masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgThe Orioles are trying tonight to complete their second three-game sweep of the Royals at home in the past two seasons.
Tim Beckham gets another start at shortstop, continuing to bat sixth against Royals left-hander Jason Vargas. Joey Rickard is in right field, Craig Gentry is in left and Caleb Joseph is behind the plate.
Seth Smith is 6-for-18 with three doubles, a home run and four RBIs against left-handers this season, but he’s out of the lineup tonight. He’s a career .207 hitters versus…

The Orioles are trying tonight to complete their second three-game sweep of the Royals at home in the past two seasons.

Tim Beckham gets another start at shortstop, continuing to bat sixth against Royals left-hander Jason Vargas. Joey Rickard is in right field, Craig Gentry is in left and Caleb Joseph is behind the plate.

Seth Smith is 6-for-18 with three doubles, a home run and four RBIs against left-handers this season, but he’s out of the lineup tonight. He’s a career .207 hitters versus lefties.

Jonathan Schoop points up black.jpgSecond baseman Jonathan Schoop has 10 hits in his last 28 at-bats with seven RBIs. He has an RBI in 13 of his last 15 games, and 24 in that span. He’s batting .317 at home this season.

Schoop’s 78 RBIs leave him two behind the Mariners’ Nelson Cruz for the American League lead.

Third baseman Manny Machado is batting .343 (24-for-70) in 18 games since the All-Star break and .339 since July 1 to raise his average from .216 to .250.

Center fielder Adam Jones is batting .288 in 18 games as the leadoff hitter.

The Orioles named Single-A Delmarva left-hander Alex Wells their minor league Pitcher of the Month for July and short-season Single-A Aberdeen catcher Ben Breazeale, their seventh-round pick this year out of Wake Forest, their Player of the Month.

Wells didn’t allow a run or walk a batter in 31 innings in his five starts. He’s has recorded seven straight quality starts since the beginning of the second half, raising his team-high total to 15, he currently owns a 36-inning scoreless streak dating back to June 30 and he hasn’t issued a walk in 42 innings dating back to June 25.

Breazeale batted .390/.462/.550 with 10 doubles, two home runs and 23 RBIs in 27 games.

For the Orioles
Adam Jones CF
Manny Machado 3B
Jonathan Schoop 2B
Trey Mancini DH
Chris Davis 1B
Tim Beckham SS
Joey Rickard RF
Caleb Joseph C
Craig Gentry LF

Jeremy Hellickson RHP

Here are the starters for the four-game series against the Tigers at Camden Yards:
Thursday: Chris Tillman vs. Matthew Boyd
Friday: Kevin Gausman vs. Justin Verlander
Saturday: Wade Miley vs. Michael Fulmer
Sunday: Ubaldo Jiménez vs. Anibal Sanchez