O's game blog: O's look to even the series with Astros

While the Orioles wonder about getting some of their eight pitchers on the injured list back later this season, their current biggest worry might be the offense.

That offense has produced just three hits in back-to-back games with three runs in those two games. Batters went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position.

The Astros pitched their ninth shutout of the year last night in a 6-0 win over the Orioles, handing the O’s their fifth shutout of 2024.

At 74-55, the Orioles have lost two in a row, three of four, five of seven and seven of the last 11. Baltimore, now 1 1/2 games out in the American League East, is 16-17 in the second half. The 1 1/2-game margin is the team's largest deficit in the division since being two games back of New York following a loss on June 25 in Cleveland.

Over the past six games, the Orioles have scored 20 runs, with nine coming in one game. In that span, the team is batting .167/.245/.323/.568 and has gone 2-for-27 with runners in scoring position. They have five hits or less in four of those games and three or less in three of them.

Baltimore's five shutouts in 2024 is tied with Boston, Houston, Kansas City and Toronto for the fewest in the AL, while four National League teams have four each. The three hits in the last two games, for six total, is tied for their fewest in a two-game span this season with May 20-21, both at St. Louis.

Colton Cowser is tied with San Diego's Jackson Merrill, a Severna Park, Md. native, for the lead among major league rookies with 18 home runs. With two more homers, he would become the 10th rookie in team history to hit at least 20 in a season and the second in as many seasons after Gunnar Henderson launched 28 last year.

Like many of the Orioles, Cowser is struggling recently. He is batting .192 his last seven games, going 5-for-26 with 14 strikeouts. 

Houston (69-58) has won 12 of its past 15 games and 14 of the last 20. They have won nine games in a row on the road, which is their longest since tying a club record with an 11-game road win streak on June 7-28, 2018. They also won 11 in a row on the road in 2017.

The Astros are 4-0 this year versus the Orioles, outscoring the Birds 33-13. O's pitchers have an ERA of 8.73 in the season series, allowing a .314 batting average and .880 OPS to Astros batters.

The Astros have won five straight and nine of their last 12 versus the O's. At Camden Yards, Houston has won five of six and they are 18-7 in Baltimore since 2016.

Coming off an outstanding start, lefty Cade Povich (1-6, 5.77 ERA) will make his 10^th start tonight in Game 2 of this four-game series.

On Saturday versus Boston, he allowed two runs and six hits over 6 1/3 innings with no walks and six strikeouts on 89 pitches.

The O’s are 3-6 in his outings, losing his past four starts. In six games at home, Povich is 1-4 with a 3.58 ERA and 1.408 WHIP.

Right-hander Hunter Brown (11-7, 3.82 ERA) is a pitcher on a real roll and set to make his 25th start for the visitors.

He has an ERA of 1.96 in three August starts and is 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA in seven games since July 12. He allows a .630 OPS in that span.

Over his past three months, he has posted a 10-2 record with a 2.33 ERA in 14 starts since June 1. In that span, he is tied for first in the AL in wins with his teammate, lefty Framber Valdez, and is first in ERA.

Since Aug. 1, the Astros pitching staff has been the best in baseball with a major league-best 2.50 ERA. They also rank first in opponent batting average (.184), opponent OPS (.575) and second in strikeouts (204) in that span. Their starter’s ERA in that stretch is a major league-best 2.53.