O's game blog: Looking for the series sweep against Colorado

The Orioles wrap up their series with the Colorado Rockies today looking for a three-game sweep after back-to-back 5-4 wins. They trailed in each game of this series but took the lead in the eighth inning Friday night and in the sixth inning last night. 

The Orioles (81-48) lead Tampa Bay by three games atop the American League East with Toronto 10 1/2 games back, Boston 12 1/2 out and New York 19 games behind.

This season, the Orioles have three-game series sweeps versus Detroit, at Toronto, versus Kansas City, at Minnesota, at home against Miami, versus the New York Mets and at Oakland. A sweep today would give the Orioles their third sweep in the last seven series.

The Orioles have won four straight by a 22-11 score. Over longer stretches, they have won seven of eight, 10 of 13, 18 of 25 and 32 of their past 45 games.

The Orioles recorded their 40th comeback win Saturday, tied for the MLB lead this season (Cincinnati, 40), and their 76 come-from-behind wins since the start of 2022 are second-most behind Los Angeles-NL (81) entering play yesterday, per the Elias Sports Bureau.

Right-hander Yennier Cano earned his fifth save of the season after pitching a perfect ninth inning. He has thrown 11 straight scoreless appearances (10 2/3 IP) since Aug. 3, allowing six hits and one walk with 11 strikeouts. He has a 0.66 WHIP during this span, and opponents’ OPS against him is just .384.

Shortstop Gunnar Henderson extended his hitting streak to a career-high 11 games with a single in the sixth inning. He is 18-for-47 (.383) during the streak with four doubles, a triple, three homers and 13 RBIs.

O’s DH Anthony Santander recorded his 30th double in the seventh inning, extending his career high.

The Rockies (48-81), who hold the worst record in the National League, wrap up a six-game road trip today, and they are 0-5 so far. Colorado held a 2-1 lead entering the bottom of the sixth inning before allowing three runs in the bottom half of the frame last night. They are now the first team in the modern era to hold a lead in the sixth inning or later in six straight games but lose all six.

Rockies manager Bud Black will manage his 1,000th game with the club this afternoon, joining Clint Hurdle as the only managers in franchise history to reach the mark. Black also managed 1,362 games with the San Diego Padres from 2007-2015. He is the 12th manager in MLB history to manage at least 1,000 games with two difference clubs, joining Leo Durocher (three teams), Tony La Russa (three teams), Sparky Anderson, Bruce Bochy (active), Terry Francona (active), Bucky Harris, Hurdle, Jim Leyland, Gene Mauch, Bill McKechnie and Bobby Valentine.

Right-hander Jack Flaherty (8-8, 4.73 ERA) will make his 24th start today and fourth as an Oriole. He is 1-1 with a 7.07 ERA with Baltimore, and has not pitched since Aug. 15 when he gave up seven runs in three innings at San Diego.

Flaherty is pitching on 11 days' rest today. And this year, with six or more days rest, he is 4-0 with a 1.57 ERA and .503 OPS against.

Lefty Ty Blach (1-1, 4.39 ERA) goes for the Rockies. While the team is 1-5 in his six starts, his ERA is 3.25 and WHIP is 1.374 in those six games. He was briefly an Oriole in the 2019 season, allowing 26 earned runs in 20 2/3 innings. Blach has never faced the Orioles.