After getting swept against the Yankees over the weekend, the Orioles will now aim to salvage a positive note at home before embarking on a nine-game road trip.
Need a reason to watch? Jays’ slugger Kendrys Morales has now homered in seven straight games, a streak that started against the Orioles last week (because of course it did), and can tie the MLB record (shared by Ken Griffey Jr., Don Mattingly, and Dale Long) tonight. Unfortunately for Kendrys, Dylan Dinger Bundy pitched last night, but other O’s hurlers haven’t exactly kept the ball in the yard either. We may well see MLB history over the next couple games.
The Orioles (37-94) will also be looking to snap a season-high eight-game losing streak in tonight’s series opener. Their current skid has resulted in a 5-19 record in the month of August and a dismal 2-15 mark over their last seventeen games.
The Blue Jays (60-70) will come into town feeling good after taking two of three from the Phillies and going 5-1 over their latest home stand before hitting the road. They’ll also look to improve upon their season record of 12-1 record against the Orioles as they head into their fifth head-to-head clash of 2018.
David Hess (2-8, 5.50 ERA) will go up against Sam Gaviglio (3-6, 4.94 ERA) in tonight’s match-up.
Hess took a tough loss in Toronto after allowing just one run on three hits over seven sparkling innings in his last start, but will be looking for a fourth straight quality start against the same squad. In his last three contests, the Orioles rookie owns an impressive 2.89 ERA over 18 2/3 innings.
Gaviglio will be looking to shut the Orioles down again after holding them to two runs over seven innings during his last start in Toronto. The Blue Jays righty snapped a fifteen-game winless streak in that contest and picked up his first win since May 25th against the Phillies.
The Orioles have yet to name a starter to take on Thomas Pannone (1-0, 1.59 ERA) in Tuesday’s clash.
Pannone will be looking for a repeat performance against the Orioles after silencing them to the tune of a single hit over seven scoreless innings during his last start at the Rogers Centre. The rookie southpaw notched his first career major league start and win in that match-up and owns a stout 1.59 ERA over his first 11 1/3 innings of work in the show.
Alex Cobb (4-15, 5.00 ERA) will match-up against Ryan Borucki (3-3, 4.12 ERA) in Wednesday’s series finale.
Cobb turned in yet another impressive outing during his last start against the Yankees and finished the game having allowed just two earned runs over six innings. The Orioles’ in-form righty now owns a 2-1 record and a superb 1.80 ERA over 35 innings through five starts this month. Over his last eight contests,
Cobb has gone 2-4 with a sparkling 2.24 ERA over 52 1/3 innings.
Borucki notched his third win of the season after holding the Phillies to just two runs over 6 1/3 innings during his last start, and will be looking for more of the same against the Orioles. The Blue Jays rookie southpaw has been fairly impressive this season and has notched seven quality starts in eleven attempts.
That’s all for now, folks!
Here’s to snapping the skid.
