Stadium and last swept a four-game set from the Angels on July 17-20, 2003 at Oriole Park.