O's game blog: O's looking for first win on homestand

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

August 03, 2019, 2:59pm

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After two straight losses to Toronto, the Orioles host the Blue Jays tonight in the third of a four-game series and 10-game homestand. The Blue Jays have hit seven homers in winning the two games by 11-2 and 5-2 scores.

In this series, the Orioles have scored four runs on 15 hits, going 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position. In the 13 games before this series started, they went 8-5, scoring 83 runs.

The Orioles (36-73) have lost four of their last five games. Over longer stretches, they are 8-7 in the past 15 and 14-15 in their last 29 games. The Birds are 15-38 at home and 6-21 at home versus American League East clubs.

O's starting pitchers have gone six consecutive games without a quality start. In that span they have a 7.94 ERA and have gone five or fewer innings each game.

Right-hander Dylan Bundy (5-11, 5.24 ERA) gets the start tonight for the Orioles, his 21st. Over his past three games he's allowed seven runs in one inning, two runs over six and five runs over four frames.

In six starts since June 20, he is 2-3 with a 7.39 ERA, allowing eight homers over 28 innings. Bundy's WHIP for the season is 1.379 and he allows 9.2 hits per nine innings with 2.0 homers, 3.2 walks and 9.2 strikeouts. In 10 home starts, he is 1-7 with a 6.16 ERA and 1.490 WHIP.

He'll try to keep the ball in the park against a Toronto team that has 81 homers in 42 games since June 16 to lead the majors.

In 12 career appearances (eight starts) against Toronto, Bundy is 4-3 with a 3.23 ERA and six quality starts. In six career home games versus the Jays, he has a 1.96 ERA.

Chris Davis went 1-for-3 Friday with a home run and two RBIs. The homer marked his 250th career home run with Baltimore, and he became the fastest Oriole to reach 250 career home runs (1,110 games). Davis has hit safely in five consecutive home games, batting .421 (8-for-19) during this stretch. He is hitting .310 (9-for-29) in nine games against the Blue Jays this season and has hit safely in his last five against Toronto.

Hanser Alberto is fifth in the American League and ninth in the major leagues among qualifying hitters with a .314 batting average. He is hitting .410 (57-for-139) against left-handed pitching, best in the majors among qualifying hitters. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last O's player to hit .400 or better in a season against left-handers was shortstop Mike Bordick in 1999, at .402.

Toronto (45-67) has won all five games on a 10-game road trip, going 3-0 at Kansas City and 2-0 so far in Baltimore. Their five-game road win streak is their longest since Aug. 21-26, 2015. The Blue Jays are 11-10 since the All-Star Game.

Lefty Thomas Pannone (2-4, 5.98 ERA) gets the start for Toronto. It's his 27th appearance and fifth start. Pannone has a 3.28 ERA in division games and 8.64 ERA versus all others. He has a 4.19 ERA in 22 relief outings and 9.98 in his four starts. He has a 4.50 ERA at home and a 7.89 on the road. In four career games against the Orioles, he is 1-1 with a 4.11 ERA in 15 1/3 innings.

On the farm today: Right-handed reliever Tim Naughton was promoted to his third level as he moved to Double-A Bowie. We'll see if it's temporary or not, but he's gone 3-3 with a 2.93 ERA and 22 saves along with 67 strikeouts over 43 innings between Single-A Delmarva and Single-A Frederick. Naughton features a 94 to 96 mph fastball. He looks like a pretty solid draft pick in round 34 out of North Carolina State in 2017.

Triple-A Norfolk's Ryan Mountcastle has hit safely in 16 of his last 17 contests, batting .392 (29-for-74) with eight doubles, three home runs and 13 RBIs over that span. The 22-year-old enters play tonight leading the International League with 132 hits, 13 more than any other player.

Meanwhile, O's general manager Mike Elias is at Triple-A tonight.