O's game blog: Orioles face Tanaka in series finale

New York right-hander Masahiro Tanaka takes a record of 11-1 and ERA of 1.99 over 14 starts into his outing today against the Orioles. Over his last five starts, Tanaka is 5-0 with an ERA of 1.26. Over seven home starts, he is 5-0 with an ERA of 1.86. He has recorded a quality start all 14 times he has pitched. Over 99 2/3 innings, he has walked just 16 and struck out 113 for an average of 10.2 strikeouts per nine innings. The Orioles face a real challenge, to say the least, in this game today. But here is another stat: The Yankees are 12-2 when Tanaka has started this year and one of the losses came against the Orioles. On April 9, Tanaka gave up three runs in seven innings against Baltimore. He didn't take the loss - the Cubs are the only team pin a loss on him this year - but the O's scored two in the ninth that game for a 5-4 win. Jonathan Schoop hit a three-run homer in the second deck in left off Tanaka. Tanaka leads the American League in wins and ERA. He is tied for first with a WHIP of 0.95. He is fourth in strikeouts and fifth in batting average against at .216. Chris Tillman, who does not have good career numbers against the Yankees, is his mound opponent. Tillman is 5-4 with a 4.82 ERA but has pitched better his last two starts, giving up four runs over 13 innings. The Orioles hope he has begun to turn a corner. Tillman is 4-4 with a 6.70 ERA in 10 career starts against New York and 2-3 with a 9.62 ERA in six career Yankee Stadium starts. The Orioles need a win today to avoid losing their first AL East road series. They are 4-0-1 in five previous series and 12-5 for the season in division road games.