O's game blog: Looking to break the streak against Atlanta

The Orioles need a win today at home against Atlanta to avoid another three-game sweep and to snap a 17-game losing streak. First-place Atlanta has taken the first two games in this series by 3-0 and 5-4 scores.

The Orioles hit four solo homers last night. Before this, the last time they hit four in a game was actually their last win: Aug. 2 against New York at Yankee Stadium. Last night Anthony Santander connected for his first two homers of the year batting right-handed. He hit his 11th from either side in the fourth inning and No. 12 in the ninth to pull the Orioles within 5-4. Ryan Mountcastle extended his hitting streak - the longest in the majors currently - to 13 games when he blasted a solo shot to center field in the first inning off Drew Smyly. And Ramón Urías hit his seventh homer of the season in the fourth, going back-to-back with Santander. It's the sixth time this year the O's have hit back-to-back home runs.

In hitting No. 21, Mountcastle is moving up the list on the O's all-time single-season homer mark by a rookie.

28 - Cal Ripken Jr., 1982
27 - Eddie Murray, 1977
24 - Trey Mancini, 2017
22 - Curt Blefary, 1965, Sam Bowens, 1964, Ron Hansen, 1960
21 - Jim Gentile 1960, Ryan Mountcastle 2021

During his 13-game hitting streak, Mountcastle is batting .396 (19-for-48) with four doubles, five homers and 10 RBIs. He leads the Orioles with 17 RBIs in 22 games since the All-Star break.

O's right-hander Marcos Diplán threw two scoreless innings in Saturday's game. He is the sixth pitcher in O's history to not allow an earned run in his first seven career appearances, and the first since Donnie Hart from July 17-Aug. 20, 2016.

Santander's homers were his first from the right side of the plate since Aug. 22, 2020 against Boston. This was his second multi-homer game of the season and the fifth of his career. Of his 44 career home runs, only 13 have come as a right-handed batter. His fourth-inning homer snapped his 0-for-17 skid dating back to Aug. 15 at Boston.

The Orioles (38-84) have been outscored 146-46 during their losing streak, the second-longest in team history. They are 17-39 at home, 6-10 versus National League teams and 5-4 against NL clubs at home.

Atlanta (67-56) is leading the NL East by five games over Philadelphia and by seven games over the New York Mets.

The Braves extended their road winning streak to a single-season franchise-record 12 games last night, surpassing the record of 11 straight road wins set by the 1890 Boston Beaneaters and later matched by the 1956 Milwaukee Braves. Their road win streak is tied for the modern-era franchise record with the 1993-94 Braves, who accomplished the feat over two seasons. Overall, the Braves have won a season-high eight straight games, as well as 15 of their last 17.