O's game blog: Wright makes second big league start, Paredes takes lead in batting race

The last time the Orioles were at the .500 mark was May 5, when they were 12-12. They can get to 20-20 if they win tonight at Miami in the second game of a three-game series.

The Orioles are 4-1 in their last five games and now are 8-12 on the road and 5-9 in series-opening games after Friday's 8-5 win over the Marlins.

Miami is 16-27 and has lost eight in a row and 11 of its past 12 games.

Since the Orioles scored just five runs in a three-game series last weekend against the Angels, they have scored 24 runs the last four games, batting .292 as a team in that stretch and hitting .385 with runners in scoring position.

Catcher Caleb Joseph went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored in Friday's win. Since last season, the Orioles are 26-3 in games in which Joseph records at least one RBI. Joseph ranks fourth among American League catchers with a .279 batting average this season.

Mike Wright (1-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his second major league start tonight. He pitched 7 1/3 scoreless innings on four hits on Sunday against the Angels in one very strong MLB debut. Right-handed batters were just 1-for-14 against him that day.

Right-hander Dan Haren (4-2, 3.47 ERA) gets the start tonight for the Marlins. He could be tough to beat. Haren has allowed two earned runs or less in six of his starts this year. In 49 1/3 innings, he has walked just eight with 33 strikeouts.

In four home starts, Haren is 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, with just three walks and 14 strikeouts over 25 innings.

Right now, the three AL division leaders also rank 1-2-3 in the AL in team ERA:

3.16 - Kansas City is 27-14
3.30 - Tampa Bay is 24-19
3.50 - Houston is 27-16

Right-hander Oliver Drake was recalled to the Orioles today and pitcher Tyler Wilson was optioned back to Triple-A after getting his first big league win last night.

Drake is 0-1 this year with an ERA of 0.96 for Norfolk. Over 18 2/3 innings, he walked four and fanned 30, allowing a .152 average against. Drake leads all International League relievers, averaging 14.46 strikeouts per every nine innings.

The Orioles got a steal when they selected him in the 43rd round of the 2008 draft. Most teams didn't know Drake was a draft-eligible sophomore then or that he was not locked into a Navy commitment. The O's and scout Dean Albany knew both and took Drake in a round they don't even have anymore. There were rumors at the time that St. Louis was getting ready to draft Drake when the O's selected him.

The Orioles' Jimmy Paredes now has enough plate appearances to qualify for the AL stat leaders and his .353 batting average now ranks first in the AL, after Nelson Cruz went 1-for-4 this afternoon to drop to .352. Paredes ranks third in slugging at .603.

Here's something pretty cool: Mike Weaver, son of Hall of Fame O's manager Earl Weaver, will throw out tonight's first pitch at Marlins Park. He will be accompanied to the mound by Earl's widow, Marianna Weaver.