O's game blog: Wade Miley pitches series opener against Boston

For the fourth time this season, the Orioles are playing the Boston Red Sox. They open a four-game series tonight that runs through Sunday at Oriole Park.

The Orioles split two games in Boston in early April and later in the month took two of three in Baltimore. They played four in Boston May 1-4 and split that series at Fenway Park.

The Orioles are 5-4 against the Red Sox for the season, 2-1 at home. Since the 2012 season, they are 59-44 (.573). At home since the start of the 2016 season, the Orioles are 8-4 (.667) against the Red Sox.

Both teams are currently chasing the first-place New York Yankees. The Red Sox (29-23) are two games out of first in the American League East and in second place. The Orioles are in third, 3 1/2 games back of New York, and just a half-game ahead of Tampa Bay for fourth and two games ahead of Toronto for last. If the Blue Jays beat the Yankees tonight, all five AL East teams will have .500 or better records.

As of tonight, the AL Central and West combined have just four teams playing .500 ball or better, and there are just six among 15 teams in the National League.

Some O's hitters against Boston this year:

* Jonathan Schoop: 10-for-30 (.333), two homers, four RBIs
* Trey Mancini: 7-for-24 (.292), three homers, eight RBIs
* Chris Davis: 9-for-31 (.290), one homer, two RBIs
* Manny Machado: 9-for-38 (.237), four homers, nine RBIs

Some Boston hitters against Baltimore pitching this year:

* Mookie Betts: 7-for-35 (.200), one homer, five RBIs
* Xander Bogaerts: 12-for-32 (.375), no homers, three RBIs
* Andrew Benintendi: 10-for-31 (.323), no homers, four RBIs
* Chris Young: 6-for-14 (.429), no homers, one RBI

On the mound tonight, left-handers match up, with Wade Miley (1-3, 3.02 ERA) facing former Orioles minor leaguer Eduardo Rodriguez (4-1, 2.77 ERA).

Miley could use some longer outings. He has pitched five innings or less in five of his past six starts. He has allowed two earned runs or fewer seven times in 10 starts and his ERA ranks 14th in the AL.

Lefty batters have hit just .161 off him, with right-handed batters at .262. Miley yields a .200 average when pitching with runners in scoring position. The Red Sox have eight right-handed batters in tonight's lineup.

In four home starts, Miley is 0-2 but with an ERA of 0.92 and a .203 batting average against. Among pitchers with four home starts, Miley's home ERA ranks second in the AL and third in the majors.

Miley has made five starts versus AL East teams on the season. He is 1-2 with a 2.10 ERA and 30 strikeouts over 30 innings. In 10 starts versus the AL East since joining the Orioles, he is 1-5 with a 3.88 ERA.

The Orioles signed the now 24-year-old Rodriguez out of Valencia, Venezuela in January 2010, and he pitched on the O's farm until he was traded to the Red Sox for Andrew Miller on July 31, 2014.

He is throwing very well right now with seven straight quality starts. He is 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA in that span. In his last start, he pitched six scoreless on five hits against Seattle.

In his only start this year against the Orioles, Rodriguez pitched six scoreless, allowing just one hit on April 23. In eight career starts versus the Orioles, he is 3-3 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.200 WHIP.

In six career starts at Camden Yards, Rodriguez is 3-1 with a 1.34 ERA. That is the lowest ERA in ballpark history by any pitcher with five or more starts. He has taken a no-hitter through four innings in each of his last three starts in Baltimore. In those games, Orioles hitters are batting .093 (5-for-54) against him.