O's game blog: Second half begins with Orioles at Detroit

The Orioles begin the second half tonight, looking to find some consistency and return to winning baseball after they went 3-10 and lost four straight series to end the first half.

On June 3, the Orioles were a season-high six games under .500 at 23-29. But an 18-5 stretch improved their record to a season-best seven games over at 41-34. But those 10 losses in 13 games followed to leave the Orioles at 44-44 right now.

The season resumes for the O's at Detroit ,where they begin a nine-game road trip that also takes them to New York and Tampa Bay.

The Tigers are nine games out of first, and their run of four-straight American League Central titles is at risk. They hold the same record as the Orioles at 44-44, and both right now are 3 1/2 games out of the AL's second wild-card berth.

The Orioles lost five of six in the regular season to Detroit in 2014, but they swept the Tigers three straight in the American League Division Series.

The Orioles will not face Miguel Cabrera this series. He is on the disabled list with a strained calf and is not expected to return until next month. In 51 career games versus Baltimore pitching, Cabrera is batting .391/.467/.726 with 18 homers and 53 RBIs.

The Orioles' Manny Machado will try to keep his hot bat going to start the second half. In 39 games since June 1, he is batting .331 with 11 homers and 26 RBIs. Machado has hit eight homers in his last 25 games.

On the mound tonight at Comerica Park, Ubaldo Jimenez (7-4, 2.81 ERA) faces right-hander Anibal Sanchez (8-7, 4.63 ERA).

Jimenez, who will be making his 18th start, ranks ninth in the AL in ERA.

Over his past three games, he has allowed just one run on 17 hits in 20 innings for a 0.45 ERA. Over eight starts since June 1, Jimenez is 4-1 with a 2.45 ERA.

He has pitched well early in his outings this year, with an ERA of 0.53 in the first inning, 2.12 in the second and 2.65 in the third inning.

While Sanchez's ERA right now is its highest since 2008, he has pitched better lately. Over his last six starts, he is 5-0 with an ERA of 2.84.

On July 3, he took a no-hitter into the eighth inning against Toronto and he has not lost since June 3 versus Oakland.

Jimenez, who will be making his 19th start, is 1-0 with an ERA of 4.35 in two career starts against Baltimore.

The Orioles rank fifth in the majors and fourth in the American League with 110 home runs. Chris Davis and Machado each rank tied for seventh in the AL with 19. Baltimore led the majors last season with 211 homers.