O's game blog: The season resumes in Kansas City

After the All-Star break the Orioles resume their 2021 regular season tonight with the start of a three-game series at Kansas City. They will play six in a row on the road to start the so-called second half, although they have already played 89 games and have 73 remaining.

The Orioles (28-61) were swept three in a row by the Chicago White Sox before the break, losing 7-5 in 10 innings on Sunday in Baltimore. They have lost four in a row and seven of eight. They were swept 7-0 in the season series with the White Sox and were outscored 45-16 in those games.

The Orioles will certainly be looking for improved pitching to begin the rest of their schedule. They have allowed 37 runs during the last four games and 146 runs during the last 20 games, with a team ERA of 7.08 in that span.

Kansas City went 36-53 during the first half, which was a six-win improvement on their 30-61 record before the All-Star break in 2019, and was their best first-half mark since going 44-43 in 2017. The Royals were 16-9 on May 1 and held the best record in the major leagues, but they've gone 20-44 since, the third-worst record in the big leagues during that time. Their 16-9 start was followed by a season-high, 11-game losing streak, but they rebounded with a 13-6 stretch from May 14-June 4, which marked the second-best record in the American League during that time. But they are just 7-27 since.

The Royals went 11-16 in one-run games in the first half and led all AL teams in one-run losses while tying for the third most in the majors, trailing only Miami and Arizona (20 each). The Royals won each of their first six one-run games, but have lost 16 of their last 21 such decisions. Kansas City blew a lead in 19 of their 53 losses prior to the All-Star break, the fifth most among AL teams behind the Twins (30), Orioles (26), Blue Jays (25) and Yankees (22).

On the mound tonight for the Orioles is left-hander Keegan Akin (0-4, 7.54 ERA), who will be making his eighth start and 13th appearance. Akin had a 4.13 ERA after his first seven big league outings of this season. But he is 0-3 with an 11.39 ERA over his last five games. In that span he has allowed 34 hits and 27 earned runs in 21 1/3 innings. Opponents have hit .366 against him with a 1.079 OPS in that span.

The Orioles are 1-6 in Akin's seven starts this year. In those games, Akin has gone 0-4 with a 7.92 ERA and 1.826 WHIP.

Left-hander Danny Duffy (4-3, 2.53 ERA) will make his 13th start for Kansas City. For the year, over 57 innings, he has allowed 50 hits and six homers, recording 21 walks and 62 strikeouts. He has a WHIP of 1.246 with a 3.3 walk rate and 9.8 strikeout rate.

Duffy has allowed two earned runs or fewer eight times. The Royals are 5-6 in his previous starts, but have lost five of the last six. In his past two starts, Duffy has allowed three earned runs and 10 hits in nine innings.

Ramón Urías has recorded a multi-hit game in five of his last seven games and in seven of his last 13 big league games. He's hit safely in nine of 12 games since his recall on June 27, batting .333/.388/.533 (15-for-45) with five extra-base hits. His batting average during this stretch ranks sixth in the AL (minimum 45 at-bats). In 20 games in the bigs since May 1, he's hit safely in 16 of 20 and is slashing .365/.437/.556 (23-for-63).

Center fielder Cedric Mullins' 106 hits prior to the All-Star break are the most by an Oriole since 2018, when Manny Machado had 115 in 96 games. They are tied for the 23rd-most by an Oriole player pre-All-Star break in club history. The club record is 128 by Machado in 2013 over 96 games.

Trey Mancini has hit .276/.344/.552 (8-for-29) with four extra-base hits (two doubles and two homers) in eight games in July after hitting .208/.286/.327 (21-for-101) with six extra-base hits in 26 games in June.

In Game 1 of a doubleheader today, Double-A Bowie beat Erie 6-2. Right-hander Mike Baumann improved to 2-2 with a 5.79 ERA, allowing two runs over six innings. In his past three starts, Baumann has thrown 16 innings allowing 11 hits with five earned runs (a 2.81 ERA) to go with three walks and 19 strikeouts.

Robert Neustrom went 2-for-4 and drove in two more runs, Adley Rutschman went 2-for-4 and Doran Turchin hit a two-run homer for the Baysox.

The Orioles today announced the signing of their second-round draft pick (No. 41 overall), East Carolina infielder Connor Norby, who led the nation in hits and batted .415.

2nd-rder Connor Norby's bonus with @Orioles is $1.7 million (slot 41 value = $1,813,500). East Carolina 2B, one of best hitters in @MLBDraft, batted .415 this spring, led NCAA D-I with 102 hits.

-- Jim Callis (@jimcallisMLB) July 16, 2021