O's game blog: Miguel Gonzalez on the mound at Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh's PNC Park is the latest stop where the Orioles will try to get their offense going with some consistency. The Orioles scored 12 runs in a four-game series split at Kansas City and have scored three or fewer in 12 of the last 21 games. The Orioles scored 11 runs on 21 hits with three homers in a doubleheader sweep of the Pirates on May 1 at Camden Yards. In fact, the Orioles have won five in a row against Pittsburgh, scoring a total of 38 runs. But you have to go back to 2012 for the start of that stat when they scored 27 runs in a three-game sweep of the Pirates at Camden Yards. Manny Machado's bat may be heating up. The Orioles third baseman is 7-for-16 (.438) during a four-game hitting streak and is 11-for-32 (.344) over his last eight games. Orioles starting pitchers have been faring better over the last few weeks. O's starters have worked seven or more innings in six of the last 10 games with an ERA of 3.22. O's starters have allowed three runs or fewer in 17 of the last 20 games with an ERA of 3.19 in that stretch. Tonight's pitching matchup features Miguel Gonzalez (1-3, 4.76 ERA) against lefty Francisco Liriano (0-3, 4.25). Even though Liriano is winless, the Pirates are 6-3 when he starts winning five in a row. Minors matters: A few injury updates from the Orioles' minor leagues. Right-hander Matt Hobgood, the O's 2009 top draft pick, may come off the disabled list for Single-A Frederick as soon as tomorrow. Hobgood has been out with shoulder inflammation since he left a relief outing May 8 after facing just two batters. He is 2-1 with a 3.45 ERA in seven games for the Keys. Today, Frederick put lefty Matt Taylor on the disabled list. Taylor has a lower back strain that appears to be a minor injury. He may miss just one start. Taylor is 5-1 with a 1.94 ERA in eight starts for the Keys and five times has not allowed an earned run. He is tied for first in the Carolina League in wins and ranks third in ERA. A few quick notes: J.J. Hardy ended a 12-game RBI drought with his single that tied the game at 1-1 in the fourth. Hardy has been swinging a bit better lately, going 7-for-19 over his last five games. Caleb Joseph is having another solid game behind the plate so far. Funny, all these years hearing about Joseph's supposed sub-par defense in the minors and he's blocking balls in the dirt and in sync with all the pitchers in the short time he's been in the majors. He is doing a solid job since he came up from Triple-A. Gonzalez had a nice 10-pitch fourth inning after a 29-pitch third as he tries to get deep into this game. He is at 70 pitches through four innings. Meanwhile. just before I hit publish, the O's just exploded for four runs in the fifth. Chris Davis and Nelson Cruz just hit back-to-back homers.