O's game blog: Orioles begin series, homestand against Cleveland Indians

Tonight the Orioles open a seven-game homestand, hosting Cleveland this weekend and then Texas for four games starting Monday at Camden Yards.

The last time the Orioles were home, they completed a 7-1 (.875) homestand. It was their best mark during a homestand of at least eight games since also going 7-1 during an eight-game homestand July 4-11, 1977. The O's are 22-13 at home for the season.

The Orioles are 38-34 and have won four of their last five, 13 of 17 and 15 of 20 games.

The O's offense has put up some big numbers recently, scoring 28 runs their last four games and 63 over the last nine. In their past six games, the Orioles are batting .441 (26-for-59) with runners in scoring position.

Manny Machado is batting .452 (14-for-31) with five multi-hit games during a seven-game hitting streak. In the last 18 games, he is batting .427 (32-for-75) with four doubles, six homers and 17 RBIs.

Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (3-4, 2.89 ERA) gets activated to pitch tonight after he was optioned to Single-A Frederick, where he pitched three scoreless innings last Saturday night. T.J. McFarland was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk to make roster room.

In his last big league start on June 15, Chen pitched eight scoreless innings against Philaelphia on four hits. He is 2-0 with a 1.86 ERA in three June starts and ranks ninth in the American League in ERA.

Right-hander Corey Kluber, the 2014 AL Cy Young Winner, pitches tonight for Cleveland. Kluber is 3-9 with a 3.65 ERA in 15 starts. He is winless over his past four starts, going 0-4 with an ERA of 4.00. In eight road starts, he is 1-5 with a 4.02 ERA.

On May 13 against St. Louis, Kluber pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing just one hit with no walks and 18 strikeouts. That matched the franchise record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game, set by Bob Feller on Oct. 2, 1938.

The Indians have not provided Kluber much run support at all this year, scoring two runs or less in 12 of his 15 starts this season.

When the Orioles scored six in the fourth inning Thursday at Boston, they produced hits in seven consecutive plate appearances. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that ties the longest such streak in the majors this season. On June 16, the Marlins had a streak of seven straight hits in an eight-run first inning against the Yankees. Over the last 10 years, the only other game in which the Orioles had such a streak was Aug. 25, 2014 at Camden Yards against the Rays. The O's started the fifth inning with seven straight hits, including back-to-back-to-back home runs by Delmon Young, J.J. Hardy, and Chris Davis.

Ryan Mountcastle, the Orioles' second first-round draft pick who was selected No. 36 overall, made his pro debut today as the designated hitter in a game for the Gulf Coast League Orioles. He went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles.