O's game blog: Miley faces Stroman at Camden Yards

The Orioles scored eight runs on 16 hits Thursday and lost, then got just one hit in 13 innings Friday and won. They've split the first two games of this series and host Toronto tonight at Camden Yards.

At 69-66, the Orioles have won eight of nine and nine of their last 11 games. They are 27-17 since July 16, going from seven games under .500 on that date to three games over.

They are in third place in the American League East, eight games behind Boston. They are tied for second for the second AL wild card with the Angels, with both teams 1 1/2 games behind Minnesota. They are 2 1/2 games behind the Yankees, who hold the first AL wild card spot.

The Orioles' 1-0 win last night was just the third 1-0 walk-off win in the 13th inning or later in Orioles history. According to Elias, the Orioles beat the White Sox in that manner in 16 innings in 1959, and they outlasted the Brewers 1-0 in 17 innings in 1974.

Left-hander Wade Miley (8-10, 4.99 ERA) tonight makes his 28th start. Over his past six games, he has allowed two runs or less five times, going 4-1 with a 2.76 ERA. That reduced his season ERA from 5.69 to its present level. The Orioles are 15-12 in his 27 starts.

In three starts this year against Toronto, Miley is 1-2 with a 3.00 ERA. In nine career games versus the Blue Jays, he is 2-6 with a 4.65 ERA and 1.510 WHIP.

Right-hander Marcus Stroman (11-6, 3.11 ERA) will make his 28th start for the Blue Jays. Stroman has made nine second-half starts, going 2-1 with a 2.78 ERA and .262 average against. Toronto is 16-11 when he pitches.

He has made one start previously this year against Baltimore and pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings on five hits on June 28 at Rogers Centre with one walk and eight strikeouts. In eight career games (seven starts), he is 3-3 with a 4.44 ERA.

Toronto (62-73) has lost 11 of its last 14 games and seven of its last nine on the road. The Blue Jays are 7-16 in their last 23 road games and 2-6 in their past eight games against the AL East. The Orioles are 31-23 in division games, while Toronto is 24-35.

Per Elias, Jonathan Schoop had a career extra-inning batting average of just .133 before his RBI double ended the game last night. Schoop is now batting .307/.353/.542 with 31 doubles, 30 homers, 101 RBIs and with an OPS of .895.

Schoop has been on an RBI run, driving in at least one run in five consecutive games and in 10 of his last 12 games. He has 15 RBIs over the last 12 games.

In the American League, Schoop ranks second in RBIs (two behind Nelson Cruz with 103) and total bases. He is fourth in hits and tied for fourth in extra-base hits and sixth in batting average.

The Keys are almost in and Aberdeen is in the hunt: For the second time in three games, the Single-A Frederick Keys earned a walk-off victory, defeating the Potomac Nationals 3-2 on Friday night at Nymeo Field. With the win, the Keys need one win or a Salem loss to clinch a berth in the playoffs with three games to play.

Should Frederick get in, they will join Double-A Bowie as O's affiliates in the postseason. The playoffs begin on Sept. 6.

The short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds are also in the playoff hunt. At 39-31, Aberdeen is three games out in its division and one behind for a wild card berth in the New York-Penn League. There are six games remaining in that league with the regular season set to end Sept. 7.