Previewing the O's-Red Sox series, plus farm notes

The Orioles and their flickering playoff hopes head to Boston's Fenway Park tonight to begin a three-game weekend series. The Red Sox are leading the American League East at 73-54 and are 16-5 their last 21 games.

The Orioles are 62-65 and won two of three against Oakland in the series that ended Wednesday. But they have lost five of eight overall and nine of their last 15. They are 24-39 in road games.

The Orioles and Boston have not met since June 4. They played 13 times in the Orioles' first 55 games. They played nine times in the Orioles' first 27 games, at a point where the O's record was 17-10.

The Red Sox have not won a series this year against the Orioles and the Orioles have won just one. Twice they have split four games and once split a two-game series. The Orioles won two of three April 21-23 at Oriole Park.

The Orioles are 7-6 (.538) versus Boston this season. They are 61-46 (.570) against Boston since the 2012 season.

The Orioles have the best division record in American League East games:
.551 - Orioles (27-22)
.547 - New York (29-24)
.529 - Boston (27-24)
.456 - Tampa Bay (26-31)
.426 - Toronto (23-31)

Manny Machado is batting .283 (15-for-53) against Boston this year with four doubles, six homers and 11 RBIs. Trey Mancini is batting .306 (11-for-36) with three homers and nine RBIs. Jonathan Schoop is batting .356 (16-for-45) with three homers and eight RBIs.

The Orioles have held Boston outfielder Mookie Betts in check this season. He is batting .192 (10-for-52) with one homer and six RBIs versus the Orioles. Last year against Baltimore pitchers, Betts hit .408/.477/.816 with nine homers and 21 RBIs. Betts is batting just .219 with an OPS of .629 and one home run in August.

The Orioles have 35 games to play. A 20-15 record gives them 82 wins. A 23-12 record gives them 85 wins. They still have time to make a playoff push to prove their growing list of doubters wrong. Their next chance to begin to do that is tonight at Boston's Fenway Park.

Fenter on the farm: Young right-hander Gray Fenter is quietly pitching well on the Orioles farm after undergoing Tommy John surgery in early April 2016. The 21-year-old Fenter is 0-1 with a 3.65 ERA over 24 2/3 innings for the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles.

But it is his recent pitching that has really been stellar. In five games and 16 innings this month, he has allowed one earned run on five hits with three walks to 21 strikeouts. He pitched 3 2/3 hitless innings on Thursday.

The Orioles drafted Fenter in round seven in June 2015 out of an Arkansas high school and signed him to a well over-slot bonus of $1 million. The Orioles saw him touch 97 mph as a high school senior and he was ranked as the club's No. 24 prospect by Baseball America at the end of the 2015 season.

Double-A Bowie lost 2-1 at Altoona last night in the opener of an important four-game series between the top teams in the Eastern League's Western Division. Bowie (67-62) began the series one game out of first, but now is two behind Altoona (69-60) after this loss. The top two teams will make the playoffs.

Bowie was held to seven hits and went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position Thursday night. Right-hander Lucas Long took a tough loss allowing two runs over seven innings. Long is 9-6 with a 2.75 ERA. Erick Salcedo had two hits and an RBI for Bowie. That series continues tonight with right-hander David Hess (10-8, 4.13 ERA) on the mound for the Baysox.

Triple-A Norfolk used a strong pitching performance in Game 1 of a doubleheader and six extra-base hits in the nightcap to sweep the Charlotte Knights 2-0 and 5-3 Thursday afternoon at Harbor Park.

In the opener, Gabriel Ynoa and Richard Rodriguez combined on a three-hit shutout to help the Tides blank the Knights 2-0. Ynoa allowed just two singles over six innings. In eight starts since the All-Star break, he is 4-1 with an ERA of 2.85 with six walks to 39 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings. Rodriguez completed the shutout. He has now posted nine consecutive scoreless outings, lowering his ERA to 1.79.

Through three rehab games with Norfolk, Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy has hit .286 (2-for-7) with a double, three walks and two runs scored. Jimmy Yacabonis has not allowed a run in 34 of his 40 appearances with the Tides. Stefan Crichton's seven victories lead the team. Norfolk's bullpen finished the Tides' 10-game homestand with a 1.27 ERA.

Single-A Frederick beat Wilmington 5-3 as lefty Reid Love allowed three runs (one earned) over a career-high 7 2/3 innings. He is 5-4 with an ERA of 3.44. Yermin Mercedes went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for the Keys. Third baseman Jomar Reyes was 3-for-4 and is batting .300.

Single-A Delmarva got shut out 6-0 at home versus Hickory. The Shorebirds were held to six hits. Shortstop Milton Ramos went 2-for-4 and is hitting .245. Losing pitcher Travis Seabrooke allowed eight hits and four runs (three earned) over seven innings.