O's game blog: Wade Miley has an ERA of 9.53 in four O's starts

The Orioles' pursuit of a playoff berth continues tonight at Nationals Park in Washington. The Orioles beat the Nats the last two nights in Baltimore by scores of 4-3 and 8-1. They begin play tonight at 69-56 with 37 games remaining. They are in third place in the American League East, two games back of co-leading Toronto and Boston at 71-54.

The Orioles have scored 12 runs on 18 hits with three homers in the last two games and have gone 7-for-15 with runners in scoring position.

Left-hander Wade Miley (7-10, 5.58 ERA) make his 24th start of the year and faces right-hander Tanner Roark (13-6, 2.87 ERA) who is making his 26th start.

Captain Obvious would state that Miley needs to pitch better and soon. He is 0-2 with a 9.53 ERA in four starts with the Orioles, allowing 28 hits in 17 innings and a .359 average against. He has allowed 14 hits and 13 runs in six innings his past two starts.

Here is what Miley said after he gave up six runs in 1 2/3 innings on Friday against Houston: "It was terrible, you know, it's embarrassing for that to happen. I flat-out stunk. Simple as that. Everything I threw was middle and to a team like that, I mean, you expect them to do what they did.

"It's frustrating. It's embarrassing for me. Obviously, I know I'm better than this. Got to make some adjustments. Still have a month and half to go and we're right there in this thing. I have to be able to go out and give us a chance to win. That's unacceptable. I have to get better."

Miley had an ERA of 2.79 in his last three starts with Seattle before the Orioles acquired him for pitcher Ariel Miranda. He was 7-8 with a 4.98 ERA in 19 starts with the Mariners.

Roark has been outstanding for the Nationals with a WHIP of 1.163, a hits per nine innings of 7.7 with 2.8 walks per nine and 7.2 strikeouts. He is 7-4 with an ERA of 2.44 in 13 home starts.

A 25th round draft pick of the Texas Rangers in 2008, Roark currently ranks seventh in the National League in ERA, tied for fifth in wins and 17th in WHIP.

He has allowed one run or fewer in three of his past five starts, a stretch where he is 4-0 with a 2.14 ERA. In three career games (two starts) versus Baltimore, he is 0-2 with a 6.75 ERA.

Adam Jones went 4-for-5 last night to tie his career high for hits for the third time this year and for the 19th time in his career. In 21 games in August, Jones is batting .322 with four homers, 12 RBIs and an .816 OPS. Jones is a career .370 hitter at Nats Park.

Tuesday's winning pitcher Kevin Gausman improved to 5-0 with a 1.57 ERA over his last five starts at Camden Yards. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last Orioles pitcher to go 5-0 with an ERA that low over a five-start span at home within one season was left-hander Jimmy Key in 1997 (5-0, 1.54 ERA).

The Orioles lead the majors with 195 home runs. Mark Trumbo owns the MLB lead with 38 homers, hitting four his last six games and seven in his last 12. First baseman Chris Davis ranks sixth in the AL with 30 home runs and third baseman Manny Machado is tied for 11th in the AL with 28.

The Orioles have hit 18 homers the last six games and 37 in the last 19 contests.

The Orioles lead the series with Washington 35-23 since the teams began playing in 2006. The Orioles are 16-6 versus the Nats since 2012. The Orioles have gone 5-0 the last two years at Nats Park.