Can O's lefty John Means slow the red-hot Yankees bats?

The onslaught of homers by Orioles opponents just keeps coming. The New York Yankees bashed five homers in beating the Orioles Monday night and then hit six more last night.

Here are some numbers that further quantify the O's inability to keep the ball in the park this series and this season.

* The Orioles have now allowed five or more home runs 16 times on the season and four times over the last eight games. They've allowed six or more six times and seven or more twice.

* In this series, Yankees batters have gone 23-for-75 (.307) with five doubles, one triple, 11 homers and 18 runs. Last night they got six solo homers from six different players.

* The Yankees are 12-2 this season against Baltimore, hitting 47 homers and scoring 104 runs. New York went 1-2 to open the season against the Orioles and has now won the last 11 in a row in the season series.

* The Yankees are 9-0 in 2019 at Oriole Park, hitting 38 homers and scoring 81 runs.

* New York has hit five or more homers in a game this year four times - all against the Orioles and all at Camden Yards.

* Last night the Orioles extended a major league record by allowing two or more homers for the 11th consecutive game. They've allowed 37 homers in that span.

* In the last 10 games, O's starters do not have one quality start, but they do have an ERA of 7.27.

* In the past six games, the Baltimore bullpen has allowed 25 earned runs and 14 homers in 29 1/3 for an ERA of 7.67.

The Orioles have come back against Yankee leads the past two nights. They tied the game Monday and pulled within 5-4 last night. But they just never had a handle on the Yankee lineup on the mound. It always feels like another New York homer is right around the corner.

Is the answer pitching more often inside? I'm not talking about throwing at someone, that is just bush. Especially if all they are doing is their job - and well - against you. I'm talking about backing them off the plate, making the hitters move around the box and get less comfortable as they settle in around home plate.

The other night manager Brandon Hyde mentioned that many of the Orioles pitchers do not excel at doing this. That they should pitch inside, of course, but that you need confidence and command to do that. They may want to do it, but are not skilled enough and/or experienced enough to do it well and have success doing it.

When a team is bashing you nightly the tendency can be to pitch away, away, away and maybe even be timid against such hitters.

Lefty John Means, who returns to the rotation tonight, has been cited by Hyde as one pitcher who does well pitching inside. And he allows just 1.3 homers per every nine innings, and that makes him a standout on this club.

Birdland by now has long since tired of watching Yankees batters run around the bases while their fans enjoy their night in Baltimore. Can pitching inside be the answer, and can Means do it effectively tonight?