O's game blog: Dylan Bundy gets the start, plus farm notes

After splitting two games with the Rockies, the Orioles host Colorado tonight in the series finale. Having lost just one home series all year, going 12-1-3, the Orioles need a win to keep that intact. They lost two of three to Seattle at Camden Yards in mid-May.

Right-hander Dylan Bundy (3-2, 3.30 ERA) makes his third start and 25th appearance. Right-hander Jon Gray (6-4, 4.12 ERA) pitches for the Rockies.

Bundy got his first win as a starter in the homestand opener Friday versus Cleveland. Over five innings and 87 pitches, he gave up five hits and one unearned run with no walks and five strikeouts. He is 1-1 with a 4.32 ERA as a starter.

Over his last eight games overall, Bundy has an ERA of 1.59 with a .241 batting average against. In 22 2/3 innings, he has given up 21 hits and four earned runs with seven walks and 28 strikeouts. In 12 home games, he is 1-0 with a 2.22 ERA with 22 strikeouts against just three walks over 24 1/3 innings.

Gray was the third overall pick in the 2013 draft and has been pitching well. Like Bundy, he was drafted out of an Oklahoma high school. He was signed to a bonus of $4.8 million. Three times he was ranked in the Baseball America top 100 prospects list, going as high as No. 12 after the 2013 draft.

He's allowed one run in 14 innings in two second-half starts, both against Atlanta. The rookie has an ERA of 1.33 his last three starts and a 2.70 ERA with four quality starts in his past five games.

Gray leads the Rockies with 12 quality starts. Over 102 2/3 innings, he has walked 33 and fanned 111 with a .229 average against. In nine road starts, Gray is 2-4 with a 4.02 ERA.

Left-handed batters hit .214 against him, right-handers bat .242 and Gray yields a .243 average when pitching with runners in scoring position. In three starts this year versus American League East teams, he is 2-0 with a 4.91 ERA with wins over Boston and Toronto.

With losses this afternoon by both Boston and Toronto, the Orioles would move three games ahead of the Blue Jays and 3 1/2 ahead of the Red Sox by winning tonight. The Orioles are 58-41 and play their 100th game tonight. They have won 11 of 17 games. At home, they are 11-2 in their last 13 games and 37-15 overall.

Farm notes: Since June 19, the Triple-A Norfolk Tides have three of the top eight hitters in the International League, as Trey Mancini (.350), Ozzie Martínez (.327) and Christian Walker (.327) all rank among IL leaders in batting average over that span. Walker has reached base safely in 14 of his last 15 games, batting .333 (19-for-57) with two home runs, seven RBIs and a .397 OBP.

Double-A Bowie lost at home this afternoon, 8-3 to Hartford. Lefty John Means allowed six runs over four innings to take the loss and is 3-4 with a 5.17 ERA. Left-hander Tanner Scott walked four and allowed two runs in 1/3 of an inning in his third appearance since moving up to Double-A. He has allowed five runs in 2 1/3 frames with the Baysox. He's still working to refine his command and just turned 22, so he may need some time to adjust and settle in at the higher level.

Catcher Chance Sisco went 0-for-4 today, but was 9-for-19 his previous four games and is batting .396 in 53 at-bats since the All-Star break. He is hitting .322 for the year. Outfielder Jay Gonzalez went 4-for-4 for the Baysox and second baseman Garabez Rosa went 4-for-5 with a double and an RBI.

Winston-Salem beat Single-A Frederick 7-6 this afternoon. Keys starter Franderlin Romero gave up seven hits and five runs in 2/3 of an inning. Aderlin Rodriguez had a double, a homer and drove in two for the Keys. Frederick was down by six in the fourth and rallied to within one run, but fell to 52-50 overall and 16-16 in the second half. Frederick relievers have an ERA of 1.57 over their last 23 innings.

The Gulf Coast League Orioles (16-13) won at home today 3-2 over the GCL Twins. John Peluffo, Samuel Deduno and Joe Johnson teamed up to throw a four-hitter. A 19-year-old righty from Cartagena, Colombia, Peluffo went five innings, allowing two hits and one unearned run and lowered his ERA to 1.61. In 28 innings, he has walked five, fanned 31 and has a .188 average against.