masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgA couple of notes on tonight’s game with Tampa leading the Orioles 3-0 in the fourth.

*Zach Britton had given up just one run in the first and second innings over his first six starts, until Tampa got to him for three runs and four hits in the top of the second tonight. The Rays four hits in that inning was more than the three hits they had versus Britton when he pitched six innings against them in his major league debut.

*Tampa starter James Shields is 2-0 with an ERA of 0.69 over his last…A couple of notes on tonight’s game with Tampa leading the Orioles 3-0 in the fourth.

*Zach Britton had given up just one run in the first and second innings over his first six starts, until Tampa got to him for three runs and four hits in the top of the second tonight. The Rays four hits in that inning was more than the three hits they had versus Britton when he pitched six innings against them in his major league debut.

*Tampa starter James Shields is 2-0 with an ERA of 0.69 over his last three starts coming into tonight. But in his last three starts versus the Orioles, he is 0-3 with an ERA of 6.48.

*Britton is looking for his sixth win tonight. If he gets it, he would the first Oriole to win six games by May 6, since Ben McDonald in 1994. The last Oriole pitcher to record six wins by the end of May was Kris Benson in 2006.

*The Orioles are 5-5 this year in series-opening games and are 19-9 in series openers under Buck Showalter.

*The Orioles are 7-1 in their last eight games versus Tampa, but the Rays are 41-22 (.651) against the Orioles since August 28, 2007.

*In their three-game sweep versus Tampa to open the season, Orioles’ pitching allowed just one run and four hits in each of those games. Tampa hit just .132 in that series and went 6-for-64 against the O’s starters that weekend in Guthrie, Tillman and Britton.