O's game blog: Looking for a series win against K.C.

The Orioles and Royals wrap up this rain-delayed two-day, three-game series this afternoon in Baltimore after splitting a twin bill on Sunday. Kansas City took the opener, 6-4, while Baltimore won the nightcap, 4-2.

The Orioles have lost just one of their past four series, going 2-1-1 against the Angels, Yankees, Red Sox and Twins. They are 3-4-1 in series play on the season ahead of the rubber match of this series today. They are 2-1-1 in home series.

The Orioles (11-17) have won three of their last four games and five of the past eight. They are 8-9 in the last 17 games.

Right-hander Tyler Wells (0-2, 4.50 ERA), who has an ERA of 2.70 over his past two starts, will make his sixth outing of the season today and his sixth career start. Wells has thrown 18 innings, allowing 18 hits and nine runs with four walks to 14 strikeouts. He has a 1.222 WHIP with a 2.0 walk rate and a 7.0 strikeout rate.

While the Orioles are 0-5 in his starts, those last two versus the Yankees and Twins were pretty good ones. Over a combined 10 innings, Wells gave up seven hits and three runs with no walks and eight strikeouts. Opponent batters hit .194/.194/.306 with .500 OPS against him in those games.

Wells’ pitch counts in order this year have been 54, 64, 54, 72 and 62. Manager Brandon Hyde said they intend to hold him to around four innings in many outings, but he was so efficient in the last two that he threw five innings each time.

Wells threw five innings, allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts in his last outing, taking a no decision in the Orioles' 2-1 loss to the Twins on Monday. That marked his third-straight outing without allowing a walk. Wells appeared in three games against the Royals in 2021, not allowing a run over 2 1/3 innings and he earned his second-career save against K.C. on Sept. 8.

Right-hander Carlos Hernández (0-1, 6.00 ERA), a 25-year-old from Venezuela, will make his fifth start for the Royals. On the season, he has thrown 18 innings, allowing 24 hits and 12 earned runs while giving up two homers. Hernández has 10 walks and just eight strikeouts this season. He has a WHIP of 1.889 and Kansas City is 1-3 in his outings.

Hernández was a top 30 prospect four times for Kansas City, per Baseball America. He ranked as high as No. 14 in 2020. The Royals signed Hernández at age 19 for just $15,000.

Baltimore is 15-6 at home versus Kansas City since the 2015 season. Kansas City (9-16) has lost six of eight and 11 of its past 15.

The Orioles’ 10-game homestand ends today, before hitting the road for a trip that begins Tuesday night at St. Louis. The O’s are 5-4 on this home stretch, going 2-1 against Boston, 2-2 versus Minnesota and 1-1 against Kansas City.