O's game blog: Looking for a series win in the Bronx

It is time for an Orioles impressive stat alert: They are 5-1 in rubber match games this year, winning five in a row since a loss to Milwaukee early in the year.

They have won those games by scores of 5-0 over the New York Yankees, 9-5 over Boston, 6-1 against Kansas City, 3-2 at St. Louis and 7-6 in 11 innings over the Tampa Bay Rays.

So, five wins in a row by a combined score of 30-14 in series-deciding games. The Orioles (18-26) will try to keep that win streak going tonight at New York. A win would make them 2-2 in four series versus the Yankees, who are 10-2-1 in overall series play in 2022. 

The Orioles beat the Yankees and Gerrit Cole by 6-4 Monday night as Cole allowed a season-high five runs. They lost 7-6 in 11 innings last night, playing their third extra-inning game in five games.

Baltimore is now 4-2 the last six games and 4-1 in extra innings. The O's are 12-12 their past 24 games and 6-15 in road games. The Orioles are 4-8 versus the Yankees (1-7 on the road) and 8-13 in American League East games (1-7 on the road).

Last night lefty Bruce Zimmermann made his ninth start and did not record a decision. He did pitch a career-high 6 1/3 innings. He allowed a career-high four home runs, all solo shots. He is 0-1 with a 5.23 ERA (20.2 innings, 12 earned runs) in four starts vs. the Yankees this season.

Tonight right-hander Tyler Wells (1-3, 4.41 ERA) gets the ball for Baltimore, making his ninth start. He pitched to a 3.75 ERA his first six games, but his ERA is 6.23 over his past two.

But in two games in 2022 against the Yankees, Wells has allowed six hits and two runs over nine innings, pitching to an ERA of 2.00 and WHIP of 0.889.

The Yankees are using an opener in lefty JP Sears (1-0, 0.00 ERA). He has thrown two scoreless innings in the majors this year, one inning against the Orioles in which he allowed two hits and threw 18 pitches on April 16. At Triple-A this year he was 1-0 with an 0.83 ERA with two walks to 30 strikeouts in 21 2/3 innings.

Ranked by Baseball America as the Yankees' No. 26 prospect before this season, he already has moved up to No. 22. He was added to their 40-man roster in November.

Infielder Ramón Urías has hit in four straight games, batting .438/.500/.750 (7-for-16) with two doubles, one home run, two RBIs, and six runs scored. He started May batting .200 in the first 14 games of the month. Monday night, he tied a career high with three hits, including a go-ahead solo home run off Cole, his first career go-ahead home run in the sixth inning or later.

Infielder Rougned Odor has appeared in 999 career games, one shy of 1,000 and looking to become the 48th Venezuela-born player to reach the milestone. Currently, there are 65 active players who have played in at least 1,000 career games, including 10 from Venezuela. Odor has hit safely in a season-long nine straight games, tied for the second-longest hitting streak of his career, and one game shy of his career-long 10-game streak from June 28-July 8, 2017 while with the Texas Rangers.