O's game blog: Orioles are 16-5 in last 21 home games

The Orioles have been playing well at home here at Camden Yards, a trend they look to continue as they host Tampa Bay tonight in the second game of a four-game series and 11-game homestand. Since June 30, the Orioles are 16-5 at home with a 2.66 team ERA after going 19-21 in their first 40 games at the Yard. In their last 21 home games, the Birds have outscored their opponents 105-62. Last night's 9-1 win was the Orioles' 10th in their last 12 series openers, including eight in a row from July 21-Aug. 11. The O's are now 27-17 in series openers, going 14-7 at home. The Orioles have spent all 25 days of August in first place in the American League East. From 1998-2013, the Orioles spent a total of nine days from August 1 through the end of the season in first place. The Orioles have now hit 16 homers over the past eight games and 37 in the last 19. Meanwhile, the pitching continues to be strong. After his outing last night, Chris Tillman is 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in August. He is second in the majors in ERA and WHIP (0.65) this month. The one pitcher ahead of him in ERA this August is the one that faces the Orioles tonight. The Orioles are 19-9 in Tillman's starts, and they have won six in a row. Tillman has pitched seven or more innings a team-leading 11 times, including in four of his past five starts. Over their last 68 games since June 9, Orioles starting pitchers have an ERA of 3.23 and the club's record is 43-25. Tonight, Wei-Yin Chen (13-4, 3.76 ERA) starts against Tampa Bay right-hander Alex Cobb (9-6, 3.01 ERA). Detroit's Max Scherzer leads the AL with 15 wins, and four pitchers are tied for second with 14. In his last five starts, Chen is 3-1 with a 2.34 ERA and has gone seven innings or more four times. Over 34 2/3 innings, he has walked just six with 30 strikeouts. The O's could have their hands full with Cobb, a pitcher on a roll. He is 5-0 with a 1.16 ERA since the All-Star break. And, over his past 10 starts, Cobb is 7-0 with a 1.99 ERA. Cobb has a swing-and-miss rate of 11.9 percent, which would be tied for third in the AL in he had enough innings to qualify. He throws changeups 37.3 percent of the time, which would lead the majors if he had enough innings. In six career starts against the Orioles, Cobb is 4-1 with an ERA of 1.89. By the way, Tampa Bay's five homers allowed last night was its most since April 7, 2013. The Rays had allowed eight total homers the previous 21 games. In a note from the minors, the Orioles top draft pick this year, high school left-hander Brian Gonzalez, has been officially moved from the Gulf Coast League to short-season Single-A Aberdeen, as was reported here earlier. He is getting the start tonight for Aberdeen at Hudson Valley. In eight games in the GCL, the third-round pick had an ERA of 0.00. Over 24 2/3 innings, Gonzalez gave up one run that was unearned on 11 hits with eight walks and 25 strikeouts.