O's game blog: The series opener against Toronto

After losing two games against Tampa Bay and after last night's postponement, the Orioles tonight begin a four-game series in Buffalo against the Toronto Blue Jays (15-14). The Jays, who swept three from the Orioles earlier this season, hold third place in the American League East and are the current No. 8 seed for the AL playoffs.

Toronto is 1 1/2 games ahead of the Orioles (14-16) as the series begins. The O's lost 4-2 and 4-3 in St. Petersburg, Fla., versus Tampa Bay.

The Orioles began the season by going 12-8 through 20 games and scored 5.35 runs a game to that point. But in losing eight of their past 10, they have scored 3.7 runs per game.

In a unique stat, the Orioles have played .733 ball (11-4) in weekend games. They have played just .200 ball (3-15) in games played between from Monday through Thursday.

The Orioles are 7-10 in AL East games. But they are just 2-7 in their past nine after starting 5-3 within the division. Toronto is 9-9 in AL East games. The Blue Jays have lost three of their past five games. But over a longer stretch, they are 8-3 in their last 11.

Baltimore left-hander John Means (0-2, 10.13 ERA) will make his fifth start tonight as his battle to get into a rhythm and build up innings continues. He went three innings, allowing three runs on 44 pitches, last Friday versus Boston. Means has not thrown an outing longer than 4 2/3 innings on the season.

Lefty batters are hitting .286 with an OPS of .571 against him, right-handed batters are hitting .278/.953 and his four homers allowed have been against right-handers. Means has been trying to find the feel for his changeup and that certainly might be a reason for his stats against right-handed hitters. The O's are 0-4 when Means has started this season.

Southpaw Hyun-Jin Ryu (2-1, 3.19 ERA) starts for Toronto. On Aug. 17, he was the winning pitchers against the Orioles, allowing one run in six innings on 86 pitches. Over his past four starts, Ryu is 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA and opponents are batting .137 off him with an OPS of .384. The Blue Jays are 4-2 in his start.

In December, Toronto signed the free agent away from the Los Angeles Dodgers with a four-year deal worth $80 million.

Ryu is coming off two strong seasons with the Dodgers. Since the 2018 season through his last start, he is 23-9 with a 2.31 ERA in 50 starts. Last season, Ryu led the majors in ERA, going 14-5 with a 2.32 ERA, and finished second in voting for the National League Cy Young Award. He was the starter for the NL in the All-Star Game.

The O's get two of their injured players back tonight to try and beat Ryu. Catcher Pedro Severino, batting .333 with five homers and 20 RBIs, has missed the past two games. He ranks second in the AL and tied for fourth in the majors in batting average. He is batting .400 (20-for-50) in his last 14 games with 16 RBIs. José Iglesias returns tonight as the designated hitter after spending time on the injured list. His last game was Aug. 15. The O's went 2-8 without him over the last 10 games.

MLB team leaders in bunt hits:

10 - Orioles
5 - Texas
4 - Arizona, Colorado, Philadelphia

Cedric Mullins has six bunt hits to lead the majors, while Hanser Alberto and Andrew Velazquez have two each.

Thursday night's postponed game at Tampa Bay has been rescheduled as part of a doubleheader in Baltimore on Thursday, Sept. 17, starting at 5:05 p.m.. The Orioles will be the home team for the first game and the Rays will be the home team for the second game. Both will be seven-inning games. Also, the gametime for the Sept. 2 New York Mets at Orioles game has been switched to 4:05 p.m.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this series in Buffalo marks the first regular season games played at a non-major league ballpark in Orioles history, which dates to 1954.